To twist a line we often use on Chattarati, this post is not satire.
First, this was not an easy choice. There are numerous policy areas where I part ways with Senator Obama, as there are with Senator McCain. Rather than hashing through all those disagreements like some sort of legal disclaimer, I’ll jump in to the reasons why I chose to vote for Obama.
Where Do I Go From Here?
Up until the last few days I was one of the mysterious “undecided,” perhaps because of my strong support of Ron Paul during the primary season. Throughout the campaign, I’ve obsessively followed the candidates and the unceasing news coverage. Does that mean I’ve bought into the hype that it’s the most important election in history? Not quite, but as Bono recently said, regardless of who wins, the new President has “a great chance to relaunch Brand USA.” Oh admit it, you’ve really missed hearing me quote Bono. Regardless, his point is relevant to my choice.
Let me be clear that I also reject any type of messianic vision of Obama. He’s just a man. However, he is also a remarkable and exceptional man in many ways (including some which can only be attributed to God or fate — your pick). The poster below should be moving for every American, regardless of political affiliation:
Exceptionalism
It is not merely, however, his American Dream story that makes him exceptional. A true intellectual in the best sense of the word, Barack Obama is highly intelligent, curious and thoughtfully deliberate. If you haven’t read about his time as a law professor at the University of Chicago, you should. It gave me a great deal of insight into how he approaches different sides of an issue and engages with differing viewpoints. Even better, Obama speaks to us as grownups, capable of understanding subtlety and nuance. It sometimes made for less than stellar debate moments, but I appreciated it anyway.
There’s a stark contrast here with not only the administration of George W. Bush, but also with the McCain/Palin ticket, which is practically campaigning on anti-intellectualism at this point. (That is, when their campaign is not completely in the mud, as it has also been of late.) I asked myself, what message would my vote send to my daughters? Should I one day tell my two bright girls that their intelligence is something to be ashamed of or that they need not strive for excellence?
Foreign Policy
Continuing on the theme of relaunching Brand USA (and you know I do love branding), the foreign policy approaches of Obama and McCain played a key role in my decision. Simply put, I believe Barack Obama will prove a more skilled diplomat and will preside over a more reasoned, thoughtful approach to foreign relations than would John McCain. And to return for a moment to his biography, the simple act of electing Obama will have a dramatic impact on how the world perceives our nation. In a globalized economy, the strength of Brand USA matters.
A Broader Christian Ethic
I recently mentioned reading N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope which, like Jim Wallis’s God’s Politics, has helped give voice to my frustration with the typical ways that conservative Christians merge their faith and politics. I remain strongly pro-life, but I am not a one-issue voter. My concerns about life include unborn lives, the lives of the hungry and homeless and the those of soldiers sent to a war in Iraq that I have yet to be convinced is justified or necessary, as well as the stewardship of the environment and a host of other justice issues. (Please hear this: I have the upmost respect for our troops; I simply disagree with the joint decision of President Bush and Congress to go to war in Iraq.) Am I saying every Christian who shares these concerns should vote for a liberal instead of a conservative? Not necessarily. God is not a Republican or a Democrat or a Libertarian (well, maybe a Libertarian). In this particular election, I feel that Obama best represents these broader set of values.
Paging Dr. Dobson: You Don’t Speak for Me
Furthermore, a vote for Obama is a conscious rejection of the idea that the Republican party owns evangelical voters because the GOP makes a lot of noise on one or two specific issues.
Wearing My Influences on My Sleeve
These are a few of the reasons I chose to vote for Senator Barack Obama. If you’re curious, here are a few articles that give insight into my choice:
- Andrew Sullivan: Top Ten Reasons Conservatives Should Support Obama
- Frank Schaeffer: Why I’m Pro-Life and Pro-Obama
- Jim Wallis: James Dobson’s ‘Letter From 2012 in Obama’s America’
- Colin Powell’s Endorsement of Barack Obama
- The Economist’s Endorsement of Barack Obama
Whether you agree with my choice or not, I hope you’ll vote make this post the beginning of a respectful conversation and I hope you’ll vote.
8 comments ↓
Thanks for this post, John. As a Christian with strong pro-life views I’ve found myself torn. But, I think you’ve summed up my reasoning for voting for Obama very well. I hope all of my Christian friends read this.
I appreciate your well thought out position, agreeing with most of your take on the candidates available to us and the historical situation we find ourselves in.
I concur that Dobson and the like do not speak for me and would argue that such endorsements likely push more votes away than draw in - to me the era of the overarching public moral figurehead has passed.
I made a conscious decision this year to read up on all of the primary candidates regardless of party. I’ve read their legislative history and their policies – especially those “before” they took to active campaigning for the presidency. In all of this McCain was not my first choice but his track record moved him several steps above Obama. A very well designed and in worded poster does tug at me but does not dissuade me from my assessment. An assessment that Obama does not and would not govern from a like-minded world view.
Because of the way we’ve let our election process metastasize I’ve taken the posture of a cynical optimist. Cynical because I see little motivation or character within those running for office that I can empathize with and optimist because my faith moves me beyond nihilism. My hope for years has been that our nation would do well in spite of who are leaders are. Whoever wins this election, that will still be my hope.
Whatever governing reality we find ourselves under come Wednesday morning I would hope the fans of the candidate of their choice would see themselves outside of winning or loosing teams. The divisive culture we’ve been propagating (more so through blogs) has to end. We cannot endure a society of us versus them forever without further alienating ourselves from one another.
Peace.
Congratulations on your decision and thank you for voting.
John,
I agree with your decision. I thought about all of the points that you mentioned in you post and am inspired that there are people like you who have taken the civic responsibility for staying informed about the issues concerning our government.
Let me just note on one key issue here that irritates me with Republican politics and the evangelical vote. What did the Republican party do about legislation concerning abortion for four years when they controlled the white house, congress, and the senate? What did they do previously during the Reagan years and Bush I years? The way I see it is that the overturning of Roe vs. Wade is to Republicans as gun control is to Democrats. Both are not going to happen so easily no matter who has a majority.
I think that politics should start locally and work its way up. What we do as neighbors and communities determine the immediate reality of the world that we live in, not voting blindly with our party affiliations or party driven talking points.
a well-written post (which has already been forwarded around quite a bit on my end)
rather than WHO you voted for, i’m actually more excited about HOW you got there. your vote means more when it is THOUGHT out rationally (regardless of who you cast your vote for), rather than getting swept up in all of the other distracting factors in this election (media, marketing, stump speeches, and talking point). the decline of our society is not based on what we do, but what we don’t do (think).
congrats, and kudos to you
While I will not be voting similarly, I understand how you got there and am impressed at what you said about abortion. I’d never thought of it that way. However, I don’t agree that Obama is going to be any better than McCain for the lives of the “hungry and homeless and the those of soldiers sent to a war in Iraq”.
I don’t believe the war in Iraq is justified, but I also know that we started that war and it’s not like chess… we can’t say “I didn’t take my finger off” and call back our troops like nothing happened. If the war in Iraq was unjust, as we both believe, then it’s all the more reason we need to stay. We need to fix what we screwed up instead of destroying their government and putting their whole country into civil war and leaving them there to crumble. Anyway, that’s a topic for another time.
I did want to comment on this:
“What did the Republican party do about legislation concerning abortion for four years when they controlled the white house, congress, and the senate? What did they do previously during the Reagan years and Bush I years?”
The issue is not necessarily overturning Roe v. Wade (though that would be great), it’s the fact that Obama has said, as one of his first acts upon being elected, he will pass the freedom of choice act which will lift ALL previous restrictions on abortion. I don’t speak for the rest of my conservative/republican constituents, but THAT is what I’m trying to avoid.
Again, good job on voting. I may not be going the same direction, and McCain may not get elected, but the Bible says that all rulers are appointed by God. McCain, of course, has my support, but If Obama is elected, he also has it.
Cheers!
I am glad that I read this post, it is a well written post
Thanks for the great feedback, everyone!
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