Barack Obama for Me

I've been torn for several months. Looking at the total positions of the candidates, the top four I was in agreement with, in order of ranking, were:

1. Kucinich
2. Gravel
3. Obama
4. Edwards

Of them all, Edwards seemed to be the only one directly addressing an issue very critical to me -- the wealth gap and how it shreds society and undercuts democracy; the spread of poverty in America and how many men, women AND children are being left behind and thrown away.

I donated a few bucks to Edwards each month for about a year and kept rooting for him. I think he has helped keep that issue from being ignored, even while so many people want to ignore it.

Even more than Obama's win in Iowa, his victory speech won a lot of us over. As one commentator said, "He didn't speak as a presidential candidate; he spoke as a President." Maybe I don't agree with him about absolutely everything, as I do with Dennis Kucinich. [*] If we're looking for a President who can pull a divided country together again after all the polarizing effects of the last eight years -- including the war and the wealth gap -- I think Obama's our best hope in the bunch.

I guess this is my Dear John letter. I'm going with Obama.

And even though Edwards and Richardson are the next closest to me on the Political Compass, I think Joe Biden would be a better pick as VP. He has at least some foreign policy experience; although "experience" isn't all that Hillary tries to make it out to be. I'll pick someone who has succeeded over someone who has failed; I'll pick someone who has failed and learned from it over someone who has never tried; but I'll pick someone who has never tried over someone who has failed and NOT learned from it.

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More on Barack Obama's Political Positions

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* I may not agree with Dennis Kucinich about UFOs.

Dennis Kucinich Jumps the Shark

I agree with Andrew Sullivan (and not for the first time). Dennis Kucinich has jumped the shark.

I do not consider Dennis Kucinich's siting of a UFO to put him in La-La Land, but proposing to take Ron Paul as a running mate does. Close examination of evidence indicates that there are, indisputably, some Unidentified Flying Objects -- flying objects sighted that haven't been identified. Close examination of Ron Paul's statements indicates that he will sacrifice living individuals to the ideology of "individualism" any time they come in conflict.

Dennis, Ron Paul doesn't deserve your support.

And this will "balance the energies"??? Isn't the New Age dead yet?