Like many who saw Barack Obama speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I remember what a powerful breath of fresh air that was. And I remember thinking “he’s going to be President one day.”
Honestly, I didn’t expect that day would come quite so soon, but over the past couple months, as I began following the campaign more closely and learning more about him, I have become convinced that not only is Obama the best and most qualified candidate running for President, but that his message of change is substantively unique and is a potentially transformative opportunity for our political system and our country as a whole. That in short is why I’ll be voting for Barack Obama tomorrow, and hopefully, on November 2nd.
Inspiration & Participation – Let there be no doubt, Obama can speechify. But I’d also suggest that those that dismiss his speeches as just “pretty words” aren’t paying close enough attention to what he’s saying. His message after all, is one that calls for participation and service in the names of the larger civic and communal ideals that has been at the heart of America’s historical traditions (or at least aspirations). His call for change is primarily about changing ourselves, and it resonates. It appeals to the best in us instead of the worst.
Obama offers an alternative dialogue to the politics of fear and divisiveness that has dominated for far too long. He points out that the challenges we face as a nation are enormous, but the problem isn’t lack of policies, resources, or potential solutions, but rather the lack of political will. That will be the largest task for our next President, and I believe that Obama’s abilities and approach will have the best chance of success.
Policies – Last week I attended Lawrence Lessig’s last lecture on Free Culture and his first thoughts on tackling government corruption. While on most issues, Obama and Clinton are fairly similar, on this point (and on many other issues related to technology, innovation, and openness) Obama is far ahead of the curve – the only one that has made open governance a central plank of his technology platform. His commitment to (and understanding of the importance of!) network neutrality, open data, and patent reform are reassuring. Having a constitutional law scholar as President might not be a bad deal either. (see for example Obama’s answers for The Boston Globe’s candidate Q&A on executive power)
Well, this is starting to get seriously long, so I’ll cut this off and list some interesting things I’ve come across. To summarize though, the more I’ve learned, the more I like him…
- Wikipedia: Barack Obama – as you expect, it’s rather comprehensive, including the coverage of his early years as a community organizer and civil rights lawyer, and his time in the state legislature
- Chicago Reader: What Makes Obama Run? – this in-depth writeup from 1995 speaks a lot about the things he’s done. When he talks about civic duty, he knows form first-hand experience.
- CBS News: Obama Has Varied Experience
“Nobody else running for president has jumped off the career track for three or four years to help people,” said Jerry Kellman, who first hired Obama as a community organizer.
- New Yorker: The Choice – This even-handed feature gives a lot of insight into the differences in philosophy between Obama and Clinton
- The Atlantic: Goodbye to All That: Why Obama Matters – Andrew Sullivan’s feature argues convincingly on why Obama would represent a strong, potentially transformational, generational change in our political dialogue
- I know that not everyone has the time, but especially over the past few weeks as I’ve really immersed myself, I’ve found surprisingly engaging and insightful nuggets (among the vast amount of gravel) on in the comments/discussion of sites like Metafilter, Washington Monthly, and others. At some point, it might be interesting to gather some of the more compelling/informative points…
Lastly, some endorsements I’ve found to be interesting:
Hey, did you really make it to the end of the page?
