Why I'm for Obama

I wrote the following on February 17th, 2007, just a few days after Barack formally announced he was running for the Presidency:

As a teacher of Government and Politics for the last 15 years, I have often been asked by my students, colleagues, and friends what political party and candidates I support. Rarely in the classroom have I offered straight answers to such questions - I believe that though it is challenging to remain neutral in the classroom, it is important to try. However in private life, and in the public domain of the internet, the compulsion to keep my views hidden does not exist. Indeed the requirements of citizenship in a participatory democracy necessitate that I take a different approach than in the confines of academia.

So the question may be asked, "why Barack Obama?"

We can see clearly in American history those times when it has been necessary for a new group of young Americans to take the reigns of governance. In the years after the departure of the founding generation of Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, when the nation was bitterly divided by slavery and other regional differences, Abraham Lincoln symbolized the resolve of a new generation of American patriots when he asserted that despite the terrible civil war, the nation must “endure”. When the country again seemed likely to be torn asunder by the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt demonstrated that his generation’s “rendezvous with destiny” was to end a national tragedy. In 1960, as the world faced the reality of a nuclear cold war, President Kennedy declared that it was time to pass the torch to a “new generation of Americans”, “unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed”. And though it is always more difficult to understand the present than the past, I believe it is again time for a new generation to assume the powers of leadership to face challenges that threaten to destroy the very fabric of our great national experiment in representative democracy.

In our time, we live in an America more politically divided than any other in recent memory. The representatives in our elected institutions seek to curry favor with party leaders more than to govern. Vision, courage, and cooperation seem to be bygone values. National political discussion focuses more on divisive “moral issues” than on the great challenges to our people: universal health care, quality public education, affordable housing and social services for families, and the revitalization of citizenship. We face the challenge of repairing an international reputation and international relationships destroyed by the wanton hubris of the neoconservatives and the military industrial complex President Eisenhower so presciently warned us about half a century ago. We face the reality that special interests are able to buy access while ordinary Americans can’t seem to even get truthful answers from their elected officials. Young people can hardly be blamed if they have come to the conclusion that citizenship in such a country isn’t for them, and worse, isn’t important.

And yet our nation desperately needs a new generation of young leaders. Young people educated about the challenges of everyday Americans and motivated to help them. We need a new generation of civil servants inspired to govern for the good of all Americans, and not just in their own self-interest.

So why Barack Obama? I believe he is the kind of man to inspire a nation. Senator Obama has stood for dialogue and cooperation over division throughout his professional life. His work at Harvard, in the Illinois state legislature, and in the United States Senate all demonstrate that he knows how to listen and come to decisions thoughtfully. He recognizes that the differences between so-called “red and blue states” are much smaller than are the basic American values that are held in common. He is pledging to bring a more civil tone to Washington and a spirit of bipartisanship. He isn’t owned by corporations, unions, or other interests – his campaign isn’t taking money from PACs.

It’s true that there are other candidates with longer track records in politics. But his “newness” may be the point. The bickering and hostility in the Congress today will over time produce candidates that are less interested in bringing the nation together and more interested in lording themselves over vanquished political foes. Obama is in this sense unspoiled by the reality of the cynicism that passes for governance in Washington today.

This isn’t to say that Barack Obama is simply a symbol for an age – he is a smart and principled leader who began with very little and has risen by hard work. But it is important to recognize that the problems America faces in the 21st century are problems that only Americans together can solve. The “pursuit of happiness” will require inspired and principled citizens to help replace calloused political hackery. If we are to bring the promises of liberty, equality, and justice to all Americans it will take a grassroots movement at the local, state, and federal level. In short, the future of our democracy requires a great “Civic Awakening”. I am hopeful that an Obama presidency can help create this.

Senator Obama’s website says “this campaign is about you”. I believe he has come to see what many of us have been saying – that we do truly need a candidate more concerned with us, with the American people than with those who have claimed to represent us recently. It’s time for those that have gotten us into this mess to leave. More importantly, it’s time for a new generation to lead.

One year later, I still believe Senator Obama is a man that can unite and inspire a new generation of Americans. It is time to leave behind the cynical politics we have inherited and to rededicate ourselves to rational and hopeful political discourse. Barack Obama can be the man to drive us toward the "better angels or our nature". I hope you'll join me in supporting him.