Why I voted for Obama

I wanted to take a minute and share my story with you and why I am backing Barack Obama. I remember watching his speech at the 2004 convention. At that time I was still pretty much a Republican. I then as I do now, consider myself a student of politics and I make a point of looking at a problem from as many sides as I can. I liked the fact that there was a younger face to the Democratic party. This is ironic because in retrospect the old stuffy faces in the Democratic leadership were the same age as those were in charge on the Republican side.
It led me to realize years ago that the problem in Washington will probably never change if left in the hands of the same people who are working the current system. But as I said, I was a Republican and while I heard a great speaker, he didn't resonate with much substance to his message to me. I noted him and went on with my life.

As the next three years have played out, I heard his name more and more and finally, when I heard that he may announce for the Presideny decided to pick up his book, The Audacity of Hope. I noticed that beyond the flowery speeches, that something true resonated in what he said. I pulled no punches and talked frankly about his first few days in Congress, voting for something unpopular in his district, meeting with Robert Byrd, who I have over the years had a serious dislike for, but in his meeting, he saw a redeeming quality in him: A love for the Senate that has lasted in his entire career. Still, it took months for me to decide that he was actually worth listening to.

I spent the fall listening to what all the Candidates had to say. I watched the debates on both sides because I wanted to see things set right. The last seven years have been an abysmal failure both domestically and internationally. In essence, the man I backed in two elections had managed to decimate the country in his tenure and I wanted a real break from those policies. I listened to what Obama had to say in the beginning and yeah, there may have been better ways to say what he said (like he would put boots on the ground to hunt Al Qaeda in Pakistan or that he would talk to leaders that the current administration thought were enemies) I recognized that there was a deep seeded logic that guided those thoughts and after the waves of rhetoric spwed from the competition, the logic was sound.

Still it wasn't until I'd say December that I was willing to cross the aisle and support someone who had the Chutzpah to actually say what was on his mind. And once I chose to do so, it was weird but for the first time in about 15 years when I supported Bill Clinton, it felt like the right way to go.

So, what happens here? I'm going to follow this man to the end of the line. Win or loss at the convention. Win or loss in November, I'll cast my polical hopes behind this man. And hopefully at the end, we'll get to see the changes we want.