Introduction
Welcome to my thoughts. My guess is that I will use this blog for a number of purposes, including but not limited to: Talking about the upcoming election; my SecondLife experience; musical endeavors; work-life; sports; and anything else that strikes me as moderately important.
Having said that, I'd like to get right into it.
I will be voting for Obama in November. There, I said it. I am not 100% convinced that he will be a great president, but I do believe that he will assemble a good team, and that his popularity abroad will make it more likely that the U.S. can regain some of the mass of goodwill that has been squandered over the last 7 years. If a legislator is measured largely by his or her voting record, a president, conversely, is often measured by perception. If a president is perceived to have been successful, that often counts for more than any substantive record. In fact, it is often difficult to discern what exactly a president has done.
If there is one trait that Obama possesses, it is the ability to create a perception that he is (take your pick) an agent of change, a Washington outsider, a populist, an elitist, a foreign policy wonk, an economic expert...Whether his reality matches the perception is largely irrelevant, since the true measure of an Obama presidency will be how the American public, and the world at large perceives his handling of several key events: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan(contrary to what the Bush administration would like you to believe, we are still fighting a war in Afghanistan); the struggling economy; the price and availability of energy resources such as oil, coal and natural gas; the transition away from non-renewable energy resources; the emergence of India and China as world powers; and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
I should note that I do not believe that John McCain would be a bad president, by any means. I fear that his policies vis-a-vis Iraq would not endear us to our allies or to those in the world who are still undecided as to their position on the U.S. I am also wary of his ability to assemble a team that would be substantially different, policy-wise, to the current administration. I do, however, believe that his administration would be more transparent, just and rational.
In any case, I am voting for Obama. I would not presume to encourage anyone who reads this to vote one way or the other, but I would encourage anyone who chooses to read this to go out, get informed, and participate. If anyone has any suggestions for ways to get more deeply involved in the process, please feel free to shoot them my way!
Peace and prosperity to all of you out there in Blog-Land. See you all soon!
Having said that, I'd like to get right into it.
I will be voting for Obama in November. There, I said it. I am not 100% convinced that he will be a great president, but I do believe that he will assemble a good team, and that his popularity abroad will make it more likely that the U.S. can regain some of the mass of goodwill that has been squandered over the last 7 years. If a legislator is measured largely by his or her voting record, a president, conversely, is often measured by perception. If a president is perceived to have been successful, that often counts for more than any substantive record. In fact, it is often difficult to discern what exactly a president has done.
If there is one trait that Obama possesses, it is the ability to create a perception that he is (take your pick) an agent of change, a Washington outsider, a populist, an elitist, a foreign policy wonk, an economic expert...Whether his reality matches the perception is largely irrelevant, since the true measure of an Obama presidency will be how the American public, and the world at large perceives his handling of several key events: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan(contrary to what the Bush administration would like you to believe, we are still fighting a war in Afghanistan); the struggling economy; the price and availability of energy resources such as oil, coal and natural gas; the transition away from non-renewable energy resources; the emergence of India and China as world powers; and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
I should note that I do not believe that John McCain would be a bad president, by any means. I fear that his policies vis-a-vis Iraq would not endear us to our allies or to those in the world who are still undecided as to their position on the U.S. I am also wary of his ability to assemble a team that would be substantially different, policy-wise, to the current administration. I do, however, believe that his administration would be more transparent, just and rational.
In any case, I am voting for Obama. I would not presume to encourage anyone who reads this to vote one way or the other, but I would encourage anyone who chooses to read this to go out, get informed, and participate. If anyone has any suggestions for ways to get more deeply involved in the process, please feel free to shoot them my way!
Peace and prosperity to all of you out there in Blog-Land. See you all soon!
Comments