Obama at the Midwest

On February 15, 2008, I along with thousands of Milwaukeeans braved Cream City’s single degree temperatures to listen to presidential hopeful Barack Obama at the Midwest Airlines Center. The attendees were a true representation of Cream City – students and professionals, blue and white collar workers, male and female, and ethnically and religiously diverse. Despite our differences, we all came together to listen to Senator Obama’s vision for America. We all wanted to see change in the current political systems and we all shared a common hope that fresh ideas and solutions could be infused into the political process.

Senator Obama spoke for about 45 minutes. He discussed his proposals for universal healthcare and how individuals would benefit from a system that focused on preventative medicine as opposed to a system focused on treating the already sick. Obama talked of the increased cost of a college education and how he’d like to craft a program that provided every student with a $2,000 to $4,000 tuition credit in exchange for public service. Obama briefly discussed the Iraq quagmire and his plans for safe troop withdraw. Lastly and most importantly, Obama talked about the need for change and hope in the American government.

For me, Obama’s candidacy suggests a change of direction from the policies of President Bush. It appears that the current administration has taken steps to mute the voice of the people by using falsified information to engage our country in wars. It has ignored the demands for troop withdrawals while supporting prisoner torture and warrant less wiretaps of American citizens. The administration has attacked civil liberties, relaxed environment laws, cut taxes for the extremely rich, and done nothing to lessen America’s dependence on foreign oil and products.

I was an Obama supporter prior to the rally and after hearing his vision for American; I can definitely say that Senator Barack Obama is my choice for the presidential nomination. I believe that he has the intelligence to be the president of the United States. He may not have Senator Clinton or Senator McCain’s experience in Washington, but I believe that Senator Obama’s intelligence and ability to bridge the gap between political beliefs will allow him to accomplish more than the other two candidates.

For instance, Senator Clinton talks about being ready to fight the Republicans. We don’t need a president to fight the Republicans and create deadlock; we need a president who can work with them to get legislation passed. As far as Senator McCain, he seems like he’s too worried about fighting terrorism abroad to worry about America’s domestic and financial problems. The value of the dollar is decreasing; city infrastructures are falling apart; the healthcare system needs to be retooled; the gap between the rich and poor is widening; job growth is declining, and all Senator McCain wants to talk about is spending money to battle terrorism.

America needs a president who is willing to reconcile political differences and get legislation passed, restore America’s stature in the world through diplomacy and war (if need be), return our economy to the best in the world, and strengthen and improve the lives of the American people with affordable healthcare, safe and secure jobs, and a healthy environment.

I realize Senator Obama may not be able to accomplish any of the things I’ve just named because of the nature of the political process and circumstances outside his control, but I think he’s the best person we can elect to try. Obama 08!