If you were a republican (because of the abortion debate and the homosexual "rights" [privileges] debate, primarily), what selling points would you see to Obama, besides his abilities as an orator (Hitler was a great orator, too)? I would like to know what the hype is all about--maybe he is worth voting for (McCain certainly isn't).
My dad is a republican and thinks the only thing you have to worry about in a president is that he can fight wars. While it helps a great deal to have been in a war to know how to handle them, McCain said himself he's going to defer to general Patraeus. But that's not the real issue here. The issue is that a president needs to know how to manage people, know how and when to take direction and delegate to many people at once. All the while, s/he needs to make the country look good while doing so.
1. Presentation - Obama sounds damn good when he speaks. His sentences make sense and his presence demands attention and respect (in my opinion). In fact, that was one of the first things that struck me about him. He has a sense of candor about him that is refreshing, to say the least. I don't want to sicken you with what seems like a man crush, but in all seriousness, when was the last time someone took a president seriously?
2. Delegation - Obama himself said he's best at getting into a room where the people disagree and essentially organizing them all toward a common positive goal. That says he can handle different attitudes, motivate people and delegate duties in a multi-tasking environment.
3. Diplomacy - In order to preserve our freedoms (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), we need the rest of the world to respect us again. There was a time when, although we were still seen as dangerous by some highly-conservative nations, we still demanded a sense of respect. When negotiating with other leaders, we need a man who will demand respect and represent our country well. We need to get back on track.
4. Economy - I urge you to just glance over the Obama/Biden plan for the economy:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/I mean, not only does it come with a bunch of perks, but it's a solid plan for getting us out of this lurch and not to mention, within a reasonable amount of time, reducing our national debt.
5. Health Care - McCain, although I realize he's trying to win an election, says Obama's plan would increase the size of government and essentially give the government more control over our personal lives. Feel free to read the FAQ for their healthcare plan yourself (
here). Essentially, Bush lowered taxes for families earning $250,000+ and Obama wants to roll those back to pay for healthcare reform, mandatory coverage for children, lower costs for insurance and some other good stuff.
6. Energy/Freeing Ourselves From Oil Dependency - Dare to compare Obama's plan to McCain's. While they're somewhat similar on this issue, you'll see Obama wants to invest much more, much sooner than McCain does. Check out these bullet points:
# Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
# Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years
• Increase Fuel Economy Standards.
• Get 1 Million Plug-In Hybrid Cars on the Road by 2015.
• Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles.
• Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
• A “Use it or Lose It” Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases.
• Promote the Responsible Domestic Production of Oil and Natural Gas. Anyway, I'm in a food coma over here and I feel that I'm boring you in the future, so I'll stop for now but yeah, not just a good Orator but a better face for America. :]
Poll
