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Edited on Sat Dec-22-07 09:40 AM by hnmnf
It seems like whenever anybody famous announces that they are going to support a candidate, they call it an endorsement, even if its just some Hollywood Celebrity. So, I've written my own endorsement.
An HNMNF Times Primary Endorsement
Barack Obama: Right Man, Right Now
By hnmnf
12/22/07
Madison, WI—In 2004, an almost unknown political figure rose from the shadows to give one of the most memorable speeches in recent history. In it we hear him talk about the politics of hope, and what he thinks is possible for this country. Though times have changed, his message is the same and just as important as ever.
The times we face are tough. Almost fifty million Americans are without health insurance. Our economy quite possibly is sputtering towards a recession. Our civil liberties have been eroded over the past seven years, including the destruction of habeas corpus, voter fraud, racial profiling, and wiretapping to name a few. One of the nation’s greatest cities has to rebuild itself because of its destruction by a terrible storm, and then neglect by a ruthless administration. And we have a war that ultimately cannot be won. America faces serious challenges, and we need a serious person in the White House to get the job done.
We have an administration that is almost as corrupt as they are incompetent. They mislead the American public, whether it be destroying evidence of torture, politicize the Justice department, or saber rattle by using fear as a tool against Iran and other nations. This administration has behaved with reckless abandon. This President thinks the laws do not apply to him, when he makes signing statements that undermine the point of a law. This president has shown a knack for favoring loyalty, even when the loyalty is to those who are grossly incompetent such as Alberto Gonzales or Donald Rumsfeld.
This Vice President has lied repeatedly to the American people’s face. He cherry picked intelligence to lead this country into an unjust war. He ratchet’s up fear on Iran, when even our intelligence shows that they stopped their weapons program long ago. On the subject of Iran, the NIE has proven the President and this administration is either bald face liars or grossly incompetent.
We have a country that is in need of healing because of what these two men and their administration have done to this country over the past seven years. One man can do this better than anybody else. One man can help bring this country back together. One man can do all this while bringing back our civil liberties, bringing our troops home, and working to bring American back. That man is Senator Barack Obama.
Barack Obama has only been on the Washington scene for three years now. In 2004, after a rousing speech at the Democratic Convention, Obama rode a wave of support to victory over challenger Alan Keyes. Before this though, Obama served his state, Illinois proudly for eight years in the state senate. There he proved that it is possible to work across the divide with Republicans to get things done. He passed legislation on ethics and health care reform, helped to curb racial profiling, and worked to serve his district justly.
One of the major questions before Obama is, “Does he have the experience do be President?” It is a fair question. Barack Obama is not the most experienced candidate for President. That man would be Senator Joe Biden. But what Barack Obama has is judgment. In 2002, he showed his sound judgment by speaking out against this war, while in his opposition, predicted exactly what would end up happening in Iraq. He is a skilled thinker who has surrounded himself with plenty capable people to help his already capable mind. While Obama’s life experience is not enough to run on, it is impressive none the least. He has lived all across the planet, from Indonesia, to Hawaii, to Chicago.
If there is one thing that an Obama candidacy is about, is change. With all apologies to Hillary Clinton, Obama is change you can believe in. Early in the 110th Congress, Obama joined with Senator Russ Feingold in introducing the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007. This bill severely limited the relationships and influence Lobbyists could have on members of Congress. While some would say that his relative inexperience in Washington is the downside, we would argue that it is a major plus, and a reason why an Obama candidacy needs to happen now. What this country truly needs is a fresh face not tied to the same old Washington politics. They do not need a calculating politician who represents the norms and establishment of Washington.
All democrats were considered in this endorsement.
Dennis Kucinich speaks the truth to so many Americans. He is truly a fighter for democratic principles everywhere. However, we feel that though Kucinich truly is a fantastic representative, his stances are too far to the left to win an election.
Senator Chris Dodd of CT is an experienced and well fit man to be President, but he has largely been overshadowed by another man during this Presidential election who matches up pretty well with him. We really haven’t seen the type of separation needed for him to win the primary. He would however serve this country greatly as the Senate Majority leader in replacement of Harry Reid.
Bill Richardson has the experience, but we feel he'd be better to serve in a cabinet-like position such as Secretary of State so that his foreign policy expertise and experience in negotiations can be put to good use.
Former Senator John Edwards is an interesting candidate. What he represents is everything we would want in a President; the problem is however how he got there. His evolution as a candidate in my eyes is slightly suspect. He was a co-sponsor of the IWR and voted in favor of the Patriot Act. This isn’t 2004 anymore. This time around there is a leading candidate who was against the war from the start. Maybe another vice presidential run is in the making though.
Then there is Senator Hillary Clinton. Clinton has portrayed her campaign as a return to the Clinton years in which many people loved. But there is one big thing. Hillary Clinton is not Bill Clinton. She is an extremely polarizing figure who in poll after poll has shown that she has high negative ratings that would put a Hillary candidacy at risk to democrats. Her candidacy of late has turned us off her, because of her surrogate’s consistent childish attacks on Barack Obama, from Kindergarten to his youthful drug use. Hillary Clinton is a capable politician who does have the necessary experience and qualifications to be President. But too many people, we as well see her as too much like a politician, and at this time, we don’t need somebody like that.
Finally there is the final name on the list that gave us much grief. Senator Joe Biden is highly qualified to be President. Out of everybody in the field, Joe Biden is the most experienced man, especially in terms of foreign policy where he currently serves as chairman of the foreign relations committee. Biden is not like most career politicians, because he is always telling the truth and speaks from his heart. We trust Joe Biden, much like we trust Barack Obama. However, we just are not sure that Biden can make it through the primary. He hasn’t picked up the momentum really needed to rise out of the second tier status, even though he is clearly deserving of being in the first tier.
Barack Obama has purple on his mind. He doesn’t see Red America, or Blue America, but a chance at a truly United States of America. Just like in 2004, Obama has been stressing the Politics of hope where as he states, “The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name, who believes that America has a place for him too.” Barack Obama believes that there are better days ahead. He believes that we need to provide Health Insurance to all Americans. Barack Obama believes in restoring civil liberties that were crushed during the Bush Administration. Barack Obama believes in ending our military occupation in Iraq and focusing on a political solution. Barack Obama believes in meeting with not just our friends, but our enemies in order to work towards a better middle east. Barack Obama believes in America, and I believe in him as the best man to be the next President of the United States of America.
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