I put my support behind Barack Obama some time around November or December 2007. Something abstract about his nature has drawn me to him that I have been unable to identify. I feel inspired when I hear him speak, I feel confident that no matter what changing landscapes the next four years bring, he would be able to guide us through them as safely as possible.
I started to realize in the last few months that it has less to do with his political beliefs or his views on the various issues. While his views are solidly in the Democratic party’s side of the field, I have increasingly been realizing that I feel like that’s more of a intersection of values than it is loyalty to any particular party.
All this has been very intangible for me until I read the Week in Review in the newspaper this past Sunday morning. Week in Review is always my favorite part of the news paper, and not just because it’s the only part of the papers with comics; I appreciate the summary of the events. (I read it for the articles, not the pictures.) This week’s edition had a great summary of the candidates and the issues. It was when reading Obama’s summary that I finally realized why I have so much failth in his guidance:
Everyone contributes; silent lurkers will be interrogated. (He wants to “suck the room of every idea,” said Valerie Jarrett, a close adviser.) Mention a theory and Mr. Obama asks how it translates on the ground. He orchestrates debate, playing participants off each other — and then highlights their areas of agreement. He constantly restates others’ contributions in his own invariably more eloquent words. But when the session ends, his view can remain a mystery, and his ultimate call is sometimes a surprise to everyone who was present.
I think that leadership revolves around the guiding a team, as a group, to finding the best possible solution to a problem - not individual team members’ selfish desire to have their solution be chosen. Some people call this “working for the common good”, but I think that is too abstract. It is about selflessly finding the best way to approach a problem - which is exactly what Obama is doing in these meetings. He is mining for all the ideas and information and then using this judgement and leadership to steer the team in the right direction.
It is this leadership that I will be voting for on November 4th - not just his party or his voting record or his policies. It is knowing that he will be choosing the best solution regardless of where it comes from that makes me sure I am voting for what will surely become one of the greatest presidents of our time; afterall, the last president to show this style of leadership was Abraham Lincoln. And, when it comes down to it, I am confident that if the best idea comes from the Republican side of the house (unlikely!), he will not hessitate to support it.
Growing up, we used to do a lot of mountain biking in one of the state forests on Gull Lake. The season was not very long in Minnesota, since it was snowy until April or so, and hunting season started in November or October. We weren’t very afraid of bird hunters, but deer hunters scared the crap out of us. Something about mixing booze and giant guns never sat very well with us. Lets remember that this is a sport where wearing orange is your primary safety mechanism.
Hunting season is a lot like Election Season in the sense that, given Sarah Palin’s special intrests, I feel like putting on an orange jumper any time I turn on the television.
After the 2000 elections, I was devastated but blissfully unaware of how terrible a president could be. During the 2004 election, I wrote a song called Shadows and Rain as a critique of the Bush Administration. The song’s message is split between pre-election optimism of our country doing the right thing and post-election disappointment at having failed to do so.
So, do your duty as an American Citizen and vote. And remember: Obama supporters vote November 4th, McCain supporters vote November 5th.
Michelle just brought to my attention that my favoritest-ever congressional candidate is back! Goodspaceguy Nelsonis running for congress, again on the very sound platform that we should colonize space because this planet obviously isn’t going to hold all of us very much longer and is probably going to be blown up by an asteroid anyway.
I notice he’s made a few changes to his candidacy statement. Let’s review.
First of all, his photo is full-color now. As a man proposing we leverage our considerable technological skill to colonize space, I’m happy to see he noticed that computers support color images these days. Well done.
Second, he appears to be concerned with the three-fold increase in human population in the last hundred years.
Instead of starvation, genocide, and war, we should use nicer methods (such as the head tax and birth fees and study and work and social security) to decrease the number of people boarding Spaceship Earth. Goodspaceguy is pro choice on almost everything.
How could you ever disagree with someone who is pro-choice on “head tax”?
Thirdly, diplomacy is important in politics, and this guy’s got it in spades. Read this passage and think about how much better it sounds than “Get off the couch, you lazy, bottom-feeding Americans!”
Meanwhile on computerized Spaceship Earth, Goodspaceguy wants us to raise the quality-of-life by longevity research and by getting more people working, producing the goods and services that will make up our improving living standard and health. Let’s improve the incentive system. Let’s coax more people into productivity. Goodspaceguy wants safety-net employment of helpers. Goodspaceguy wants more people studying at our colleges during the underutilized evenings and weekends.
Well, Michelle and I are off to vote tonight, and you can sure as hell bet I’m voting for GoodSpaceGuy. This guy is a “Straight-Shooter” with “Upper Management” written all over him!
I know this comes a day late, but conservatives continue to amaze me. First of all, as I’m sure you’ve heard, they’re accusing Barack Obama of being unpatriotic because he stopped wearing his American flag pin.
I’m going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testament to my patriotism.
Well, it’s human nature to fear what you don’t understand, so it should come as no surprise that this outraged conservatives who don’t understand the concept of having your words and actions mean more than wearing a pin on your lapel while ordering U.S. Troops to their deaths. Scared shitless, they paint Obama as being unpatriotic.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the job Barack is applying for is not really a “good” job; I have a hard time imagining that anyone who runs for President is doing so because they think America is worse than, say, Kazblackistan.
But Obama isn’t the only one catching it from the conservatives. They’re also pissed at Google for commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Sputnik launch. Apparently, acknowledging actual events is also to be filed under “unpatriotic.” Never mind that Google is a technology company and that they are recognizing one of the most important scientific events of the twentieth century, one which heralded the Space Age and helped usher in an era of incredible technological advancement. No, Google is obviously run by a bunch of commies.
Conservatives argued that Google is unpatriotic because it honored the Sputnik launch, but not Memorial Day or Veterans Day:
It’s a kick to your belly. I understand these guys are scientists and engineers and they have their quirks…but why not celebrate the struggles that we’ve come through as a people?
To begin with, honoring the Sputnik launch celebrates what we’ve come through not just as Americans, but as a global society. Sputnik is a symbol of the Space Race and the Cold War, and Humankind as a group has grown tremendously due to it’s launch. And here’s another thing: Google is a company with an international presence and most of the rest of the world could give a shit about our military holidays, especially when we’re running around invading anyone who displeases us.
One key to good public speaking is to sprinkle in a few phrases that brings the topic back to something the listener can associate with. A good associative phrase gives the audience something they can sink their teeth into during the various complicated and insightful things being said which are no doubt confusing their inferior brains. It’s a good approach, and when properly executed can lead to a condition I refer to as “being awesome”.
Through a process of trial and error I have discovered that a key contributing factor to the effectiveness of such a phrase is whether or not it makes sense. This is why I strongly discourage George W. Bush from using this technique.
As I stated before, I am no fan of the early-morning press conference; today was no exception. The silver lining is that there is always something said that makes Michelle and I stop what we’re doing an look at each other in disbelief. Here are a few of my favorites from today’s speech:
Where are the Mandelas? Mandela’s dead.
I think he was going somewhere with this one, but it got lost due to his excitement over the fact that he said the word “Mandela” correctly - let alone that he said it twice. It’s hard to keep a shine on your boots when you kick that much ass.
You need to talk to economists. I think I got a B in Econ 101.
There is no way I believe he got a “B” in Econ. Besides, who is the President to comment on the economy? Those reporters were way out of line.
There is no question that there is some unsettling times in the housing market and credits associated with the housing market.
There is some unsettling times? If he got a “B” in Econ, what did he get in English? Do they give out something lower than “F”? I also find it terrifying that there are troubles in the housing market associated with the housing market.
All of us in America want there to be, you know, fairness when it comes to justice.
Fair Justice? Nah. That’s just an pipe dream.
To the extent that innocent life was lost, you know, I’m saddened
I do know. I’m stoked the president is saddened by the scandalous behavior of a giant American company to the extent that innocent life was lost.
Part of the reason why there’s not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein’s brutal rule.
I feel inspired when I hear him speak, I feel confident that no matter what changing landscapes the next four years bring, he would be able to guide us through them as safely as possible.
April or so, and hunting season started in November or October. We weren’t very afraid of bird hunters, but deer hunters scared the crap out of us. Something about mixing booze and giant guns never sat very well with us. Lets remember that this is a sport where wearing orange is your primary safety mechanism.
is running for congress, again on the very sound platform that we should colonize space because this planet obviously isn’t going to hold all of us very much longer and is probably going to be blown up by an asteroid anyway.
unpatriotic because he stopped wearing his American flag pin.
associate with. A good associative phrase gives the audience something they can sink their teeth into during the various complicated and insightful things being said which are no doubt confusing their inferior brains. It’s a good approach, and when properly executed can lead to a condition I refer to as “being awesome”.
