HuffPost Readers: You Write This Blog on Obama. Read How.

As McCain and Obama approach the finish line, I give you my blog to write why you'll vote for Obama.

Instead of posting a comment to my writing as you usually would, simply write your own thoughts on Obama and submit them. As the comments come in, you can forward them to friends and relatives in the swing states, or pass them around to inspire a victory that's strong and true.

My next blog will feature the 10 most interesting submissions.

Please keep your comments around 100 words or less. Have fun!

Comments

[tjshur]

I am Canadian and I support Barack Obama because I believe the United States of America is very important with regard to world affairs. For the last eight years we have seen America slip in their global standing. I find this very troubling considering the pertinent issues that are facing the world economy and world peace. The International Community along with the United States needs a dynamic, strong and respected leader to be at the helm of world’s most powerful nation. It is too risky to give this mandate to somebody like John McCain. From a global perspective John McCain is viewed as a continuation of the same, failed, George W. Bush policies which have emboldened our enemies, seen world poverty rise and fragmented the global community. It is so fundamentally important that Americans elect Barack Obama; not only does he have the respect of the international community, he is committed to showing the rest of the world that America respects them. George W. Bush has snubbed the global community through his agenda of unilateral decisions; something that will be continued through the policies of John McCain. People of America please make sure that you vote to elect the naturally endowed leader that is Barack Obama.

[scottmgoog]

I'm voting for Obama because I believe in the positive versus the negative. I believe in helping rather than pushing away, in getting along versus building walls, in diplomacy versus force, in securing versus attacking, in cooperation versus dominance, in protecting and sustaining instead of raping, in bringing together versus dividing. To me the Republican party has distilled into the very worst of what we can be. Obama appears to me as the opposite, my choice could not be more clear.

[simsteel]

I will vote for Obama not only because I feel he is our best hope at this time ,but because my 19 year old son{ who believed in Obama long before I did} cannot vote for him. A week after my son died a package arrived in the mail from the Obama campaign addressed to my late son. It contained a Barack Obama T shirt..Which he paid for in advance. The fact that my 19 year old son ,who didn't have much money, spent it to support this man was enough to convince me there must be something special there. And I will honor him by using my vote to carry out his wishes

[BellaPhilly]

I'm a registered Republican who is voting for Barack Obama.

I've been leaning this way for a while but my choice was cemented after the debates and Senator McCain's air quotes about "health of the mother". That cement fully hardened this week after hearing from Governor Palin that love of country is determined by place of residency.

When did my party decide that all of this was ok? When did we decide that the health of half of our citizenry was deserving of such rancor? When did we decide that your zip code was an indicator of your moral code? When did achieving an Ivy League education on scholarships become something to be derided?

My nephew wants to study archeology at Yale and has the grades to do so. Should I warn him that according to current Republican mantras, his ambition could make him too elite? Should I tell my own children to aim low because raising the bar makes you anti-American?

According to my party, I should. According to my conscience, I will not.

November 4th-Obama/Biden.

[aslinged]

Vote for Obama because: he might very well see genius in pulling the troops from Iraq and depositing them for 3 months of ass kicking on the face of genocide in Darfur. Then he might actually bring them home with glory, leaving Iraq with only it's will to decide how best to use its oil reserves and US realizing superpowers are passe.

Perhaps then America will start looking a little bit better in the world's eyes and we'll start feeling better about ourselves. With that restored confidence, maybe Obama will help us hold the mirror and see that as a nation, and as individuals we are falling on our faces in respect to every major crisis that looms on the horizon. It might be that Obama will be the first president since Carter to actually, finally, take tangible steps towards powering our nation down off the oil addiction.

Vote for Obama because: He might just be skilled and compassionate enough, like a caring interventionist, to force the American Way of Life to rear back a moment and behold its own trajectory. He might understand the concept of limits with regard to the earth and its resources and as well to corporate sponsored government.

Vote for Obama because: He might be the first President since Kennedy to care more about the country than himself, more about humans than party lines.

[js99]

I am registered as a Republican from Kansas. I've already voted for Senator Obama in early voting there.

My reason: competency.

[johnwinner]

The first 5 years of the '60s, dominated by Kennedy optimism and the Enlightmen­t-revivali­sm of the Civil Rights campaign and the anti-nuke, anti-war movement, and set free from the dark ages of Joe McCarthy - saw the opening of opportunity for a new America, the America that the Founders had really intended. However, the Viet Nam War closed that door. Most of the adults of the time scrambled left or right to find just the worst response to that situation imaginable. And those responses, form what now we cynically call politics in America. With the election of Obama, America says farewell to all that. We now have an opportunity to reclaim the hope of the early '60s. I don't believe Obama is another JFK - he's more in the tradition of FDR. Yet he does evoke a much deeper thinker from the early '60s, Martin Luther King, Jr. With the election of Obama, we say to history "Cynicism is wrong, Fatalism is wrong, Americans can make changes and move on!" We are not the affluent America of the 1960s; but we need not be the embittered America of the 1970s. We can at last reach beyond our divisions, our fantasies (religious or Utopian), our fears rages, and work together for an America that may yet realize its potentials for prosperity and for justice. We need to go beyond the dark ages John McCain represents and move on to a brighter future. With Barack Obama.

[ccwpmarcus]

I am going to vote for Barack Obama because I identify with him. I am a biracial child that didn’t grow up wealthy. I put myself through college, and am continuing my education. I take responsibility for my failures and share the credit for my successes. I know what it’s like to be the victim of racism from both sides of the fence. These things don’t make me an elitist, they help me stay humble. I understand what it’s like to be both poor and successful. I know what it takes to go from one and get to the other: education, time. Barack Obama understands that too.

His plans are not perfect he is not my messiah. I’d like to see more emphasis on early childhood education. I’d like to see more enthusiasm for Nuclear power. His plans are also not rigid. He values knowledge and trusts the facts.

It is the way he conducts himself that sways me more than any single position. I agree with him on most issues, but it’s his understanding and willingness to listen that win the day for me. At the end of the day his plans are investments in America. He understands that there’ll be no fast fixes.

Oh, and history is on his side. Every time taxes have increased on the rich, the country has righted itself and stabilized. It has always been good for business. When rich and business became synonymous I don’t know.

[smoovejef]

As a nation, we have lacked that archetypal figure that inspires us, gives us hope and lets us believe in the best of our country and ourselves. Someone with a sense of decency, integrity, vision and honor. Someone who could let us see that the words, 'We The People' give ordinary citizens an extraordinary voice. That takes a person who can transcend fear, ignorance and injustice; a person who makes us believe we can transform America back into that beacon of liberty. Over the past 18 months, we have seen Barack Obama ignite the flame of hope across lines of race, age and class for this country. Imagine how, with him as our president, he can change the world. It is time that we the people say in one voice, "We want peace, we want hope, we want change. That's why we want Barack Obama as President of the United States".

[Canuck27]

I think this guy is the real deal.

[onlyred]

I find myself energized and excited this election season for the first time in my 41 year old life. I know I am voting for someone who can do a good job, rather than just voting for the lesser of two evils. In Barack Obama, I believe we have a man who can provide the needed even-handed, fair, and calm guidance for this great country of ours. We have much to do in order to repair our friendships around the world, and Mr. Obama is the man for the job.

Obama/Biden 'O8!

[dolphin64]

To all the middle and lower income Americans(me included)

PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT ALL THE WEALTHY/FAMOUS PEOPLE - MOVIE STARS, ACADEMICS, MEDIA EXECUITVES, etc - ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DO MAKE MORE THAN $250,000 ARE SAYING

They say "VOTE BARACK OBAMA!!!"

This, despite the fact that they are the ones who are going to be hurt by Obama's proposed tax regimen while YOU will gain. Why, oh, why would they knowingly hurt their own pocket books? You think it's because they can "afford" to? Do you know a single rich person who is willing to give you a few bucks because they can afford it?

No. The real answer is that despite the seeming negatives, that if we elect Barack Obama and we hold him to follow through on his campaign commitments there is a slim chance that the whole country can come out alive and ahead - that in the end, this benefits everybody, including the rich and famous. If you can't believe in altruism, please, at least be able to accept common senseness of Obama's plan for America that many people have already understood.

It's up to you, now. To accept the fact that this is in fact a true pledge to help the middle class and thereby strengthen America's long term future or buy into the McCain/Palin "we'll give you some crumbs" policy of the past 8 years. Vote Obama; you'll be richer for it.

[Martha601]

Barack Obama has the ability, as we've seen, to unite people all over this country in a way not seen in decades. His rallies have become as culturally diverse as his family has always been. He has called the best out of this country with a chance to move ahead and leave some things from the past behind us, uniting on a common theme-love for our country and eachother. He swept into our lives unexpectedly and renewed a spirit in a lot of us who had all but given up on the hope for a better day in this country-a better way. He speaks to us in a way that makes us feel that he is not just speaking to us, but listening. His diverse family is a portrait of what America has struggled to become and the division it strives to overcome. Different races meshed together with a common goal and a common theme. He is the epitome of self-assured confidence with a great humility combined which is so hard to co-exist simultaneously in one person but has managed to find this balance so often sought. Coming from a strained financial background, he managed to find success in education, career, and family, an example of the American dream in front of our eyes.

He has shown us what it means to have integrity, even when it's difficult. Intelligent and composed, not at all impulsive or careless. This is why I am voting for Barack Obama.

[kauffmanr]

I am voting for Obama because I see in him the best that we can all become if we set aside our petty differences and reach for the world as it may be instead of leaving it as it is. Obama is also a community organizer just like me. We both care about the needs of our people and will fight to protect them. In exchange our communities provide the necessary life blood of a grassroots effort: the people! Obama has built the largest such movement in American history through the power of his integrity, leadership, oratory, intelligence and organizational skills. All of these things make him the ideal choice for President in 2008.

[wahooligan]

Other candidates ignored young voters because they weren't 'strategically reliable.' Barack defied that and invited us to be involved and take a stake in this election. Now that we have indeed become a force in this race, other candidates began courting us—acting as if they have been there all along.

Other candidates made the case for their experience—that they had all the answers to our problems. Barack deferred from that rallying cry. He let his record speak for itself, challenged voters to do their own homework, and issued a call for change. Now that change is the driving theme for this election—other candidates suddenly became 'candidates for change'—acting as if that was their driving conviction all along.

Barack challenges us to rescue ourselves from our great apathy. Barack Obama refuses to pander to our collective laziness, our desire to allow another—well-versed in the old ways of Washington—to overcome our great obstacles on our behalf. Instead, Barack challenges us to be active agents in the decision. His invitation, his challenge to take our destiny in our own hands is why I support Barack Obama.

So what will you do? Will you place your trust in a candidate that will march to victory on the back of your vote, only to leave you in the cold once that pinnacle is achieved? Or do you support the man that wants your vote, your trust, and your participation in securing our destiny beyond November 4?

For me, the decision is clear.