You may notice I have deleted the Fred Thompson link I used to have on the side of this page. I did that because, well, Fred seems to have completely disappeared off the face of the planet (seriously, can anyone at least confirm that he isn’t dead or passed out in an Iowa cornfield?). So this puts me back in the unfortunate position of once again having to pick a candidate to support in the upcoming (yeah, upcoming as in a year from now) presidential election. Before Iowa I was hesitant to be too vocal just because the field was so broad and there was little point in seriously scrutinizing any of the candidates because there were just so many of them. Well, I’ve made my pick. . . Barak Obama.

*ducks behind a table in case any passing Republicans try to throw something at my head*

Seriously though, if it is Huckabee and Obama, I’m voting for Barak. I came to this conclusion as a result of a mix of things I like about Obama and dislike about Huckabee. First off, my biggest concern with Huckabee is, unfortunately and ironically, his faith. Not that I doubt his convictions or take issue with his faith in general. Rather it is his hints at taking back America for Christ. Now, this is a admirable goal and one I can support. . . coming from the pulpit. I’m concerned that if Huckabee is the President it will be four more years of “God told me. . . ” politics. There is a reason state and religion should be separate, they don’t play well together. Politicized faith is how we end up vilifying peaceful mainstream Islam and entrenching ourselves in an us vs. them world view. Would I like to live in a country where the majority of people were honest and sincere Christians? Of course! But I’m not willing to hand the keys to the country over to someone who thinks that by “taking back” America we can fix it.

Now on the Obama side, I think he is the most exciting candidate I have seen in my “grown-up” life. I don’t agree with every single one of his policies but he does something that I don’t see any other candidate doing. He isn’t playing to his party base, he is going out and telling people it is time to move beyond right and wrong, liberal and conservative, etc and come together to find solutions to the issues we face as a nation. He is seeking to inspire people to be active members of their community and seek political compromise. Maybe you believe in higher taxes, maybe you believe in reduced spending, maybe you believe in both, but regardless of how you feel, we need to figure out how to cut the national debt. Maybe you believe in privatizing social security, maybe you believe in universal health care, whatever, we need to sit down as a nation and figure out a plan that is a long term solution, not just another patch job. I like that he wants to trade increased salaries and more resources for more accountability in schools. I like that he says we need to stop wasting time and make some tough decisions about immigration. You can argue he doesn’t have the experience of Hilary or Gulianni or McCain but the fact he comes from outside the political machine is one of the things I like most about him. Now, traditionally, “outsiders” haven’t always garnered the most support in Congress once in office but I think people are getting fed up with capitol tit for tat. I really do believe in the idea of a post-partisan movement. I laugh at the fact I’m questioning my identification as a Republican now that I’m arguing for a Democratic presidential candidate but I think this has been a long time coming. I think the way the Republicans took a dive off the right end of the party line and the Democrats have done nothing but domestic saber rattling over the last four years is leading people to re-examine their traditional party affiliations. I think that is why Libertarian candidates have seen a rise in popularity and I think that is (part) of why Ron Paul has enjoyed so much success on the internet. I think back to the movie Bullworth where Warren Beatty played a politician who’s political campaign takes off when he starts “telling it like it is” and forcing people to examine their views. I think it is time we stir the pot a little and get people to examine what it means to be a conservative (eg sound fiscal policy, limited government, empowering individuals) or a liberal (eg transparent government, true freedom of speech [yes, even for those crazy "hate mongering" Christians you despise], etc.). Anyway, Coffee Cat is getting ready to close so I’ll wrap this up for now. I was going to write a few more posts about some photography stuff I have going on and some other ideas I have running through my head but those will have to wait for now. Ciao!

Filed under: life by Jonathan Assink