Why I endorse Barack Obama for President of the USA
Dr. Rick Kirschner
I love my country, and believe our best days are still ahead of us. Weve yet to fully live up to our highest ideal, to be a light unto the nations and a beacon for freedom and dignity, but we have made great strides. The last few laps are the hardest. So even though we live in a divisive time and in a polarized country, the good news is we seem to be coming together again (Im going by polling numbers and party defections.)
I hope my fellow citizens will make me proud. I hope our voting system will make me proud (no monkey business this time!) and I hope that our choice for President will restore our reputation in the world and the persuasive power that gives us to effect positive change for humanity. Here's why I endorse Barack Obama for President of the USA.
Straight talk: McCain has run a pathetic campaign, with a strategy that was diametrically opposed to the way he promised to position himself. His excuse, that Obama wouldnt engage in Town Halls with him, is just bogus. The guy we loved in 2000 got derailed by some bad Bush mojo, and John McCain took it on thinking he needed it to win in 2008. The guy we loved in 2000 moved to the fringes of his party and our country in 2008. He may have been prepared to lead in the last century. He clearly doesnt understand this one.
And now, what a pickle he is in. No matter which way he goes, it doesnt mean enough to count for anything. All the hollow phrases have already fallen short, though he keeps using them. Palin is failing by any reasonable benchmark, with all but the most partisan and extreme. She was never more than a thin veneer over an inadequate resume. Now theyve dressed her up, But pardon the metaphor, because lipstick on a pig doesnt change the underlying nature of the beast.
I can see a whole different direction this could have taken. Its a very sad ending for a good American, a villainous fall for an American hero. Its sad, and he did it to himself. When leadership was required, he abdicated for petty campaign tricks. When straight talk was required, he bottled himself up and cut himself off, and gave evasive and nonsensical answers. He is personally guilty of almost everything for which hes accused Obama -including associations with unsavory types of the worst sort. The doublespeak - Palin saying we dont know who Obama is, after 14 months of campaigning, when she limits herself to a few carefully controlled interviews? The mixed messages, the demonization and character attacks built on the thinnest of foundations. After 8 years of failed government, America wants something better.
There were many themes used to try and define this race. Is Obama all style and no substance? Is McCain a real maverick or a reformer? Is Obama a reformer or a radical? Is this a race about personality or issues? Is McCain too reckless? Is Obama too prudent? The debates gave us all a chance to hear for ourselves from the candidates. Obama won all three debates, not on style, but on substance. McCain failed to make a case for himself. And he failed to make a case against Obama. The only case he made was that he cant make a case, because he kept undermining every case he made himself. Even his latest artifice, Joe the Plumber, has failed to hold up as a symbol, because Palin was dressed up to counter the symbol. His former allies are now jumping ship, and for very good reason. This is no steady hand at the tiller. This isnt the kind of thoughtful person you want in charge when everything is going to hell in a handbasket. This is not the right man for our time. If McCain knows how to capture Bin Laden and solve all our other problems, then he should have run against George Bush 4 years ago. His time has passed.
I wish John McCain well, I truly do. But this country needs leadership now more than ever before. The qualities of leadership that Ive been looking for include wisdom, because for me, wisdom always trumps experience. Obama has demonstrated wisdom by knowing when to respond to attacks and when to let them pass. He has offered a willingness to use diplomacy before going to war. He has recognized our obligations to future generations. Leadership requires discipline. Obama has demonstrated discipline. Leadershp requires vision and Obama had it when he took on the formidable challenge of running for the highest office in the land.
2300 years ago, Plato spoke about the virtues of temperance, fortitude, justice and prudence. I detect these in Obama, not in McCain.
Samuel Adams wrote that The liberties of our country, the freedomes of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation -enlightened as it is-if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or the be cheated out of them by designing men.
John McCain has embraced the the Bush adminstrations challenges to our constitution. Obama has challenged the administration. On this most fundamental item, Obama is right. McCain is wrong.
Obama has run a disciplined campaign, he makes sense, he inspires many, and most importantly, he has the intelligence to actually think about the problems were faced with and come up with ideas and answers, or find the people who can come up with ideas and answers. If he runs our country even half as well as hes run his campaign, we have a bright future ahead. Hes won my vote. Though I stayed open to persuasion, I've not heard a single persuasive argument for McCain over Obama, only partisan anger and disinformation. Enough mud slinging. My mind is made up. Im voting for the guy who ran for the office instead of the guy who ran against the guy who wanted the office. I've voting for Barack Obama. Lets see what a smart guy can do. Now it's your turn. Make up your mind and vote. It's the greatest privilege and responsibility you have. The future depends on it.
Article submitted Sunday, November 02, 2008 & read 194 times.
Dr. Kirschner is a bestselling author, speaker, trainer and coach, a faculty member with the Institute for Management Studies, and adjunct faculty at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. Client organizations include Heineken, Providence Health, NASA, Starbucks, Texas Instruments and Toyota. Appearances on CNBC, CBC, Fox, NPR; Interviews and reviews in Wired Magazine, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Most recent work is the 8 CD audio series, book and workbook 'INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE ART OF PERSUASION: Use Your Influence To Change Your World,' now available, along with a blog, newsletter and free podcast, at http://TheArtofChange.com. LIMITED TIME OFFER! You can get a $49 value one hour audio program on Dealing With Difficult People absolutely free! How? Visit http://LearnToPersuade.com for details!
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» left by Tex Norman (3 years 99 days ago.)
Amen. Truman was President when I was born. I have seen a several Presidental elections in my life, and I have never seen one like this one, and I am so pleased that I lived to vote in this one. Obama is my guy. Thanks for your article. Peace: texRespond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (3 years 99 days ago.)
Hey Tex, much appreciation for the comment!best wishes,RickRespond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (3 years 98 days ago.)
Dear Dr Kirschner: What a let-down. Your article belies the title. I thought I was going to read reasons that Obama should take the highest office in the world. What I got was a tirade against McCain. It is tough to get juice from a potato chip, and there isn't much to squeeze either from a resume that is as thin as Mr. Obama's, so I sympathize with you. Your title laid out a tough premise; your article presented Obama about as well as anyone could. God bless you for trying, anyway. Marty RicKard.They are telling me I forgot to log in, sorry.Respond to this comment
» left by Rick from Oregon (3 years 98 days ago.)
Marty,For me it comes down to three things.1. Obama ran a disciplined campaign. McCain did not. If Obama can run the country half as well as his campaign, we'll be in good shape.2. Obama ran for the office. McCain ran against Obama. I'd rather give the job to the guy who wants the job.3. Obama is intelligent, focused, and mentally functional. McCain is erratic, doesn't seem that bright, and his age shows. We already had a dummy running the country. I prefer the way smart people do it.That said, the title promises an explanation for why I endorse Obama. What I wrote is my opinion on the subject. Sorry to let you down. I think McCain could have run a very different campaign and gotten a very different result. But I'm feeling very optimistic that Obama, with his thin resume, still brings a lot of ability to the job. And people are willing to invest in him emotionally, which he will need if he's going to do any good. I'm cheering him on.best,RickP.S. Searchwarp sent an email asking for people to explain why they were voting the way they are voting. That's what I wrote about. Now it's your turn!Respond to this comment
» left by Mr. Keith (3 years 97 days ago.)
Obama wants to bankrupt the coal industry and feels there should be a CIVILIAN army with as much power as the military, funding included!!!!Wow, it makes me want to RUN from ObamaRespond to this comment
» left by Dr. Rick Kirschner (3 years 97 days ago.)
Respond to this commentOMG. I thought the stuff McCain Palin were making up was bad. I guess just saying anything now is ok when you don't want someone to win? Good grief. The funny thing is, I was a McCain fan in 2000. I would have voted for that guy. Now look at what he's created. People throwing around accusations, no interest in truth. I could delete this. But instead I'm leaving Mr. Keith's comment here so that others can experience the extremes to which people are willing to go to undermine support for a candidate they don't want. I chose to base my vote on what I think best for my country, which I love.
Ok, on to this business. Mr. Keith is quoting Fox News and the same McCain people who've thrown around the words 'palling around with terrorists,' and 'socialism' to their starving supporters who need something to stave off their appetite for the kind of disinformation Busy and Cheney have fed them for the last 8 years. The reality? Obama was referring to a concept known as cap-and-trade, which both he and McCain support. Cap-and-trade is aimed at offering a market solution to reduce greenhouse gasses. The government would establish a limit on how much carbon a power plant could emit. Each plant would, in essence, have an emission permit for every ton of carbon dioxide sent into the air.
In Barack Obamas July 2, 2008 speech calling America to national service, Obama proposed a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded as our military.
This has prompted some , like Mr. Keith and his feeders at Fox to raise the specter of a huge new domestic paramilitary organization. If you listen to the whole speech - or even the couple minutes before his security force proposal I think that its reasonably clear that Obama is talking about expanding a range of domestic and international agencies such as AmeriCorps, the Foreign Service, and the Peace Corps and adding some new ones. My daughter did two years of national service in Americorps (she wanted to be a fighter pilot, but didn't have the vision for it). It changed her life. She got to serve her country.
Here's more about what Obama actually did say, for all the McManiacs just looking for an excuse to believe the worst about Obama.
'The burden of service has fallen almost exclusively onto the backs of our military,' Obama said at a rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 'We have got to have a civilian national security force that is just as strong.' Obama said his administration would do its part to expand opportunities to volunteer in local communities, boost programmes to serve in US aid agencies abroad, and would offer university tuition subsidies to students in exchange for civil service.
Obama, 46, also called for nearly 100,000 extra soldiers to relieve the strain on current US military deployments, but said the role of non-military organizations could help restore the country's sagging reputation abroad.
Prodding Americans to get involved in their own communities, Obama highlighted his own days as a community organizer in Chicago as some of his most formative years. 'Loving your country shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the fourth of July,' the Illinois senator said. 'Loving your country must mean accepting your responsibility to do your part to change it.'
Clearly, Obama is a socialist madman. Good grief. (And for those who can't tell, my last statement about Obama being a socialist madman is meant to be ironic...)