I don’t live in Illinois and thus have never had the honor of voting for Barack Obama, but I’ve never been as refreshed by a leader as I am by him. He sets himself apart by truly trying to appeal to everyone just by being himself and staying grounded in the love of his family and in his faith. Perhaps a religious democrat will do a better job unifying the nation than other leaders who have tried recently. There are myriad reasons why I like Senator Obama, and here are most of them.
Why I would vote for Barack Obama, in no particular order:
- He concentrates on what he would do, what he stands for, how to unite the parties and the country, and doesn’t spend time slandering his opponents or the other parties.
- He is a strong person with a strong personality and a family support system.
- He seems to care about people, not power or attention.
- He keeps talking about educating our kids and keeping the country healthy.
- He refers to hope for the future. Aiming high and being hopeful for the future puts a positive slant on everything.
- He doesn’t dwell on mulling about in a quagmire of the same bad policies.
- He didn’t come from money, and has worked hard to get where he is.
- Though he is a democrat, some Republicans do support him as well, and he might be a great unifying force for this country during a time we truly need it.
- Whenever I hear him speak, he never speaks of Us vs. Them when talking about Democrats and Republicans. He feels we all need to work together to regain the American Dream. He transcends partisanship.
- He’s lived in a variety of places including Hawaii, Indonesia, Illinois, and New York, and I feel this helps people gain perspective into different ways of life.
- He has worked for honesty in government.
- He doesn’t sound like a politician. When he speaks, it doesn’t sound as rehearsed as George W., for example. He sounds like he means what he says, and that he’s not just reading what someone else wrote for him.
- He’s not all about image. He’s not a reluctant figurehead, but he isn’t just all show. Many people that are thrust up there to be leaders these days are all flash, no substance. Mr. Obama is almost completely substance.
- It’s about time we had someone other than a white male in office.
- It’s important to him to keep the respect of his wife and children. He feels if he does right by them, he’s doing okay. His family is so important to him. When you see how a man treats his family, it gives you a better impression of how he may treat the country. Mr. Obama’s family keeps him in check, and gives him a real place to go home to. You can tell he adores his daughters and is in love with his wife. He once used the words “wonderfully precocious” to describe one of his daughters.
- He doesn’t want to lose touch with his constituents. He wants to sell their issues to Washington, not sell Washington’s issues to his constituents. He also stays grounded by living much of the time back in Chicago to give his family a more normal life and to stay in touch with the people of his state.
- Barack Obama feels we should all encourage our children to want to feel useful instead of wanting to be rich, famous, thin, or cute.
- When making decisions, he always thinks back to what his mother said, “How would that make you feel?”
- While the media and Washington often emphasize conflict, Senator Obama emphasizes how individuals and groups can come together and work toward common goals.
- He makes an effort to connect with real people. He has stopped taking private jets and instead flies commercial. He says this helps him to stay in touch with regular people, seeing what they go through, and going through it himself.
- He is passionate about things he feels are important, but he is humble at the same time. He doesn’t toot his own horn and knows when to give credit to others.
- He leads by example, the best way to lead.
- He’s hard to pigeonhole.
- He’s self-depreciating and isn’t a finger pointer.
- I trust him. It’s as simple as that.
