Electing Obama Would Show America's Greatness
You should not vote for Obama or McCain based on what it would prove to anyone else. Even if that someone else is our allies or our enemies. An Al Qaeda supporter recently endorsed John McCain on a known Al Qaeda website (how can we not find these guys -- how many computer terminals could there be in a cave in North Waziristan?). But who gives a damn who Al Qaeda wants you to support in their twisted mind?
And as much as I admire some of our strong allies in Western Europe or Israel or Saudi Arabia (okay, I don't really admire our allies in Saudi Arabia), I would never vote based on what they think. You should obviously make your decision based on the merits of each candidate's positions on the important issues.
Having said that, boy could we prove the rest of the world wrong (and ironically, make them happy at the same time) by electing Barack Obama? I can't tell you how many friends have called from overseas saying, "Come on, do you naïve people in America really believe Barack Obama is going to win?" One friend incredulously asked over the weekend, "Do you think there is any way that America elects a black man for president?!" Let alone one named Barack Obama?
They don't believe we have it in us. That's an important statement. They don't believe in America. They think we have fake ideals and use our purported American values as a guise to steal other people's natural resources. They think we are now -- and always have been -- run by the George W. Bush's of the world. They think John McCain is exactly that type of man and the powers that be are going to make sure he wins no matter what.
Think about that. They don't even quite believe in our democracy. So, there's one question remaining: Are we going to prove them right or wrong?
Will America be grand, majestic and real enough to elect Barack Hussein Obama seven years after 9/11 and five years after we invaded Iraq topple Saddam Hussein? Can America really be that open-minded? That magnificent?
Can we really judge someone by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin? Can we really elect a man with a Muslim sounding name in the middle of two wars we started in two Muslim countries? Can we put aside superficialities to elect the most competent man no matter what his name or race is? Are we big enough to do that?
Conservatives see this and recoil. His name must prove that he is not one of us. They view that as a reason to vote against him rather than a reason to vote for him (as I explained above, I don't think it's either). They are scared. They want to cling to the traditions, races and names of the past.
But America is better than that. The world is wrong. We always push for change and progress. We do mean what we say. Of course, we don't always live up to our best traditions (not even close), but we always push forward.
We built the United Nations. We rebuilt our enemies after World War II. We changed to give every person the right to vote. We changed to give every citizen civil rights. There are always blips along the way (some larger than others), but it is my contention that we do the right thing in the end.
Well, in this case, the end is seven days away. What will we do? Will we prove ourselves and our ideals? Or will we get scared and retreat to the past? The world is watching. Incredulously. They don't believe.
Will we make believers out of them?
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Another great blog from Cenk, this guy continues to produce amazing work time after time.
Cenk,
Nice.
You might want to edit it though.
George W. Bushes not George W. Bush's. Search for it. You'll see what I mean.
greatness? no, it will show some collective common sense. the rest of the world couldn't believe we didn't figure it out by 2004.
the other question to ask could be...what will the world think if Palin get's a heartbeat away from the presidency.
I dunno that it'll in itself show america's greatness, but it will go a long way to erase the stain of the past 8 years.
The Bush Presidency is going to have after effects that last long after he leaves office. The world saw the USA behaving in ways we thought we'd never see, and we many never have the same trust again.
Obama has clearly set the tone and rules for his campaign.
The one thing that hasn't been said by the Democrat party anywhere (I see it as a great campaign ad) is that if Obama had wanted to use a smear campaign about associates, ethics, ministers, he had ample ammo to work with for both McCain and Palin. (Keating Five, Alaska violation of ethics rules, McCain's minister's wild talk, Palin's husband's close affiliation with cessationist party and her own involvement, her witch-hunting minister, and on and on and on...)
The decency to stay honorable despite vile attacks and mudslinging, doesn't seem to be much noticed about him. But I noticed.
My friends have been saying the exact same thing and i can only hope we elect barack obama for presidency of the united states.
It will send a HUGE msg across the world.
Im nervous tho. this coutnry elected buch 2x. some ppl are stupid in this country..its the truth america has to face the truth. we have been stupid to elect someone 2x bc we can see ourselves havinga drink with them. its pathetic. the world has serious problems and it takes serious ppl to solve them and the only person who can do that right no is BARACK OBAMA
Democrats VOTE... do not become compalcent.
I am totally confused here. Does anyone really believe that Obama would be here if he wasn't a black man? Would we really have voted for a white, junior senator from Illinois to be the democratic presidential nominee. I wonder who the real racists are here. I think that mob mentality has taken over. We are about to elect THE most underqualified person to ever run for the highest office in our land because he is black. We have all lost our minds.
Someone has lost his mind, but it ain't us. The most unqualified person to ever run? That is your opinion, not a fact. A fact would require proof based on some measure of qualifications. What is your operational definition of "qualified" and where is your chart showing a comparison of Obama with EVERY OTHER person who has ever run for the highest office? Just because you say it's true doesn't mean it is true.
And you think that America, the United States of America, is going to elect someone BECAUSE they are black? Really? Based on our history, it is much more likely that we will elect him DESPITE the fact that he is multi-racial. What this election is about is ideas and governing philosophy. We have seen what the repubs have wrought and we don't like it. We want something new and Obama represents a new way.
you are the only one whos lost their mind. Anyone with Obama's speech making ability would be getting huge amounts of support. Regardless of whether you think that is a qualification, it gets peoples attention. Not to mention he was the ONLY candidate on the democratic side who spoke out against the Iraq war from the beginning.
A white junior sentator from Illinois with the eloquence, message, and organization of Senator Obama would have trounced John McCain before the economy did.
Matter of fact, he'd likely have trounced Hilary Clinton too.
You know Senator Obama has mass gravitas.........when Senator Biden's blunders are nothing more than a little dirt on his shoulder...........Obama 08
It took a bunch of lame politicians to ground are gravitas.....it only takes one exellent one to fix it................Obama 08
Excellent ! My spouse has been saying the same thing for months, Cenk !!
Yes we will! And screw the cynics and conservative trolls, they just enable and encourage (directly or indirectly) more disastrous policies.
As Winston Churchill said: "The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative."
I sure do hate it.
Obama is still exhausting other possibilities.
For example of war the right thing would be to obey the UN law. Obama won't do that; he will try more of the same aggression and bombing.
On health care the right thing would be socialised health care like everywhere else has, but Obama uses the word "socialism" as a curse word.
I believe a great majority of conservatives are uneasy simply because they don't like losing ownership that was never theirs to begin with, no matter how high the rent they paid. It was not a "rent-to-own" document. That rental property has expanded and now we have the opportunity to advertise that if you have the proper credentials, no matter the color of your skin, your religious affiliation or your cultural background, not only can you can participate, but you have the opportunity for the biggest room in the house.
We are on the brink of something big....let's hope it comes to fruition.
"But America is better than that. The world is wrong. We always push for change and progress. We do mean what we say. Of course, we don't always live up to our best traditions (not even close), but we always push forward."
Hmmm. You're much more forgiving that I. Yes, the world is wrong, but "we don't always live up to our best traditions" is a severe understatement. I mean, we have millions who watched Dubya dismantle the constitution and put torture forth as a valid means of collecting "information" and they voted for him a second time!!!!! That's not even "our traditions". That's the Soviets' traditions!
That vote nearly broke my faith in this country...but after about 2 weeks of dragging my tongue around in disbelief, the epiphany; give them what they want. His second term can only be worse. That means 2008 will be a cake-walk!! Well, we're trying to elect a black man with a foreign sounding name, so it's no real cake-walk, but he will win exactly because of that 2004 vote. So the smile returns....
i keep reading and hearing that the global economic crisis is a crisis of investor perception and lack of confidence ---
if this is true, then we should see a healthy market rebound and recovery response after obama wins on nov 4 and again following the inauguration on jan 20, 2009
Your joking right?
If I want to invest in the stock market why would I do it when BO want to raise the capital gains tax from 15% to 30%?
I would have to be stupid to invest in something that is going to punish me when I make money.
You don't make that money in a vacuum. And if you have the ability to make capital gains you should count yourself fortunate that you live in a society that allows and encourages you to exercise that ability. Now be a patriot, pay your taxes, and kwitcherwhinin'.
so what you're saying is that if you have an opportunity to make $100 dollars gain from an investment you will forego because you will net $70 instead of $85. Hmmmm!!!
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