Throughout the primary campaign, I have said that it did not matter who won the Democratic primary season, I’m going to support that person for President in 2008. Initially, however, I was for Dennis Kucinich ^[1], because he most closely fit my ideals. Unfortunately, he was never given the fair shake that I though he deserved. He was always pushed off to the side and marginalized, and even though he has some great ideas, no one would give him a chance to speak, take him seriously, or give him any credence. It’s too damn bad that Presidential candidates are not chosen by what they stand for, but by who the party wants, and who has the most money. But I digress. After Iowa, it became clear that the race was to be between Barack Obama ^[2], who would be the first African-American candidate, and Hillary Clinton ^[3], the first woman candidate. A tightly contested campaign ensued.

So Obama won the primary season, and is now the all-but-official Democratic candidate for President of the USA. I will support and vote for him. He is certainly better than the alternative – John McCain. I could go on about why he would be a bad President, but I would only be mirroring what others are already saying ^[4]. What I can do, however, is talk about why I do like him.

• He’s the first person from my generation to run for President
• Because of his age, and his relative newness to Washington, he hasn’t been around there long enough to be corrupted by the moneyed interests that wish to retain their power.
• He did not come from a wealthy family, and has not yet made millions.
• He and his wife just paid off their student loans.
• He has sponsored legislation limiting the use of conventional weapons, promoting better accountability of how federal funds are spent, lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel.
• He is an eloquent speaker, as compared to the bumbling idiot we have in office today
• He has brought a large number of younger voters into the process
• and this is just a start.

When I have talked with people who disagree with me, they always come at me with two major objections:

1. “He’s a nigger” – take off the white frock, drop the burning cross, and join the 21st century, you ignorant rednecked throwback. Sure I might enjoy a good ethnic joke, but it doesn’t matter if the joke is on a Black, Polish, German, Jewish, Italian, Japanese, Irish, Hispanic, Australian, Muslim, or blond person. Humor is humor. However, when I was in the Marines 20 years ago, color didn’t matter. Some of the best Marines I knew were black. When I worked in restaurants, it was the same way. When I worked in the construction industry, it was the same way. Now that I’ve been living the cubicle life for almost a decade, it’s still the same way. We all bleed red when cut, and I am not so ignorant and degenerate to say that color is a valid reason to not vote for someone, or to say that someone’s skin color determines their intrinsic value as a human being. If you are, then I suggest you move to Appalachia, buy a trailer, marry your sister, and be an idiot. But don’t waste my time with your ignorance.
2. “He’s a Muslim” – This kills me. His biological father was an Atheist. Does this mean Barack wants to go on a Bible-burning spree? Don’t be stupid. First of all, he isn’t, and never has been a Muslim. He doesn’t pray to Mecca six times a day, doesn’t read the Koran daily, and doesn’t attend a mosque. He has until recently, been a long time member of the Trinity United Church of Christ, affiliated with the United Church of Christ. This just speaks more to the ignorance of those who oppose him, rather than to anything else connected with reality. Lay off the crystal meth there, Earl, and go back to making inbred children with your sister Lurline.

So. I’m going to support Obama. He’s the best candidate out there, and he will hopefully change this country for the better, instead of running it into the ground, like the current Moron Executive in the White House has done for the last 7+ years. Certainly, there’s a great number of things I can do locally and personally to try to help fix this country, but by voting for Obama, I can affect what happens nationally and help start getting the country back on the correct track.