Barack Obama's Road To The White House

It's been no secret that I'm an Obama supporter, and so obviously this is an exciting week.

Many critics pointed out in 2004 that many Democrats were not voting for John Kerry, per se, but more voting against President Bush. And that was largely true and no one really denied that (Kerry would've made a great President, but was a lousy campaigner). So it's refreshing to be able to say unambiguously that I am voting FOR Barack Obama and that I genuinely believe that he is the best candidate we have to become our next President.

The GOP will-- besides their standard personality-based attacks-- go after him with the narrative that he's too inexperienced and unaccomplished to lead this country. On the former point, Obama has pointed out, "Being experienced is not enough. The question is, what lessons do you learn from your experience? Nobody had a better track record in experience than Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, but they had bad judgment... The people who have been criticizing me over the past two weeks are the people who engineered what is the biggest foreign policy fiasco in a generation." Sen. Obama has shown superior judgment in his work in the Senate, and has shown a level of class and diplomacy that will serve him well in both foreign and domestic matters. He has also shown that he does not back down from a fight either.

As for his accomplishments... they are far more numerous than he has been given credit for. From ethics reform to nuclear non-proliferation work to other top issues, he has a far more meat-y legislative record than most freshman Senators can boast. He's also shown-- by running a more successful, and more restrained, campaign than the Clinton dynasty-- that he has strong executive skills. He's ready to be President.

He's also running on a larger, more detailed set of policy proposals than his opponent.

Does any of this mean, though, that the election is a shoe-in or that we should take anything for granted? NO. This will be a hard-fought campaign. Winning will not only mean out-campaigning Maverick McCain, it will also mean winning over Clinton's die-hard supporters, and working hard to solidify the Democrats' gains in the new swings states out West, like Colorado and Nevada and New Mexico and Montana. I believe that Sen. Obama can do that, but he's really going to have to fight for it. Don't let us down, Barry.



[UPDATE: Another reason to love Obama? He, like, beat up Joe Lieberman, or something.]