Judging by the media frenzy and the smear campaign messages, any observer might be wondering if the United States electorate is trying to find out who is the most hate-able candidate. We have completely lost track of the fact that we are electing the next president and not trying to define who the loser of the election will be. I thought I would try to define what the main reasons are to vote, as I will, FOR Barack Obama.
1. Barack Obama inherited from the Bush administration the worst legacy of any president since World War II. Two unnecessary and costly wars, a financial crisis, an economic recession and a $10 trillion indebtedness. He got us out of the war in Iraq, is leading our exit from Afghanistan, solved the financial crisis and restored the economy.
2. He had to operate with a Republican opposition who did not intend to support any of its initiatives, breaking the mold of bipartisanship. Even when a bipartisan effort achieved some results on the U.S. public debt or financial regulation, the GOP would not support it in the House or the Senate.
3. He managed to narrowly get the votes to take care of the 40 million Americans who did not have health care coverage, something every decent country has extended to their population decades ago. Shamelessly the project was watered down and is still rejected by the opposition.
4. Barack Obama believes that the future of America means solidarity (not
socialism) between the poorest and the richest. GOP fallaciously pretended that taxes on the riches would affect employment, something that has scientifically proved wrong.
5. Barack Obama is attempting a re-balancing of the U.S. foreign policy between the Israeli extreme right (blindly followed by the Republicans) and the Arab countries to achieve a peace that the region badly needs to prosper.
6. Barack Obama got the most comprehensive reform of Wall Street since 1934, when selfish bankers transformed the industry into a casino while taking taxpayers as hostages, something the banks themselves should welcome while telling the GOP Wall Street candidate not to repel the Dodd Frank Act.
7. Barack Obama does not want to go to war for the sake of showing muscles or feeding the defense industry. He told the American people that our budgetary situation did not allow the United States to continue to conduct multiple wars and resisted Israel's push into a war with Iran that the rest of the world would not support.
8. Last but not least, Barack Obama respects women as independent partners of me, able to control their body and their fertility, whether the Vatican, the Mullahs or the Rabbis -- and their political allies -- like it or no. The first Lady is there to remind us every day that today's women need respect, and don't need male patronizing.
Barack Obama delivered. Of course he made mistakes, and could not deliver everything he would have liked to implement. It might have disappointed some of us on some issues: didn't we expect too much from our president? He has his heart in then right place: not in his wallet, but on the pulse of the American people, and especially the victims of our wars (the GOP turned down a bipartisan effort in favor of our Veterans), of our financial crisis (the homeless families, ripped off by the banks of their properties), of our selfishness.
He managed to do it with integrity, courage, patience and grace. He restored the moral leadership of the United States of America around the world, seriously undermined by the Bush wars. I eagerly look forward to four more years of an even stronger agenda based on the values that we all share.
He was, is and will be a great president.
Those are more reasons to vote for him than to vote against the despicable stance of the Republican party and Mitt Romney on values. Let's not get distracted by them and vote, positively, pasionately and joyously, for Barack Obama.