To Geraldine Ferraro - Why I Support Barack Obama

Geraldine Ferraro has said that Barack Obama is lucky to be where he is, and that if he were white or were a woman he more than likely would not be where he is. I must disagree with this.

I would not care if Obama were white, brown, yellow, red, female or gay. I have not decided to support him based on any of these parameters. I read of women who support Hillary because she is a woman...that is not a good reason to support a candidate. I read of blacks who support Obama because he is black...that is not a good reason to support a candidate. I am a Republican who recently changed my registration to Unaffiliated because finally, after all these years, I have grown disgusted with the policies of the Republican Party. Lately, I have also seen little to like about the Democratic Party. I have decided to support Barack Obama, and I have contributed to his campaign, for several reasons, some of which I list here:

I support him because I believe that he is level-headed under pressure...the kind of level-headedness it takes when crucial decisions of great import that require clear and proper judgement are to be made...the kind of judgement and level-headed demeanor that I, as a Vietnam Veteran, would want to see in my Commander-in Chief. I do not see this kind of level-headedness or proper judgement in his opponents, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

I support him because I believe he has the leadership skills and the oratorical skills it takes to change the direction of this country. The way he has led his campaign is outstanding and reflects on how he would lead the country. His gift of oratory not only makes complex issues easy for all Americans to understand, but also he uses it in a positive way to express a powerful vision of hope that provides the kind of inspiration it takes to effect great change.

I support him because he is very intelligent, yet he is down to earth.

I support him because he impresses me as being honest...more so than most of the politicians we have seen and heard over the years.

I support him because he has led a campaign that takes its roots from the ground up and its money from the masses, rather than the priviledged few.

I support him because his vision is that of a United States that can strive to heal its divisions rather than a United States that must further fan the fires of division. I do not see this in his opponents, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

I support him because he wishes to do away with and rise above the politics of old and he wishes to fundamentally change a government that is clearly out of touch with the common man.

I support him because he wishes to nourish a middle class that has been squeezed and is so important to this great machine of progress.

I support him because he talks to me and not at me.

I support him because I can see that he has true greatness in him, and I have not seen true greatness in an American president in far too many years.

I support him because in 2002 he had the judgement to recognize that invading iraq was a war of choice and not a war of necessity that would eventually become not only a major distraction from our true goals, but also a major recruiting poster for Osama Bin Laden that would make this world more dangerous, not safer, even though at the time he was going against the political grain and the waves of patriotic fervor that so many of our politicians and countrymen were swept up in...this took courage.

I support him because he is courageous in the face of the division, the old politics, the racism...all of it. He stands above this and says we can heal it and that we can hope again. The last courageous American leader to do these things was assassinated. Obama knows this, yet he perseveres. That takes tremendous courage.

I support him because I believe that his policies will truly change not only the course of our nation to the right direction, but also the fundamental way our government is run. He will make government transparent so that the people may know what their leaders are doing.

I support him because he will stand face to face with our enemies and will communicate directly to them that they may know our position and that they may see that we do not fear them, yet we are willing to reason with them. He will restore our place and reputation in this world. His opponents scoff at this notion. They forget that we are America. We need not fear to negotiate face to face with our enemies. John Kennedy knew this. Ronald Reagan knew this. Barack Obama's opponents believe that we must not talk to our enemies unless they quit being our enemies first. This is not the way things happen in the real world. They think that we are above all nations. Barack Obama knows that for America to be great in the eyes of the world, America must not look down at the world.

I support him because he has promised that by the end of his first term as president, this country will have universal health care, thereby removing from us the dubious distinction of being the only industrialized nation in the world that does not have universal health care. Being an older man with pre-existing medical conditions, I know that as it is today in this country, any of the big health insurance companies can and probably will turn me down, though I have worked hard all my life, and have tried to be a good American, just as they did to Barack Obama's mother who later died of cancer.

I support him because he will fight to make it possible for any American child, no matter their place in society, to have the opportunity for a strong, well-rounded education not only for the first 12 years, but also in college. Additionally, at the college level, he offers students a $4000 per year tuition credit in return for community service.

I support him because he will treat our troops as they should be treated. He will not send them out on extended and repeated tours of duty. He will not send them out to fight unnecessary wars. He will not use them as if they were toy soldiers. He respects them as he does all of his fellow Americans. He knows that "support the troops" does not mean "abuse the troops". He will put an end to the current abuse.

I support him because he will treat our veterans right. He will keep the promise that our nation has made and broken so many times. He respects them, as he does all of his fellow Americans.

There are many more reasons why I support Barack Obama for president, but suffice it to say that race and gender and luck have nothing to do with it. And that is why I must respectfully disagree with Geraldine Ferraro.