Verily
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E: 1.81, S: -6.78
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« on: January 28, 2008, 08:14:10 PM » |
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I support Barack Obama.
I support Barack Obama because he has been the only candidate consistent on the issue of ethics reform. He has proposed powerful legislation in the Senate, working together with prominent anti-corruption Republicans (I may dislike Tom Coburn, but he does have something going for him), which would substantially increase the level of oversight in American politics and reduce earmarking to the extremely rare process it was two decades ago. As President, he would be able to set the agenda for Congress and work with reformists in Congress to craft legislation; as we have seen in the Bush Presidency, Presidents have far greater powers of pressure and persuasion than Senators, even when Senators can vote on bills while Presidents cannot.
I support Barack Obama because he has proposed the only rational foreign policy approach, to use war only a last resort and only against nations and organizations which are true threats to American security. He stands against excessive ties with the Israeli government, the Saudi government, the Pakistani government, and others, and he was willing to speak against our support of Musharraf's regime long before the Johnny-come-latelies of the current day. Obama possesses a distinct understanding of foreign policy that no other candidate possesses (though Bill Richardson does), stemming from a willingness, so rare in American politics, to see the ramifications of our actions from a foreigner's, as well as American's, point of view.
Those are the two primary reasons I support Barack Obama, and I see a distinct difference from John Edwards on both. Edwards does not act, he reacts. He is angry about Iraq now, but he does not have a foreign policy plan or vision for the future. He is angry about corruption now, but he did nothing when he had the opportunity to oppose it in the Senate, and nor does he have any legislative ideas to pursue regarding it in the future.
(There are also issues of rhetoric and economics I disagree with Edwards on, but they are less important.)
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