I'm for Obama, and so can you

[jere7my]

Via John Hodgman, this is a pretty damn moving video:

Why am I an Obamaman? Because I don't want our leadership rolls to read Bush-Clinton-Clinton-Bush-Bush-Clinton-Clinton. Because, while Clinton is a fierce and noble woman, who is no doubt ready to burrow into the Washington machine and make it work effectively for her and for us, I kinda want someone who doesn't already have a ready-made socket to plug into in Washington. Clinton would probably get more done, in terms of bills and appointments and scratch-my-backs, and if she's elected let the conservatives cower — but only Obama, I think, can repair our national image. Only Obama can repudiate the past.

I want someone who is inspiring, who is eloquent, who makes me excited, using only words, about our country again. I want someone who makes me look forward to what our country can be in the future, not look back to what it was ten years ago. I want someone who can show a new face to the world and say, "We have turned a page."

(And I want John Edwards for AG.)

Anyway, whether you've caught Obamamania or not, the key thing here is (and I'm sure I don't need to tell you this), vote.

Comments

[ccommack]

Wackily enough, when viewing this entry on my friends page, the wrong video is displayed (a Stephen Fry skit instead of the Yes We Can song.) It shows up fine here. Just in case anyone else is confused.

And yes. Awesomeness. Vote for the awesomeness. Or not, but vote.

[jere7my.livejournal.com]

Wait, you got some Yes We Can song? I thought Stephen Fry was encoding a clear pro-Obama message.

[ailiathena.livejournal.com]

Wow.

First, thank you for sharing that video. Beautiful. I'm finding ways to share it with everyone I know.

Second, the bit about the ready-made socket and our national image is very compelling. Thank you for posting about your thoughts on this!

[ultranurd.livejournal.com]

This is the kind of tugs-at-the-heartstrings that I think I can think my way out of/over, but only further cements my interest in him as a candidate. I suppose I can take solace that I was interested in him after reading his autobiography, and that things like Lessig's endorsement counted for a lot for me. I would definitely recommend some of the sermon-type speeches he's given at churches - it's nice to hear a candidate who can talk about God without sounding overzealous or theocratic.

I wonder what the endorsement of that actor who played Milo on a season of 24 is worth? :oD

Also, Scarlett Johansson: pretty face, not so much with the singing voice.

[flammifera.livejournal.com]

So, I'm going to leave a question about Obama here, in the hopes that you or jere7my will have some thoughts on it...

I want someone who is inspiring, who is eloquent, who makes me excited, using only words, about our country again.

I do understand that desire -- and I think it's great, really truly inspirational, that Obama has made people excited about America again.

But here's why I'm still dubious. There are some huge problems in the very near future -- e.g., how to deal with Iraq which is on everyone's mind, or the probably-coming economic recession which a friend in Wales brought up to me. Will a young/idealistic/relatively-inexperienced Senator be able to navigate those well enough to keep the country feeling Democratic? I don't want amy larger progressive momentum lost!

(And just to set your minds at ease, I can't vote today, so I'm not waffling at a critical juncture.)

[ultranurd.livejournal.com]

I definitely feel inspired. I very much enjoy the sermons he's given at churches, as well, because it's nice to hear someone invoking God in a political context in a way that isn't damning of a particular subgroup. That's only one factor in why I voted for him this morning.

In general, I know he is an intelligent person, and where he does not have skill (or sufficient experience) in an area, he will select a capable set of people to get that job done. In particular, I think that he is much more likely to select staffers on merit instead of past service or political loyalty.

At least in the case of Iraq, he consulted a team that included a few retired Army generals and they came up with a pull-out plan that will take 18 months from initiation at the fastest and strikes a balance between speed, logistical necessity, and safety. There's some info here, but it emphasizes international cooperation, which I think is a huge plus.

His economic plans center on repealing the Bush tax cuts which benefited the very rich. I very, very much like his plan to create a CTO-like position in the Executive Branch for managing and publishing the government's digital data for public consumption, and for making tech migration decisions that will increase federal efficiency. I don't know if he'll be able to pull it off, but I believe he'll try.

Another huge factor for me is that he doesn't come with past baggage - I think he can reach across the aisle and have a reasonable chance of getting a response on centrist policies, whereas I think most other candidates (Hillary, as well as the Republican field) have a longer history and are therefore more polarizing and more likely to fit into the false red vs. blue dichotomy that the MSM loves so very, very much.

[(Anonymous)]

hear, hear.

[rose_garden.livejournal.com]

Thank you for writing this. It's the clearest, most succinct argument for Obama over Clinton that I've seen (and I've been looking!).

[rose_garden.livejournal.com]

But what is AG?

Algebraic Geometry?
Ag = Silver?

[arctangent.livejournal.com]

Attorney General.

[superbacana.livejournal.com]

I was concerned about the issue, but this article convinced me otherwise:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08steinem.html


(I voted for Obama anyway: he has advantages and disadvantages relative to Clinton, but the main reason I voted for Obama is that I think he has a greater chance of winning the general election against a Republican).

[superbacana.livejournal.com]

That is, the dynasty issue.

Your post should be on Public Radio International

[rose_garden.livejournal.com]

http://www.americasexitpoll.org/

Re: Your post should be on Public Radio International

[jere7my.livejournal.com]

Well, I submitted it, though I fail to see what some sort of "sex it poll" has to do with the election!

[rigel.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That was a wonderful video, and I'm glad I saw it.

[zorblak.livejournal.com]

Clinton is a fierce and noble woman, who is no doubt ready to burrow into the Washington machine and make it work effectively for her and for us

The bolded part here is one of the reasons that I'm supporting Obama over Clinton. I agree with you that Clinton will make it work for her and for us, but the "for her" part seems to come first. For Obama, the focus is on working for us.