I've Decided....
I've decided.
My conclusion comes after reading the candidates' memoirs and campaign platforms, attending both party conventions, interviewing both men multiple times, and watching all primary and general-election debates.
John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I'm voting for a Democrat for president. I may have been an appointee in the George H.W. Bush administration, and master of ceremonies for George W. Bush in 2004, but last Saturday I stood amid the crowd at an Obama event in North Philadelphia.
Five considerations have moved me:
Terrorism. The candidates disagree as to where to prosecute the war against Islamic fundamentalists. Barack Obama is correct in saying the front line in that battle is not Iraq, it's the Afghan-Pakistan border. Osama bin Laden crossed that border from Tora Bora in December 2001, and we stopped pursuit. The Bush administration outsourced the hunt for bin Laden and instead invaded Iraq.
No one in Iraq caused the death of 3,000 Americans on 9/11. Our invasion was based on a false predicate, so we have no business being there, regardless of whether the surge is working. Our focus must be the tribal-ruled FATA region in Pakistan. Only recently has our military engaged al-Qaeda there in operations that mirror those Obama was ridiculed for recommending in August 2007.
Last spring, Obama told me: "It's not that I was opposed to war [in Iraq]. It's that I felt we had a war that we had not finished." Even Sen. Joe Lieberman conceded to me last Friday that "the headquarters of our opposition, our enemies today" is the FATA.
Economy. We face economic problems that are incomprehensible to most Americans, certainly they are to me. This is a time to covet intellect, and that begins at the top. Jack Bogle, the legendary founder of the Vanguard Group, told me recently that McCain's assertion that the fundamentals of the economy were "strong" was the "stupidest statement of 2008." In light of the unprecedented volatility in the market, who can dispute Bogle's characterization and the lack of understanding that McCain's assessment portends?
VP. I opined here that Sarah Palin demonstrated the capacity to be president in her speech to the Republican convention. Sadly, there has been no further exhibition of her abilities, and she remains an unknown quantity. We are left questioning the judgment of a candidate who bypassed his reported preferred choices, Lieberman and former Gov. Tom Ridge, and instead yielded to the whims of the periphery of his party. With two wars and a crumbling economy, Palin is too big of a risk to be a heartbeat away from a presidency held by a 72-year-old man who has battled melanoma. Advantage Joe Biden.
Opportunity. In a speech delivered on Father's Day, Obama lamented that too many fathers are missing from the lives of too many children and mothers. Look no further than Philadelphia for proof that the nation has a fatherhood problem at the root of its firearms crisis. And no demographic is affected by this confluence of factors like the black community. Among the many elements needed to address this crisis are role models, individuals whom urban youth can aspire to emulate. Little more than a year ago, Charles Barkley told me: "I want young black kids to see Barack on television every day. . . . We need to see more blacks who are intelligent, articulate, and who carry themselves with great dignity." Obama can be that man.
Hope. Wednesday morning will come and an Obama presidency holds the greatest chance for unifying us here at home and restoring our prestige around the globe. The campaigns have foretold the kind of presidency we can expect from each candidate. Last Friday in Lakeville, Minn., McCain himself had to explain to a supporter who was "scared" of an Obama presidency that those fears were unfounded. Another told McCain that Obama was untrustworthy because he is an "Arab." Those exchanges were a predictable byproduct of ads against Obama featuring tag lines such as "Too Risky for America" and "Dangerous," and a failure to rein in individuals at McCain events who highlighted Obama's middle name, all against a background of Internet lore.
Last Saturday at Progress Plaza, I heard Obama say: "The American people aren't looking for somebody to divide this country; the American people are looking for someone to lead this country."
This originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer
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Dear Smerc:
Better late than never, thank you. I hope that this is a go and that you'll keep your article close at hand and take a glance at it every now and then. Remember, our guy is walking into a big pile and is going to have to go in ther with waders on. He's going to need positive and uplifting reactions from guys like you and the rest of us. It's not going to be ok overnight, but with everyone pulling together, it's going to be ok. Thanks again.
Dear Mr. Smerconish,
Thank you for constantly reminding us on what's left of the original Republican Party in your radio program and on TV.
I have watched you with David Gregory many times....h
Thanks for sharing your thoughts/e
Obama-Biden'08
Mr. Smerconish, I watch you on MSNBC fairly often and have long been impressed by your intellectual prowess, your familiarity with current events and a persistent readiness to offer reasoned insights into a variety of political hot button issues.
I cannot tell you how much your honesty and thoughtfulness on this issue are appreciated. Not simply because you decided to vote for my candidate, but because yours was a decision that was obviously long in the making and not easily settled on. Your willingness to express your support of Barack Obama publicly is greatly admired, especially in view of the rash of bitter attacks against other Conservative journalists who have recently gone public with their support of Senator Obama.
Best of luck to you sir, and thank you.
I know conservatives. Unlike many Liberals, I even like conservatives and sincerely appreciate the good work they do. To make any sort of progress with the problems we have, we need both liberals and conservatives to work together; liberals to come up with the crazy ideas, and conservatives to help figure out which of those ideas will help move us forward. And come up with ideas of their own!
The current group calling themselves neo-cons are, in fact, just cons. They are radical right wingers, and do not represent the kind of conservative that has more than a narrow ideological view of the world. They have never put country first, because their ideology icomes before anything, and they have no view of the world uncolored by that filter. It wasn't that way with the real conservatives. Recall that it was Barry Golwater who was a major force in driving environmental legislation and Everett Dirksen who was cosponsor of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, both of which the Bush administration has worked to weaken.
Such people are properly called Reactionaries. Reactionaries are"cowardly conservatives" who fear any change. Conservatives, by definition, prefer slower or gradual change so as to allow society to adjust and function well. Republicans who vote for Obama, are not necessarily relinquishing their conservative values, they are repudiating the Reactionaries, who are not true conservatives.
Michael, don't you get to the poles and select the wrong candidate. I mean after 28 years, you might select the Republican out of habit. Ha, Ha
I am glad to hear that there are still truly independent individual thinkers out there that are willing to do what is right to help move this country in the right direction. PLEASE talk with some of your friends and encourage them to do the same.
Thank you for thinking clearly and choosing wisely. May many other republicans do the same.
Dear Michael.
Ya mean to tell me that you busted my chops for three years only to find what I was telling ya was indeed the truth in fact? What's up with that?
That said. and behind us, I hope you're aware Senator Obama is *NOT* going to be able to do anything alone, He will need our help, the real hard work is ahead of us, hope you're in for the long haul, welcome aboard, we can use a hand,
Agape, dapper
Dear Mike. You, Keith, Chris and Andrea ARE MSNBC. One thing that I've noticed recently is that Andrea looks a little drawn. I have noticed this since Tim Russerts death and now with this Wall Street fiasco all over the news she must be feeling a little uncomfortable being in the position that perhaps her husband could be named as one of the reasons for the troubles in our country. Nonetheless, be careful with her, she a great person and certainly doesn't deserve any kind of backlash or one moment of uncomfortabality over the state of affairs as they are.
Thank you for your confidence in the candidate that I too agree would be the best for this country. Take care of Andrea and let Keith know that it wouldn't be 8:00 without him. Luv Ya Much. D.
Mr. Smerconish,
I've watched you for months on MSNBC and what I've most appreciated about your analysis is that it has been impossible for me to tell which candidate you supported. When I heard you were a life-long Republican I was very surprised, because few are willing or able to be as objective as you have been about BOTH candidates. Like General Powell, your reasons for backing Obama are well thought out and explained, and I very much appreciate that. Fortunately, UNLIKE General Powell, Republicans who are not as objective as you are certainly cannot accuse you of only backing Obama because your both black. To me, this accusation is an insult to Powell. At any rate, thank you for looking at the candidates for who they are and what they offer, and not just backing the candidate of your party, no questions asked. I wish more Republicans AND Democrats would rate candidates for the person they are, not for the party they are in.
Thank you!
I have a picture taken in 2004 in Kennebunkport of me, standing in a spot you can envision, raising my hand and giving a middle-fingered salute to a particular landmark.
Reading this now, particularly the "touchy-feely" section on opportunity, brought tears to my eyes. It must infuriate the old guard to know that the new guy, born to a poor white woman but sporting a black face, is even further away from them than Hope, AR. But to me, living in New Orleans, knowing that the next President could indeed inspire so many children in a way never before seen...it just sounded like goodness and possibility. I feel inarticulate (or perhaps "ineloquent?") but I hope I said something meaningful.
This is a significant endorsement. For much of this year, when Smerc's been on "Race for the White House", he's made it pretty clear that he favored McCain. He gives compelling reasons for changing his views, and I'm sure he did not reach this decision lightly. Smerc is well-respected in Philadelphia and beyond, so this endorsement should help Obama solidify his lead in one of the most important states in our Union.
Here! Here! Let's hope post-election, MSNBC gives that time slot to him, if he's not already too busy. Ol' Stretch just doesn't do it for me. Maybe GOP by osmosis/proximity permeated his views. I don't hate him or anything, just rarely surprised by his takes.
Thanks Mr. Smerconish for your insight.
Welcome to the fold Michael.
How can delivering a speech written for you and playing to the audience and the camera qualify you to be president? Is the presidency an acting job?
You're so right! How does Palin think she's gonna to get away with that?
"They tell me what to do," Reagan once said in the hearing of White House press spokesman Larry Speakes. "Each morning I get a piece of paper that tells me what I do all day long." Speakes thought that in saying this Reagan was belittling himself and his office. But Don Regan came to see that, given the habits of a lifetime, the President regarded the schedule as "something like a shooting script" in which characters came and went and the plot was advanced one day at a time...
from Way Out There in the Blue, by Frances FitzGerald
Nice.
I must say I was stunned by this endorsement because I had read many of your columns during the primaries. Happy to see that someone who clearly has influence over many voters has laid out such a clear and concise argument for voting for Obama. It's very interesting to me to read the rationale many conservatives have given for voting Obama. Many times there are things I hadn't considered when making my decision to vote Obama. Reading views different from one's own is an important part of life. I hope we all continue in this tradition past the election.
One thing I disagree with you on however is that the crime wave in Philly is due to the absence of fathers. That may be one factor but there are so many others: drug use particulary meth, poverty, rampant gangs, lack of opportunity, easy availability of guns, economy hitting urban areas harder, public education system in Philadelphia is beyond broken and many, many others. Having a father around is important but not the determinant factor by far.
I'm no expert on this subject, but I think that Mr. Smerconish sees all the problems you mentioned as having some root causes.
Children abandoned by their fathers is certainly one major root cause of poverty, and poverty too often leads to all of the terrible outcomes you've listed.
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