Today former secretary of state Colin Powell endorsed senator Barack Obama for president. Mr. Powell is one of the most respected Americans. He served under both senior President Bush and as well as current President Bush. This came days after Chicago Tribune, a right leaning news paper also endorsed Barack Obama for President. This is the first time the newspaper has endorsed the Democratic Party's nominee for president in more than 150 years.
What does all this mean? I think it means centrist Republicans, who understand the gravity of the current situation have decided to look beyond the party line for the good of the country. I will add myself to this list.
After the primaries I was open to looking at McCain because of my impression of him from the race of year 2000. I was torn between him and Senator Obama whom I supported during democratic primaries. I was in doubt until he chose Governor Palin as his running mate. That just did it for me. How, somebody aspiring for the highest office in the land, can be so reckless? It was politics at its worst. The events in the last couple of weeks have only reinforced my belief that Senator McCain does not put country first. He puts politics first. When the country is facing such economic crisis, the center piece of his campaign has become Senator Obama’s association with Mr Ayers.
Many Americans have doubts about the lack of experience of Senator Obama. I am one of them. However I have seen him in action for the last two years. He has shown an almost infinite capacity to listen and learn. He is not an ideologue. He has the intellectual rigor to get deep into complex issues, listen to competing point of views and then make a decision. It is evident from the way he has run his campaign. He has shown a steadiness during this rollercoaster campaign which will serve him well in office. He has surrounded himself with experts on key issues facing the country. He showed great judgment in the most important decision he made during the campaign in choosing Senator Biden as his running mate.
To be frank, I do worry when I listen to some of his ideas on taxes. I don’t like the idea of giving tax dollars to people who do not pay any taxes. I am hoping he will address this issue as part of the bigger issue of fixing the current economic mess and not look for easy solutions like redistribution of wealth.
I may not agree with him on everything, but of the two candidates running for the highest office, I will give Senator Obama my vote.
Posts
