Why I'm voting for Barack Obama

While I lean so far to the left on most things that I'd be more at home in someplace like Boulder or Berkeley (perhaps), I can't think of any of the Republican candidates who were noteworthy.

Rudy Giuliani: noun verb 9/11. He's an idiot, too, showing poor judgment with Kerik, his affairs, etc.

Mike Huckabee: very personable, so long as you overlook his fundamentalism and the corruption when he was governor of Arkansas. Sorry, I have no tolerance for any religious fundamentalists: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc.

Mitt Romney: the smartest of the bunch, and certainly he has some business credibility, but he was very quick to change his views to match what people want (and eerily reminiscent of a Stepford husband).

Fred Thompson: please. An actor? Did we learn nothing from the disaster that was Reagan, worst president until W?

On the Democratic side, I liked Kucinich (a lot) for saying the things that needed to be said, but he was nowhere near viable.

I couldn't support Hillary Clinton because she voted for the invasion and occupation of Iraq (as did Biden). That, and I don't want another ruling family.

I like Chris Dodd a lot - smart guy, good record - but his relationship with the insurance companies was a little uncomfortable.

I like Bill Richardson for a number of reasons - record on foreign policy, record at the Department of Energy, he's governor of my favorite state, he isn't another white guy, etc. - and I was really pulling for him.

I didn't care for Barack Obama at first: his lack of experience annoyed me immensely, and I couldn't understand why people were talking about him. Just like with John Edwards, he came from nowhere to national prominence without actually doing something noteworthy, and I'm sorry, but I still believe you have to pay your dues, get your scars, earn your experience.

However, his choice of Biden addresses most of my concerns about experience (most), and Barry has earned my respect, which is no mean feat.

Look, he's been campaigning for almost two years now, he's been all over the country, he's talked to thousands of people, and he's managed to stay civil, focused, and commanding. Unlike the bitter old white guy running against him.

Barack Obama's campaign is and was much better run (ethically, financially, etc.). Both McCain and Clinton had poorly run campaigns during the primaries, and it doesn't speak well of their organizational abilities.

Barack Obama is smarter, more even-tempered, and more ethical than John McCain. No contest here.

Barack Obama did a much better job at picking his Vice President. Much, much better. I have always liked and respected Biden (apart from the Iraq vote).

Finally, Barack Obama is younger and healthier than John McCain, and the thought of Sarah Palin being anywhere near the oval office scares the hell out of me.

It should scare the hell out of everyone.

Look, we have some serious, serious problems:

• an impending worldwide recession, possibly even a depression
• the end of cheap oil, in a culture built entirely on cheap oil and with no viable alternatives in sight
  
• global warming, massive habitat destruction, and an increasing extinction rate
  
• the impending death of the seas from rising CO2 and increasing ocean acidification
• religious fundamentalists, here and abroad

This is some terrifying stuff, and ignoring it, jumping in the SUV, and going down to the mall to load up on Cheetos and DVDs isn't going to change it.

I'm looking for someone who speaks to our better natures, who can inspire us to work together to make the world a better place, to lead us into the 21st century and away from fear, poverty, war, and ignorance.

John McCain is not that person.

Barack Obama is.

So get out there and vote. It really is likely to be the most important election of your life.