During the final presidential debate, Sen. John McCain sat in a clenched, desperate ball of red fury. He accused his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, of everything from having terrorists as friends to voter fraud.
Obama kept cool. He calmly explained his position, refrained from sarcastic quips, and tried to bring it back to the issues—the economy, the war, healthcare. He acted like a leader.
Some say he plays it too cool. Yet, after eight years of the hotheaded Bush Administration, America could use a little coolness; someone who will take a measured approach to dealing with our country’s and the world’s difficult issues. Obama understands that isolation leads nowhere, especially in a global community.
We like that Barack Obama was against invading Iraq from the start. What he says about health insurance, responsibly ending the war in Iraq, taxes, creating green collar jobs and reviving the economy resonates with us. And we like the way he says it: He speaks not in political rhetoric, but with a thoughtful eloquence Americans haven’t heard in a long time. His style and the way he listens to people is going to make him the kind of leader others will feel they can work with and respect.
The Democrats’ claim that McCain voted with Bush 95 percent of the time is true, according to Factcheck.org and the Congressional Quarterly’s voting analysis. McCain’s years of experience have shown that he will continue to lead America down a faulty course.
Then there’s the frightening possibility of “President Palin.” McCain’s chances of surviving four more years, let alone eight, are statistically slim. When McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, he was irresponsible and showed poor judgment. No matter how cute she looked on Saturday Night Live, Palin thinks humans didn’t cause climate change, she’s against a woman’s right to choose and made rape victims in Alaska pay for their own rape kits. She supports the aerial culling of wolves, helped further the development of an open pit mine next to one of Alaska’s most productive salmon watersheds, and sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. She also abused her power when she led a campaign to have her former brother in-law, a state trooper, fired. While she self identifies as a “working class hockey mom,” she has a net worth of about $1.25 million and has owned roughly 40 registered motorized vehicles—including 17 snowmobiles and a plane—in the past 20 years. Her careless, gross ineptitude in her interviews with Katie Couric made it disturbingly clear that she is not prepared for the role of vice president, much less president.
Obama may not be able to carry out every promise he’s made in this election—the economic crisis jeopardized that. Ending the war, cutting greenhouse gases, increasing jobs, improving education and healthcare will cost money we’re told we don’t have. But he will move those processes forward.
If the president represents America, what face do we want to present to the world? A grimacing, out-of-touch war hawk with a volcanic temper who may not live through a full term? Or a young, vibrant, capable, intelligent force whose life and ideas better represent what America is today and where it’s going? We want to be proud of America again. Barack Obama will help get us there.