Why I am not voting for Obama
Find a Conversation
| Fri, 10-24-2008 - 9:19pm |
http://www.studlife.com/forum/why_i_am_not_voting_for_obama
I am one of the few people on campus who does not have “Obama ’08” plastered all over my backpack. Shocking, I know. I am not a registered Democrat. If the election were today, I’d probably vote for John McCain. Here’s the real twist though—I’ve looked into the politics and still reached this conclusion.
As one of Barack Obama’s constituents, I’ve been rather disappointed with him. Call it selfish, but I remember Illinois electing a Senator and not a full-time presidential candidate. I know plenty of people in my state couldn’t care less, but there are many, like I, who are dissatisfied.
According to The Washington Post, Barack Obama has missed 294 votes in Senate. That is 45.8 percent of all the votes while he has been in Senate. While in the Illinois State Senate, he voted “present” nearly 130 times. This is our potential president, a man who has avoided making decisions his entire political career. I’m not sure about the rest of the electorate, but I have higher standards for the most powerful person in the United States. Yes, McCain has missed a large number of votes this cycle, but he has 20 years of voting records behind him. Obama was in senate for 143 DAYS before he began his campaign.
So what, pray tell, is Obama qualified for? He is charismatic. I’ll give him that. But the President is not a talking head; he is a decision-maker. Where does Obama stand? He campaigns on change, that’s all good and well, but when has he shown that?
Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem if people look into the issues, look into the facts and find that Obama is the candidate to hang their hat upon. My biggest problem is the large number of people who have not looked into those issues but have just joined the litany of voices. It is easy to get seduced into Obama’s rally cry of change, but the electorate needs to look at the facts and then make a decision. They shouldn’t just support Obama because it’s cool or they get a free T-shirt. Politics needs to extend beyond our limited university sphere.
In Eve Samborn’s column, “R.I.P. College Republicans” (Student Life, Sept. 19) she chastises the College Republicans for not being active on campus. Perhaps the reason the lone McCain and Bob Barr supporters have not made their voices heard is the same reason I don’t feel comfortable sharing my political views on campus or in class. There are many liberals on campus who are tolerant of everything and everyone EXCEPT the other side. If you don’t like Obama it’s because you are racist, intolerant and uneducated.
I’d like to think that’s not me, but that is how I am made to feel much of the time. This campus is resoundingly liberal and it is hard to challenge that. That being said, non-Democrats were involved in the voter registration. Just because it was a non-partisan event does not mean they are sitting back this election. It is hard to do much more on this campus without being attacked, but that’s tolerance for you.
While I agree that both tickets have their strengths and weaknesses, after looking into the politics and actions of both groups, I have to back McCain/Palin over Obama/Biden. In the intolerant atmosphere on this campus, this is not an easy stance.
We need to remember that opposing views strengthen our democracy and intolerance only weakens it. I am still keeping an open mind to all sides as we go into the debates. I hope everyone else will too, because that is what we owe our country.
That is how we get real change.


Pages
Okay, fair points which I disagree with but don't have time to get into now (by the way, how did McCain's state do all this time, and what effect do you think a Senator or a single state legislator should have?). But different ones from the thrust of the initial, now abandoned one. Let me help you recall: the poster trashed Obama for not showing up for more Senate votes while running for President. Again, putting aside the fact that the desired standard would prevent any Senator from effectively running for Prez, McCain showed up far less than Obama while he was running for Prez. So, to apply the stated standard to both candidates, McCain flunks far worse than Obama.
I asked the poster whether, now that these facts are established, the poster would fairly not vote for McCain because McCain flunks the poster's standard far worse than Obama. There was no answer. Apparently we are not talking about standards here. We are simply talking about making up partisan attacks to bash Obama.
Edited 10/26/2008 10:54 pm ET by soupyduck
Pages