Obama finally won North Carolina in a blow out! Congratulations to the Senator from Illinois. Obama and his staff are celebrating their strong victory in Edwards’ home state, where Bill Clinton campaigned heavily for his wife in the past 12 days. The ball is now in Hillary’s court. She must decide whether it is worth to stay or leave gracefully. She is running very low on cash, almost none since she has been loaning money from her own pocket to her own campaign, and her fund raising prospects do not seem all too well.
But the reason I decided to write this piece was not to speculate about Clinton’s decision. I want to know about Obama. I want to know what YOU think about Obama. And this goes out to all those Obama supporters who happen to love their candidate passionatly. What do YOU see in Obama? What has he done that makes him a better candidate than McCain or Clinton or Romney? Has Obama ever sponsored a major piece of legislation? What are his accomplishments in the US Senate? I know all too well about his charisma and his message of change, but I need to know if the man has been part of anything SIGNIFICANT besides campaigning?
What makes Obama a better Commander in Chief than Sen. John McCain?
-ArashA
6 comments
In my opinion and many others, him opposing the Iraq war from the start, a war now largely discredited and opposed by a vast majority of the American people, when most of the other members of Congress endorsed it, shows courage and integrity.
For me, this is the central issue that differentiates him from the other mainstream candidates.
Also, the fact that his campaign has been fueled by the people and not by corporate money also says something… that he knows where his priorities are.
What about you? Who do you support and why?
I have numerous problems with Obama. He is unwavering in his support for Israel, never mentioning the atrocities they have caused. His plans are not 100% clear and it seems like he keeps them pretty vague on purposely. He is against Iran becoming a nuclear power, not talking about what the Iranian people deserve in terms of technology in their country. His slogan of hope is great, but actions speak louder than words.
Having said all that, he is the best candidate of all the remaining ones. Ralph Nader could be a great candidate, but America’s election system is too f’ed up at the moment to make a third-party candidate’s nomination a reality. So all that remain really are Hillary, Obama, and McCain.
Just focusing on Iran for a second, its pretty obvious who the right candidate is. McCain is in the Bush camp, and happily so. He sees Iran as evil and would not hesitate to start a war just as Bush didn’t hesitate with Iraq. He wants us to be in Iraq for 100 years, if thats what it takes to “Win”. He has no respect for the people of that region, and wants to impose American-style democracy on the Middle East as if its the gospel truth.
Hillary’s foreign policy on Iran is also a closed book. She has already threatened Iran with her ‘obliterate’ comment, making her foreign policy credibility go down the drain. She’s in bed with too many special interests to be able to achieve anything positive in the Middle East. Many associate her with her husbands “good” foreign policy of the 90s, but they forget how bad Clinton’s foreign policy actually was as well. He’s the one that increased US Sanctions on Iran, and also imposed sanction on Iraq, starving millions of innocent people. Although Clinton’s foreign policy was fundamentally better than Bush’s, I don’t have hope for it to be a success, nor to win hearts and minds.
With Obama, there is at least hope. Hope that he will realize what needs to get done so that the America the whole world sees is not arrogant and imposing, but benevolent and respectful. This is the real America that most of us living here see. Obama may just be able to show the world that side of this country, and strengthen it so to good Americans keep the power.
As for Obama’s voting record, check out the links below:
Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills in the 109th and 110th Congress.
Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 15 bills that have become LAW since he joined the Senate in 2005.
Senator Obama has also introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted by the Senate.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/21/164117/783/290/461422
Obama passed law requiring interrogations to be taped.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303.html
Obama Wants To Close KBR Tax Loophole
http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2008/03/democrats_want_to_close_kbr_ta_1.html
Eiman, you points are valid. I think it’s also prudent to point out that Obama is willing to speak with the Iranian government and talk w them without any conditions. That shows that he’s committed to solving major issues through dialogue and diplomacy. But yes, I’m not going to lie, his solid support for Israel is definitely a black mark on his record in my books
Let’s not say he supports Israel. He supports certain interest groups that promote a war mongering agenda. Probably a bad thing for most people in Israel.