Barack Obama is Actually Pretty Impressive
There is a awfully long time until the next presidential election, so I’m not really taking any campaigning that seriously yet, but I keep running into Obama links and activities online and finally decided to check out his Web site.
Before I talk about the results of my investigation I’ll share the only three pre-conceived notions I had about him before I took a look at his site:
- He’s African-American.
- He’s a smoker.
- He’s got very little political experience.
Certainly none of these things has any bearing on whether this man would make a good President, but that’s about all I thought I knew about him. So, here is what I learned after I visited his site…
The first thing I did when I arrived at BarackObama.com was to watch this video. I must say, he is an excellent speaker.
I then decided to read a little of his background. Did you know:
- His father was born and raised in Kenya, moved to the US and met his mother in college. This makes Barack a first generation American, just like myself (my father moved here from Greece and met my mother in college).
- His undergraduate degree is from Columbia University, and he got his law degree from Harvard. He was also the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.
- He served for 8 years in the Illinois State Senate before being elected as the third African-American since Reconstruction to be elected to the U.S. Senate
- He is not, and never has been muslim (despite rumors to that effect). He is a Christian.
- His wife Michelle is also a Harvard educated lawyer who has also been involved in community service and currently serves as VP for the Univeristy of Chicago Hospitals.
Generally speaking I agree with his statements on the environment, healthcare (including stem cell research), Iraq (including phased withdrawl unless Iraqi goals are met), political corruption (especially the Google search function for the federal budget), immigration (especially the views on immigrant US Troops), and even… wait for it… religion.
I’m also happy to hear that he supports women’s right to choose (re: abortion), and at least that he supports civil unions & gay equality – if not gay marriage. My advice to gay people would be that there is no electable politician that is currently going to publicly state that they are for gay marriage so this is as close as you’re going to get and it’s better to have some progress than none at all. Incremental steps will move you closer to the goal, this is not an all or nothing game.
Now, getting back to religion, what I appreciate about Barack’s view is that although he is a Christian he seems to be tolerant of other religions or even people who choose not to believe. Here is a speech he gave on this specific topic.
Notable quote:
“No matter how religious people may or may not be, they are tired of seeing religion used as a tool of attack.”
So, that’s about all the time I’m willing to dedicate to this today, but suffice it to say that I’m impressed. This man does have a shot at winning my vote. We’ll see where that goes.
Oh, and one last thing. Barack is also half white. So maybe he’s got the best view in the house on how to help bridge the gap between the races.
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Apart from friends like Bill Ayers and Rev Wright his choice of people for high office seem to be tax cheats!!
He certainly is The One.
i think here the US got wht they really need……
i really thought to give him Vote but i m INDIAN….
BARACK OBAMA is “THE 1 MAN ARMY”
and as per his nature, behavior and according to his body language.(bcz i m expert)………. i can say tht he’ll do more than actually he said…..
he would like to say 1% and would like to DO 99%……….
and if possible i would like to choose him as india’s prime minister…..
Wow, very interesting and informative post. If I were a US citizen I’d also vote for this man. I think he’s exactly what the US needs.
Experience doesn’t mean a damn thing, 8 years is enough for me. He’s not just some random guy off the streets trying to be president. Both parties have a history of corruption and it is about time that we elect someone to be president that is actually intelligent and can understand economics and most importantly, is not out for personal gain and corruption. Obama is out to give everyone a chance and stop this greed problem that our gov’t has tricked us into believing is the way America just has to be. Its possible to stop suffering and fight corruption against the American people, we don’t have to just except it. For example, Health Care, All other forms of insurance, bank loans with variable rates that keeps you paying for years and all your paying on is interest, credit cards (same as bank loans).
Honestly, if people didn’t have stupid things like this to worry about like these things. The stock market would be doing much better because people would spend and more money would be getting put back into the economy verses putting more money in rich people’s pockets.
Its sad that Americans were so silly and allowed themselves to be put in this position. I’m glad I have more sense.
The Gov’t has been making bad desisions left and right, now we need someone that thinks things out instead of acting off first instinct. Most, younger Americans know that the first reaction in any situation isn’t always the smartest thing.
Its Time For a Change!!!!
I really like this man… He’s THE one!
Yes, this is an interesting article, but I question the relevance of some points. The fact that he is a first generation American, for example. I don’t see how this works for or against him as a candidate for president. Yes, his college credentials are impressive, but that hardly shows “experience”. 8 years in the state senate is a great start, but I would prefer more experience at the federal level in a president. I don’t find his religion to be relevant, and we are not electing his wife, so I maintain my stance on his lack of experience. Not that he shouldn’t or couldn’t get elected down the road, I just do not believe that his time is now.