I became an Obama supporter because his candidacy and vision for
“This was the moment when we tore down barriers that have divided us for too long; when we rallied people of all parties and ages to a common cause; when we finally gave Americans who have never participated in politics a reason to stand up and to do so.
This was the moment when we finally beat back the policies of fear and doubts and cynicism, the politics where we tear each other down instead of lifting this country up. This was the moment. Years from now, you’ll look back and you’ll say that this was the moment, this was the place where
It’s not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and to work for it and to fight for it.”
That was only two weeks ago, but it feels like a long time. In the past days I have felt my self getting hard, edgy and desperate as the election gets into full swing. I resent very much the sleaze that the McCain camp is throwing at Obama and it makes my open hand tighten into a fist wishing to strike back, and hard, as many of my fellow Democrats are urging. But in that very moment of revenge, I lose. My loss is the very hope that got me involved in this election. My loss is a betrayal of my candidate and campaign that originally inspired so many of us on the left, in center and, yes, even on the right. Barack Obama’s greatness is in his honest desire and ability to bring people together, to inspire unity, to find solutions to seemingly intractable problems – not in his ability to inflict hurt and division. I am grieved that we have come to this moment in the campaign when the only solution to McCain’s attacks seems to be, as Paul Begala recommended on the Rachael Maddow Show a couple of days ago – “Attack back.”
I want to recommend something different. Let’s remind people why Barack Obama was such a compelling candidate to us 18 months ago. Let’s reclaim Hope as a rallying call. Hope is a decision we make about the world and our perspective on it. Let’s proclaim loudly that we continue to believe that unity will overcome division, hope will overcome fear, that
posted September 14, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I agree with you wholeheartedly. As a libertarian Democrat, I believe in bringing together disparate groups and crossing boundaries. Sen. Obama should stick to issues and not accept the advice to simply attack his opponent, which many are advocating.
I also agree that, in the long run, only campaigns based on crossing boundaries and focusing on common needs and desires will serve our country.
posted September 14, 2008 at 5:05 pm
pass me the bucket….please!
I am glad so many in America see Obama for what he is….a man who befriends terrorists, theological extremists and ultra left wing values. That’s why we are swinging to McCain!
posted September 14, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I will be devastated if Obama loses and we’re in for at least another 4 horrible years. I do believe that he will improve our image in the eyes of all foreign nations and help those of us in the middle income bracket instead of big business and the wealthy.
Let’s hope and pray that he wins.
posted September 14, 2008 at 6:03 pm
So, Frank, tell me.
Obama befriends terrorists? Like Ayers, who he has talked with a few times and did his bombing when Obama was 8 years old? Extremists? Did you hear about the person in Palin’s church who told them Israel was suffering terrorist attacks because they didn’t accept Jesus?
And left wing values? Yes, he wants to defend the Constitution- today’s Republicans would denounce the Constitution as leftist. As Bush said, the Constitution is just a piece of paper.
What has the Bush administration done that you wish to reward them? Perhaps it’s the lying us into war. Maybe record national debt is something you like. Maybe the trashing of the middle class and our military. Maybe you just like the McCain campaign LIES so much that it’s surprising his pants don’t combust spontaneously. Maybe you like the way he’s so hotheaded that it scares members of his own party. And Palin the appalling- maybe you like the way she LIES ABOUT EVERYTHING- And is even more ignorant than Bush. (And we didn’t think it was possible.)
But if that really excites you, Frank- go for it. After all, we haven’t had a world war in a long time. And bankruptcy would also be a rollicking good time.
If this country is stupid enough to reward the last eight years with a yes vote, then I say, “FINE”.
You will deserve everything you get. The trouble is, all the people out here who are not idiots will get it too.
Pass yourself the bucket, and put your head in it and kick it . Hard.
Now vote for McCain and you can do that to the rest of the country .
posted September 14, 2008 at 8:40 pm
“I am glad so many in America see Obama for what he is….a man who befriends terrorists, theological extremists and ultra left wing values.”
Frank is good example of the typical conservative Christian voter these days. They are easily swayed by their religious handlers, and can be easily taught to parrot the party line.
The Republicans have their useful idiots, just like the former Soviet Union. They are called conservative Christians.
posted September 14, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Hi All,
Frank is provoking you and you have been provoked. But let’s not become what we despise. My faith and experiences teaches me not to repay hate for hate, but to repay hate with kindness.
If that doesn’t work then just let it go and keep shining the light of peace so that others will mark you as a beacon from the storm.
Paul R.
posted September 14, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Paul,
Thank you for this important reminder — and for carrying on the discussion even into the comments here to help turn our attention back to hope, back to unity, back to the ideals we have for our government. Your journey from open hand to clenched fist back to open hand matches the journey I’ve been on over the past two weeks precisely, and I’m challenged by what you’ve said here greatly. I hope others who support Obama will take your words to heart and avoid getting entangled in these political games. Most of all, I hope the Obama campaign remains above the fray and doesn’t take the bait to join the McCain campaign in the gutter.
Shalom,
Steve K.
posted September 14, 2008 at 10:59 pm
This is a time for Hope. As a Christian, as a follower of Jesus It is always a time for hope. I don’t know if it is the historical times that we are in that makes Obama so appealing or that somehow hope innately resonates with the human soul but I’m going to vote for Obama as a personal and public act of my faith that we as a people can unite and makes this country better then it is .
posted September 15, 2008 at 10:48 am
Thanks RG
It doesn’t take long for the true colors of the “hope makers” to come out. Why is it that liberals get so violent when they debate? its a common trend. Thanks for letting us see your true colors
Indeed today we saw the true colors of the Obama camp. They are running an ad mocking McCain for not using email or a computer. Its a cheap shot. John McCain had every finger broken, several times, he had his shoulder broken, the bones in his arms smashed. His elbow was removed from its socket. He was left in conditions that made his arms swell, indeed under his arm pits was swolen to the size of baseballs. All to say that some decades later the scars render it extremely painful for him to use a computer. it is physically sore. How sad it is that you “hope makers” mock a man who was tortured.
Nice!
posted September 16, 2008 at 11:22 am
Paul,
Great debate tactic of calling disagreement hate. I think the response to Frank was the hate, kicking heads in buckets and all that.
posted September 16, 2008 at 6:54 pm
People shouldn’t vote for a slogan (i.e. HOPE). Christ cornered the market on Hope long ago. Obama’s a politician who counts on his skillful oratory to sway the public. The fact is that he’s as liberal as they come, which is bad for the country and bad for freedom of expression (just look at his stance on first amendment issues). He supports the fairness doctrine which would override the first amendment in favor of liberals who want to compete in radio markets where they have, up to now, failed. And that is only one example. He voted in favor of a bill that allowed botched abortion babies to be killed by the doctors and nurses after they were born. As I Christian, I KNOW Jesus would tell me to look at substance over anything else, something Obama lacks. And if you want to talk about mudslinging, just look to Obama, who likened Governor Palin to a pig, and DAILY derides McCain personally. McCain attacks on substance and the issues, and you people try to say it’s all about hate and divisiveness. Obama DOES NOT have the experience necessary AT ALL, and I can’t believe that anyone of faith would vote for anyone who is RADICALLY pro-abortion, anti-first amendment, and completely naïve when it comes to geo-political issues. Remember, this is the guy who, when speaking of the Georgian-Russian conflict, said both sides should exercise restraint. Both sides, really??? Georgia was not the aggressor, and had thousands of its innocent civilians (of its burgeoning democracy) murdered in cold blood by Russian soldiers. People need to look at the issues and the ramifications of bad policies. Vote with your MINDS, and not your feelings.