NOTE: This blog is not considered as an endorsement or opposition, it is only informative based on my observations, the facts stated below are for you to decide for yourself.
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This is the second of 2-part blogs about the two primary national candidates for the office of the President of the United States. On Monday, John McCain was the first subject. Now, the subject is Barack H. Obama, the Democratic candidate for President. As a republican and conservative, going for a good Democratic candidate is a very tough case for me, unless he’s Charlie Wilson (sorely needed in the current Democratic Party). I’d made that mistake voting Democratic twice before (never again, unless the candidate is a very compelling American patriot, like Charlie). Having said that, Barack Obama is the first black candidate in the American history to gain a national party nomination to become the next U.S. President, especially he bested his toughest opponent in the Democratic primaries: Hillary Clinton. I would not say Obama is a different sort of a Democratic candidate, but he’s an unique case for American history. He represents the future which America can get past the color of skin or race of a minority candidate on the national level and concentrate on his ideas and visions of the 21st century America (someday, there will be a female President as well). He offers hopes and dreams to those who look up to him. There are Americans who are inspired and emboldened by what he stands for and what he represents. Yet, there are Americans who remains deeply skeptical or have serious reservations about him. Yes, there are some Americans who believed that Obama is the AntiChrist revealed. Moving along, folks.
Starting with the PROS of Obama (note – these are my impressions of Obama based on past reports):
Bright and assertive: he comes across as bright and assertive, like he was when he made his first national appearance with a speech at the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2004. In the debates, he came off as very assertive against other Democratic candidates and certainly proved his mantle among his better Democratic peers. If elected President, Obama’s assertiveness might do him an important service or not (if he did not address his prone to making gaffes).
Amiable but cautious: watching him in the news getting engaged with the people, the press, his peers and his critics, he is certainly amiable but he maintains a cautious approach with them. I think his inexperience in running his first major Presidential campaign is pretty daunting for him. Therefore, it is reasonable that he has to be that way: so much stakes are riding upon him and he cannot blow this historic opportunity.
Energetic: his youthfulness, masculinity and vigor appealed to a lot of young Americans, especially women. Although, he was born within the final years of the baby boom generation, Obama have attracted the majority of Generation X and successive generations who generally identified their politics and visions with that of Obama’s than the baby-boomers who identified with Reagan, Bush (the elder) and Clinton. These generations grew up with the ending of the Cold War, the globalization issues and the Internet. A youthful, energetic and idealistic candidate like Obama have a certain appeal to these younger generations.
Strongly familiar with the social, economic and health care issues affecting everyone but the wealthy: Obama’s familiarity with these issues are buoyed being a part of the powerful Democratic Party machine which have long championed these social causes for the people for decades. His social, religious and academic upbringing played a key role in shaping his views regarding the poor, the less fortune and the oppressed. His involvements with the legal and community organizations entrenched his beliefs for a more equitable, just and open society in America.
Flexible and attentive to important issues and needs: see above.
On the U.S. economy, Obama, unlike McCain, recognizes there are serious problems and plenty of opportunities with it. He does seem to be the person who would tinker and transform the U.S. economy into something more akin to the economies of the European Union, perhaps in an apparent belief to level the playing field in this age of globalization, free trades, new market forces and the Internet. He knows that a lot of Americans are worried and apprehensive about the current state of the U.S. economy, given with the rising gas prices, high food and living costs that could deplete their accounts sooner than later, risking a Depression in the process. History may be repeating here and Obama could be the 21st century’s Franklin D. Roosevelt, crafting a newer New Deal for America.
His best asset is his own kindling personality and natural, idealistic appeal in the eyes of Americans, regardless of their politics and beliefs.
And now for the CONS of Obama(!):
Easily annoyed: “Can I just eat my waffle?” ‘Nuff said.
Inexperience in diplomatic and geopolitical affairs: Despite having the Big Z as his foreign policy adviser, Obama’s inexperience in U.S. diplomacy with other countries troubled both conservatives and foreign policy experts. He calls for direct, disciplined diplomacy with countries historically hostile to the United States: Iran, North Korea, Cuba, even Venezuela (thanks to Chavez), etc. With preconditions. Obama doesn’t realize that in the affair of geopolitics, one country’s own interests is much more important than any other country and will do anything to advance its own interests. Which is true for almost every country in the world. He needed to be schooled by Reagan’s foreign policy approach, which may benefit him better than his Presidential predecessors after Reagan.
Indifferent to the US military and national security: For the past few months, his attitude and lack of genuine interests in the US military and national security are very alarming and disturbing. Does he possesses a general Democratic attitude toward the U.S. military like I’ve seen from other Democrats, doing everything to undermine the military’s abilities to fight those who would harm or kill American lives and interests or does he have an absolute contempt toward the very institution that protect and serve the United States of America since the American war for independence in the late 18th century? Veterans rooting and voting for Obama should pay close attention to him about the military and national security issues and should not be re-assured by Obama’s dualistic logic.
Think the US should heed the world’s demands and restrict its “hegemonic, imperialist” policies: Obama, if elected President, would revert everything that President Bush have done in the last 8 years in the name of international solidarity and harmony with the world and the United Nations. Which mean Obama may rather let the US to suffer terrorism in the country than to let the US fight terrorism overseas and expect the world to do their parts to help out. Particulary troublesome.
Attracting peoples and groups too far left, too racist, too elitist and too radical for mainstreamed (and still conservative) America: Pay very close to the best anti-idiotarian, anti-Islamist blog on the Internet: LittleGreenFootballs. The efforts of Charles Johnson in exposing the serious problems of Obama’s campaign website, which Obama’s website have been allowing the vilest anti-semitic, anti-American or intellectually-dishonest blogs to manifest en masse since Obama defeated Clinton for good. Yid with Lid, a Jewish American blogger, is doing a nice job tracking Obama’s pretension with Israel and Debbie Schlussel‘s hit on Obama’s ambivalent association with Nation of Islam and Islamist organizations. Obama may have a lot of appeals to young, naive Americans but he’s also attracting the worst sort of anti-American peoples, racists and groups under the assumption that Obama’s the Messiah of some kind. Ugh.
The dangers of Obamanomics: raise more taxes to spend on porks, programs and endowments that doesn’t really benefit the United States in the matters of geopolitical, national security and military issues. The HumanEvents.com has a nice blog about the disturbed plans of Obamanomics. Beware!
His wife, Michelle Obama could be the second coming of Hillary Clinton, circa 1993 and onward. Ruh-roh.
Worst part about Obama: he won’t release his birth certificate publicly. Also, he could be holding dual citizenships with the United States and Kenya. He’s been avoiding the scrutiny about him being born a Muslim and not acknowledging the risk of being an apostate from Islam. *tsk-tsk-tsk*
So that is all the pros and cons of Barack Obama, the junior Senator from Illinois and possibly the next President of the United States. He does have certain natural and political appeals that may be refreshingly different than that of Bush’s, but his association with the worst, most anti-American fringe kinds are particularly disturbing and his stance on the military/national security gravely concerning. It’s like having the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing for it. Learn the facts, not resort to blind confidence in him.
Only you decide whether he should be the 44th President or not between now and Nov. 4th.
