Like many young people, 2008 will be the first time that I vote. February 19th will be my first time, when I cast my ballot in the Wisconsin Presidential Primary. I am going to be able to cast my ballot with the confidence that my candidate is best suited for bringing our country back to where it should be, and where it should have always been. However, I was not always full of the confidence I encompass today in this candidate. Back in November, I tuned into the CNN/Youtube Debate. I did not know a lot about the entire field of candidates at the time. I just knew that on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was running, John Edwards was at it again, and a man from Illinois called Barack Obama, whose name sounded like it was taken out of Mortal Kombat was also running. On the Republican side, Rudy Guliani was the only candidate who I had heard of, as he was the face of 9/11. I had absolutely no idea who I was going to vote for.</p>
<pre><code>I grew up in a conservative household. Reagan and Bush were always spoken of in high regard, while Bill Clinton was always dragged through the mud. During every election my parents would vote a straight Republican ticket. So when I first started to examine the candidates for this election cycle, I naturally looked at the Republicans first. I was not impressed with the majority of the Republican candidates. They were not in sync with what the party stood for and were all pushing a neoconservative agenda. Ron Paul was the only candidate for the Republicans whose values were deep rooted, who stood up for his ideals, and who stood for what the Republican Party was based upon, fiscal conservatism. Next, I moved on to watch a Democratic debate, and get a look at the Democrats running. Instantly, one man stood apart from the pack. Barack Obama talked of a great game plan for America, just like Ron Paul had on the Republican side. These two men had a plan for America, and they were unwavering on their plans. I battled for a long time over which I should vote for, as both were exemplarily candidates. In the end, I decided to give my vote to, and pledge my support behind Barack Obama.
Barack Obama is the epitome of what an American politician should be. He has worked hard throughout his life to get to where he is today. I believe that hard work is the backbone of America, and when our country gets away from hard work, that is when it falters. Barack is an honest man. We need to be able to trust our leaders, and he is one that I am able to trust. He will say one thing and actually mean it. The things he says are backed up in his policies, and in his past voting record. He is not one of those politicians who will say anything to get elected, and I can respect that. He recognizes that he is fallible. He wants what is best for the greater good; he is willing to admit when he has made a mistake to help move forward. He doesn’t want to surround himself with a bunch of yes men, he wants people who are willing to stand up to him, and tell him if they disagree with him, as he doesn’t believe that he is always right. Barack has all the qualities of a great leader, and I have great faith in his ability to run our country.
The first word in the name of our country is “United”. I label myself politically as a moderate libertarian, and have registered as an independent. So I was moved greatly when Barack Obama, during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, said his inspirational words of: “There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America - there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.” These words resound my view of America, and the human people as a whole. We have to stop driving wedges between each other, we need to come together, and start a movement for the greater good of the people. We are always going to be different, but we should be celebrating our differences, not trying to disparage each other over these differences. This vision of unity that Barack beholds has greatly inspired me.
Barack Obama has not only inspired me to vote for him, but he has inspired me to get involved politically. Because of him, I am now watching hours of CNN and MSNBC each day, to keep up with our nation’s politics. Because of him, I am scouring youtube, watching Barrack Obama interviews, or clips from 1988 of Ron Paul on the Morten Downey Jr. Show. He has inspired me deeply. He has inspired me to spread his message, and try to inspire others to vote for him, and get involved in his movement as well. He may have laid down the foundation bricks on my path to my own personal political career. Seeing from where he came from, and the way he has been able to inspire change, makes me believe in myself, and that I can bring change politically in the future. No matter what I do in my life, I hope I am able to carry myself with the same amount of leadership and integrity in which Barack Obama possess. He inspires you in a way where you believe that you can be just like him, making you raise the question to yourself: “if he could do it, why can’t I?”
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