I would easily be one of the first people to step up with problems regarding Barack Obama. As a Democratic centrist, I wouldn't say he's what I wanted in a president over the last four years, and in fact, I'd say he's mucked a fair number of things up. To give you a short list:
1. He failed to close Guantanamo Bay after promising that it would be one of the first things he'd do.
2. He pursued war with a relatively invisible entity known as "terrorism" in an effort to democratize the Middle East- an effort that many people wanted, but not at the cost of US occupation. The presence of US military bases in Saudi Arabia being what originally led Al Qaida to strike back at the US (in addition to support for Israel) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motives_for_the_September_11_attacks#Sources
3. He's continued supporting Israel in a setting where Israel has over-stepped its authority in aggravating its neighbors despite having relatively little military might of its own. This is after the deliberate displacement of the Palestinian people from land that was rightfully theirs to begin with. This fantasy of Israel being our "greatest ally" was absurd to begin with, but now they're on the verge of doing more harm than ever before, rallied by the knowledge that the US supports them.
4. He's targeted Iran, thanks to political pressure, forcing them into the spotlight as the new Iraq, paving the way for an excuse to have another war. This is furthered by his support for Israel, which may lead to war even before nuclear armament becomes a dire issue.
5. He waited until the end of his term to start supporting women's rights.
6. He waited until the end of his term to start supporting gay rights.
7. He waited until the end of his term to start supporting immigration reform with the Dream Act.
8. He still isn't doing anything about the massive drug wars going on at our southern border. Nor has he focused on the welfare of Latin America in any great stretch at all.
9. He hasn't dissolved our trade embargo with Cuba, a nation that hasn't been an enemy in decades.
10. Simply put, he hasn't been vehement about the directions that he believes the US should head. His support for Obamacare has been his most distinguished achievement, however, even that was gutted and neutered to a mere fraction of its original efficacy. A focus on education and infrastructure has been slow at best. It's becoming more and more difficult to pay your way through college, to the point that it's becoming a resource only accessible by those born into some relative measure of wealth (and otherwise those who put themselves through terrific strain in order to move up).
- There are many others, but I think you understand where I'm going with this. I don't think our President is wrong in his desires necessarily, but I definitely think he's too eager to please everyone. In this day and age, where Republican obstructionism is reaching absurd heights and anti-intellectualism is becoming jaw-dropping, I believe we're in need of another Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who famously said,
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace--business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering...
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred.
FDR recognized that he was not going to be a crowd favorite for his actions, but he also knew what would be required of him to solve the economic woes of the time. And he forced it through, laughing in the faces of his opponents. He recognized that they were simply obstructions- nothing but roadblocks to the future of progression.
Obama is no FDR. Neither in ideology nor in boldness nor in willingness to do what is right. Obama would like to be remembered as someone who worked together in the here and now, rather than someone who did what had to be done in the history books. For that, I cannot throw my full support behind him.
However, this is a critique of a man. A human being with a heart and soul not made of steel. This is a man with weakness, as we all have. I understand his desire to work together. I understand his need to not have half of the country eying him with malevolence. However, I think he's only just starting to realize that many of those who hate him do so because they're afraid of him- not because he's not working hard enough or cooperating enough for them.
They're scared of Muslims (an incorrect assertion believed by 30% of polled Republicans in 2008). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/obama-muslim_n_1706522.html
They're scared of socialism (an incorrect assertion believed by over 60% of polled Republicans). http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32384.html
And most of all- they're scared of black people. This is a charge I'm making without appropriate evidence, and I accept criticism for it. However, there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence suggesting that this is the truth. Individual instances of racism have cropped up during this presidential race, such as the famous t-shirt sporting the slogan, "Keep the white in white house." Furthermore, when asked specific details that people disagree with the man on, many are left stuttering and incapable of providing any actual examples. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E87gciwebw
And, of course, there's the most telling (in my opinion) bit of evidence. Here, we have a case of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, two men who, in their various debates, espoused almost the exact same ideologies. Two people who "supported" so many of the same things, with simple variation to the degree in which they supported these things. The real great difference between the policies of the two has been Romney's taxation plan.
So... Why does nearly half of America think that Obama is a horrible person? Some think he's the Anti-Christ! Despite the fact that on Romney's best day, the two are nearly the same person with a different skin tone.
I call racism. Plain, simple, vitriolic, hateful, scared racism.
But, I'm getting off-topic. I'm not hear to talk about why other people don't like Obama. Or even why I don't. I just want you to know the platform from which I stand as I support him for re-election.
I support for a few very main reasons, and then numerous smaller reasons. Some of these reasons are hand-in-hand reasons not to support Romney. Some are solely problems with Romney. Some are solely reasons to support Obama.
So, let's get started.
1. Obama is for equality. This is hands down the single reason to vote for Obama if ever there was one. He's finally come forward with support for gay marriage and for the rights of women over their own bodies. Two fundamental issues that Romney is either directly against or at least flip-flops on. His stance on birth control, for example, has been incredibly varied over the space of mere months. However, his stance on gay marriage is consistent and atrocious. As a good friend put it, I would rather have equality for the people I care about most in my life than a successful economy. However, that presumes that Romney would be better for the economy than Obama, which leads us to point two-
2. Obama's math works. Over the past four years, while he's been incorrect about the magnitude and speed at which his policies would help America, his policies have actually helped. The DOW is rising, unemployment is lowering, and the economy is on its way to stability again. Regardless of what you want to say about Obama, this much is objective fact. Not only do we have reason to trust Obama's math, but we also know that Romney's math has been fact-checked time and time again, showing that he has no feasible way of enacting his tax cuts plan without taking the money from the middle class. He's interested in spending roughly $5 trillion on tax cuts across the board, $2 trillion on military budget increases that the military didn't ask for, and he's promised to cover it by closing loopholes and fixing the tax code- an act which independent studies show is mathematically impossible. Not only is it impossible, but it's irresponsible. The military doesn't need two trillion dollars, our infrastructure needs it. Not only that, but in clarification for the increased military spending, Romney cites our wavering navy strength as the reason he wants to give them more money. This despite the fact that we still have the strongest navy on the planet, with as many aircraft carriers as the next leading 5 nations put together.
Furthermore, as nobel economist Paul Krugman points out, a recession is not the time to halt the spending of money. People are already wary of putting their money into the economy, a symptom which exacerbates the root problem. Lubricating the chains of the economy through increased taxation is good for the nation. Especially when we can get that tax increase from people who have more money than they know what to do with.
3. Obama's actually willing to take something resembling a stance against corporate greed. I could be way happier, since he hasn't cracked down much on Wall-Street or those who caused the recession in the first place. But, he has taken a stab at insurance companies through Obamacare. He is trying to raise taxes on the super-wealthy. He could be better, but at least he's reached a point where he's willing to say, "okay, this is getting a little ridiculous." And for that, he's leagues ahead of Romney, who wants less regulation and fewer taxes.
4. Fact checking. I'm terrified of the idea of a candidate who said his campaign will not be dictated by fact checkers. In the prolific age of the internet, information is getting easier to come by, which means fact checking is something that can be done by the common people, not just journalists. The willful use of over-the-top lies and flip-flopping by the Romney campaign has been unbelievable. His support for almost any given policy should be heavily questioned since, in the span of a few years, he's managed to backtrack on almost every major issue he's ever "believed in." Not only does it call into question what he actually believes in, but it calls into question his moral character that he would so flagrantly distort the truth for his own ends.
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/mitt-romney/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/paul-ryan/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/joe-biden/
Going strictly by the percentages, the Democrats are almost the exact opposite of the Republicans on the topic of truth.
Obama rates as Half True, Mostly True, or True in 72% of his statements.
Biden rates those as 68% of his statements.
By stark contrast,
Romney only has 59% of his statements in the true range, with 28% of those being Half-True remarks.
Ryan? 48%.
This only really addresses the hard math though, rather than the quality of the statements made. It says nothing about the intent of a statement to mislead or attack versus just plain being inaccurate information (one of the main faults I have with politifact's system). So, take these numbers with some salt.
5. Romney's suggested preemptive strikes against Iran. I don't want another war. I want the US to do everything possible to avoid another war. Can we please not have another war? The two are pretty similar about the issue, but Obama seems less interested in throwing the first stone than Romney.
6. Election fraud. This shit is pissing me off like no other. Republicans in swing states are pulling some of the worst shenanigans I've ever seen. Voter restriction laws that make no sense and primarily disenfranchise people who are, by majority, Democrats? People throwing away Democrat registration forms? Refusing to register people who aren't Republicans? Changing registration documentation to make Democrats into registered Republicans (this one doesn't really cause any problems yet though). Having family members and campaign officials financially invested in voting machine companies? Robo-calling people incorrect information about polling places? The list goes on, and it's horrifying to think that these people are willing to go to such lengths to steal an election. Some of these points are far more meaningful than others. For example, the voting machine companies bit might be total coincidence. However, throwing away registration forms for Democrats? Noooooo.... Noooo...
Really, most of all. For all the bluster, when I hear Obama speak, he sounds like an exasperated parent who's trying desperately to figure out how best to run a household and please everyone. But when I hear Romney speak, he's just interested in usurping that position. He's willing to say or do whatever it takes to get there, to hell with the truth or values. And that's how he's always been. He brags about working together with Democrats in Massachusetts, but they were the majority. He had to follow their lead or else risk getting thrown out for getting in the way. He was willing to be whatever he had to in order to stay in power.
Frankly, Romney's history looks like that of a sociopath. Doing whatever it takes to get ahead in business. Crushing lives beneath him for profit. Lying through his teeth week in, week out, sometimes on things he'd used the opposite lie about the week earlier. Showing a clear misunderstanding for those in socio-economic or cultural positions that he couldn't closely identify with. Showing a lack of empathy for the people around him. He thinks money talks more than action. That's not a man I want in the white house. That terrifies me.
So when you go vote tomorrow (please go vote), I want you to think about these things. Think about what it is you really want in life. What will make you happy, but also what will make America prosper. What will history say about the decisions made?
I'll tell you this much, during the civil rights movement, history didn't seem preoccupied with what the unemployment rate was at. Or what the tax rate of the 1% was. (Did you like my corny pathos appeal?)
Seriously. Go vote. Even if you vote for Romney. Just think about the issues and come to an informed decision of your own. But if you don't know the issues, don't vote. That shit's not okay.
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Wade
In my zealousness, I forgot to mention that I dislike Obama for his signing of the NDAA and also for his war on drugs. Both suck.
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