A Sincere Question For Democrats

I will respond to your post the best way I can, though I hope not to get flamed in the process, because that certainly has happened in the past (not from you though)! The main reason why I am supporting Obama is pretty simple: he opposed the Iraq war. I have posted previously as to why I think the Iraq war was a total unnecessary disaster but I don't wish to go into the details here, I'll probably only get flamed for my pains. For me, that was the starting point, any politician who supported the Iraq war I virtually automatically rule out. Hence why I did not support Hillary. Hence why I do not support John McCain (even though I would have supported him back in 2000 had he been he Republican nominee against Al Gore, so this shows I am not a totally biased leftie as some would claim). Even more important than the past of course is the future. By Hillary's and McCain's statements, it is clear to me that they have failed to acknoledge the mistakes that led to that war and they propose the same sabre-rattling foreign policy which has been in my view disastrous for this country. Obama proposes a radical break from this, jaw-jaw and not war-war, and I believe he will restore the US reputation in the world. So for me, the Iraq war is such a big issue that this was my central reason for supporting Obama. That said, I do have some concerns. I am not fooled into believing that Obama is a messiah, indeed I am so cynical of politicians that I would not have been surprised that if Obama had been a US senator back in 2002, he might well have voted for it to help his career. His 'present' votes show a politician who is very wary of committing himself and he was fortunate that he was not a US senator back in 2002 as he would have been forced to decide, and he might well have voted for the war, like all the other aspiring Dem US senators who were keen not to be seen as 'soft' on security and therefore followed Bush into this disastrous adventure. In addition, though Obama is accused of being far too the left, I am far from convinced that that is the case. Many supporters support him because of his anti Iraq war stance, but fail to see that he has adopted some quite centrist if not right wing positions. So I also have my doubts whether he will be the 'great liberal hope' that a good number of liberals believe him to be. On other issues, such as lack of honesty, etc, my answer is simple: he is a politician! They all twist the truth and don't talk straight. McCain is just the same. And so are the others. Sorry about being cynical but that's how I view things and so I view this as par for the course and hence politicians's disonesty cancel each other out in my mind. Anyway, at least I hope I have answered your question.

I am voting for Obama. 1. Yes, I disagree with his position on the bailout. 2. I do voice them. I posted about the bailout, saying I was disappointed that he voted for it. 3. No, both McCain and Obama voted for it. 4. There are other things I don't agree with that he supports, but he best fits my beliefs. I honestly can't understand why you support McCain, but I respect your opinion. I'm glad you respect mine, too.

I don't hang out much here in the political section, so I can't speak of whether or not many people here say or do not say they agree with everything of Obama. I know that at least 85% of the political sites that I do frequent for news and ideas there is often discussion on the specifics of Obama's policies that many do disagree with. No politician is going to be 100% of what anyone needs. There are a few things that I don't agree with of Obama's. Despite the "most liberal senator" title he's often given, I find him far too centerist/moderate for many of my beliefs. I don't support FISA like he does, and I disagree that Clean Coal is a viable option. I'm more Liberal on abortion that he is, and I don't think he'll be strong enough on protecting Roe v. Wade from being chipped away even more. But, I don't like any of the 3rd party candidates and McCain is a complete polar opposite on all of my beliefs. So I'm an Obama supporter, and proud of it.

I am independent, but I'll answer the questions anyway, since I think you should have addressed them to Obama supporters instead of just "Democrats". Especially in this election, the percentage of supporters the Democratic candidate has who aren't Democrats is probably the highest it's been in quite a while. "1. Is there anything about Obama that concerns you? Anything that raises doubt in your mind about him as president?" I don't agree with him on everything, but I have no doubt he'd be a fine President. When it comes to the major issues and things that matter the most to me, he makes a lot of sense. Plus, he's not really a hawkish guy, which I think is extremely important in our next leader, after having spent so much time with our troops in Iraq for no good reason. "2. If you do have concerns with him, why don't you voice them?" Because there are bigger fish to fry. To be honest, the moment I learned of the speech he made the day the Iraq War Resolution was passed, he was my pick. Considering what a huge money hole that is, and how in the hole (to use a similar analogy) we are in general these days, I think that in terms of national security AND economy, being someone who had the right judgment about Iraq from day one is a HUGE plus. I could disagree with Obama on everything else, and still support him just because of this. "3. If you do have concerns, are you denying your own personal convictions by supporting him?" Not really. I realize that I'm never going to find a candidate who's 100% in agreement with me, so I don't feel like I'm 'betraying myself' in voting for someone if they disagree with me on this or that. Some things are just more important, and my 'personal convictions' may not be someone else's. I'm not a one or two-issue voter--I consider the package. Question 4 is redundant, so I'm not going to bother with it.

ok im still green to all this political stuff and this is the first election that i can actually vote in so bare with me. i honestly dont think that everyone agrees 100% on everything with any politician, theres always something that we think needs to be enforced more or needs to be more lax. anyway on the main things that matter to me, he's good. as for experience, its not all they want to make it out to be. yeah i mean it helps to know what you're doing and the guy has a general idea of whats going on but i think whats leading me towards him is that he has a different view than the people who've been leading the country for the past few years. experience doesnt mean much look at lincoln, fdr, and clinton, good presidents little experience. ok and being guilty by association isnt something to great to be judged on. ok your friend could become a serial killer but that doesnt mean you're like him. plus ayers has been fine for years since then so who cares? and as for acorn, according to my research, john mccain was also involved with them. as for the iranian president thing, the guy is human so he's bound to lie, you also have to remember he's a politician. im sure john mccain isnt a saint either. to sum it up, i just like him more than mccain and i think that sometimes you just have to admit when things are going wrong and you have to take a new approach to things and learn from them, no?

i will no doubt vote for obama not because i am particularly trusting in everything he says no politician should be trusted that much but my vote is actualy a vote against the republicans more than a vote for Obama!I have often spoken of my concerns The fact is there is not much choice for us this election and i truly feel im voting for the lesser of two evils!God help us this country could not survive 8 more years of bush isms which we will have if the republicans retain power!

hi guardian at least you arenot saying all democrats are evil and puppets of satan, as some seem to suggest. I have some 'doubts of both candidates,but I do like most of obama's stand on most of the issues and after weighing how much I dislike allof McCain's stands, I voted for whom I thought would be the better choice. I have a few concerns on both candidates but much fewer on Obama. McCain is too old, and looks to me to be a good candidate for a heart attack,andtoo wealthy to have any sympathy for us working class and middleclass people.my onlyconcern with obama is his inexperience but that can be mastered in time. I hesitate to voice anything here as there are people on mylot who become almost insane when you dont agree with them.

He doesn't support gay marriage, and I'm totally not into that, but McCain doesn't support it either, as I remember he appeared on Ellen, who recently married her girlfriend in California, which made that show kind of interesting. I'm not really paying all of my attention to the election at this point in time, but that sticks out the most for me. Oh, and yes I am an Obama supporter. Which reminds me, I highly appreciate that you called us Democrats, and Obama SUPPORTERS, not Obama FANS, which is just so condescending really. Thank you so much for that.