My path toward Obama

I support Obama as President of the United States of America.

There. I said it.

It was easier to say than it was to decide, that’s for sure.

First of all, my personality type is ENFP... there are lots of academic ways of describing an ENFP (here and here!), but in simple terms, I “go with my gut”.

In addition, I am not astute at political issues... I'm more of a KISS type of person. I struggle to overcome the barrier that creates and really do try to make an effort to educate myself about the areas I'm most concerned with.

However, as a responsible voter, I know that I owe it to myself, my children, my country, and my candidates to not leave it at that. I really need to do my research before I make a final decision.

I went to Glassbooth and compared my priorities and positions on the various issues with ALL of the Presidential candidates.

Surprise… the results were all Democratic candidates!!

Another surprise, as addressed in another post: the top two in which I had the most in common were Kucinich and Gravel. Then it went Clinton, Edwards, and finally Obama. There was only a percentage point or two apart in difference, but Obama was ranked #5!

But my gut still kept leaning for Obama…

So I looked into the two areas in which Obama and I held different positions… and I researched his argument for his position and compared it to mine. He made sense… I didn’t necessarily agree with him, but I could respect the basis of his position.

I still was undecided, however…

Hillary Clinton… wow, the first woman President! She does have many years of experience in the political arena. But… is being the first woman President a good reason to elect her as the leader of our country? Just because she has experience, does that necessarily mean that she’s the best choice? (Haven’t we all had EXPERIENCED bosses or teachers… who still sucked at their job?) She’s got a lot of baggage… very little do I feel is actually her fault… but I’d really like the country to focus on OUR issues… and not the Clintons’. Her interaction with others, her ego, her marital situation… can we afford to take our eyes off the ball? I don’t think so…
I have to say that one simple sentence pushed me over the fence…

I received an Obama brochure in the mail last week… In this campaign flyer, he states he will “take on the drug and insurance lobbyists to cut health care costs for the typical family…”

That leapt out to me… this isn’t the time or place to discuss “why” but it was something I was waiting to hear from one of the candidates. (You can read more about Obama’s health care plan here.)

After I acknowledged to myself that Obama WAS the candidate I believed in, I learned which other Idahoans had endorsed him. This list contained individuals who I deeply admired and respected. People who I knew were more politically astute than I am and who understood more clearly the issues.

I realized then that I had made the right decision.