It has been a very long time since America had the leadership of someone who could disarm us of our pessimism, remind us of our roots and heritage and insist that we can solve America’s enormous problems together. Instead of an impassable American mountain, Obama sees a team of American mountaineers plodding toward the summit.
There, law rules, not men.
There, every citizen is equally free and accountable.
There, opportunity, ability and hard work determine our individual and collective dreams.
Not since the 1960s have we been so touched by someone who espouses the hopes and strengths of a nation.
Some will find a reason not to vote for Obama. He is too young, too inexperienced. Too liberal. Too conservative. Too black. Too white. Too soft. Too religious. Too secular. Too naive. Too full of himself.
But we see in him a vibrant American leader who understands that leadership begins first and foremost with the people and a respect for — not manipulation of — them.
Obama seeks to leapfrog Washington’s harsh political rhetoric and gridlock for all the right reasons. While some might ask why him, why now, we ask: Why not?
ABQjournal Opinion: Vote for Obama, Not Politics as Usual
[Obama] confounds the reflexes that have been drilled into voters, like “the assumption that young people are apathetic. The assumption that Republicans won’t cross over. The assumption that the wealthy care nothing for the poor, and that the poor don’t vote. The assumption that African-Americans can’t support the white candidate; whites can’t support the African-American candidate; blacks and Latinos can’t come together,” Obama told supporters after finishing ahead of Hillary Clinton in South Carolina’s primary. …
It may be hard for citizens, who for so long have been in the habit of voting against the greater evil, to cast a vote “for” something. If so, vote against negative campaigning. Vote against division and the gridlock it encourages. Vote against being taken for granted by politicians who think they know what buttons to push. Vote against this dead-end status quo that predates the White House’s current occupant and involves both parties.
Or just be positive and vote for Sen. Barack Obama. At worst, he’s guilty of campaigning on the promise of hope.