“Eight is Enough!”

I have just a few quick political thoughts for today. First, Obama’s nomination acceptance speech last night was exactly what it needed to be. Check out the video here for the full experience, but I’ll leave all of the other analysis to the experts.

Second, kudos to John McCain for ensuring that, either way, a precedent will be set in this year’s election. While I think that the choice of Gov. Palin was, in part, to pander to some of the pro-Hillary crowd, as most of that crowd is pro-Choice, I don’t believe it will be a significant factor in the election. Combine that with a few skeletons, her extreme lack of foreign and domestic policy experience (yes, much more so than Obama), and the very real possibility that McCain might pass on in office, I’m not sure that she’s the safest choice to ensure his victory.

This, I figure I should link to this post on the excellent blog Pulse of Central Florida where I recently posted a rather lengthy comment on exactly what I like support Obama over McCain. This was in response to post about how Obama wasn’t exactly specific on the issues and what he would do as President. While there is a great deal to get excited about by Obama the person, there’s even more excitement and a great deal of detail about Obama the candidate that’s worth pointing out from time-to-time. Here’s to hoping that last night marked the opening salvo of this fall’s election battle.

“Eight is enough!”

Obama’s Open Letter to Gay Americans

I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans. Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBTAmericans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation.

In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage.

Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system. The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.

We also need a president who’s willing to confront the stigma – too often tied to homophobia – that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president. That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones – and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career. I brought this message of inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention.

I talked about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign – from local LGBT activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached. Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBTAmericans. But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary. Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible. I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit. Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all Americans, gay and straight alike.

(from Andrew Sullivan’s blog)

For What Its “Worth”

Here’s a comparison of the major candidates’ net worth. I bring this up because Hillary Clinton just took out a $5 million loan to help pump up her campaign efforts. Combine that with this interesting nugget:

Mr. Obama also has a money advantage because he has raised more money from small donations than Mrs. Clinton. An analysis by the Campaign Finance Institute, which tracks trends in political money, found that Mr. Obama raised about a third of his money in 2007 from donors who gave $200 or less. Only one-third of his money came from donors who have given the legal maximum of $2,300, compared to Mrs. Clinton who raised about half of her money from “maxed out” donors and only 14% from donors of $200 or less.

Even with the lobbyist money and decently large personal wealth, Clinton is still trailing behind Obama in money. Clinton’s river may run deep, but Obama’s runs deep and wide. And 2/3 of it are from people like you and me, not big corporations, not from donors who max out!

from Obama’s speech last night in Chicago:

The hope of the father who goes to work before dawn and lies awake with doubt that tells him he cannot give his children the same opportunities that someone gave him. Yes, he can.

We know that we have seen something happen over the last several weeks, over the past several months. We know that what began as a whisper has now swelled to a chorus that cannot be ignored — (cheers, applause) — that will not be deterred, that will ring out across this land as a hymn that will heal this nation — (cheers, applause) — repair this world, make this time different than all the rest. Yes, we can.

Lessig on Obama

Internet law guru Lawrence Lessig’s very reasoned explanation on why he supports Obama and how several recent attacks on him by the Clinton campaign are either outright lies or, at best, intentionally misleading.

Why I Endorse Obama (and not Clinton)

I have absolutely nothing against Hillary Clinton as a person. I likewise believe that we’re way over-due as a country in having a woman lead us as President. That said, I reject what the last 16 years of our politics have left us with - divisions. I see Hillary Clinton, if elected, as bringing an extension of the same liberal vs. conservative conflict that we’ve endured since her husband’s time in the White House. Her political tactics are too strategic, too careful, too (dare I say the word) calculated for my taste, reminding me very much of her husband’s and more recently, those of one Karl Rove.

I have read/listened to Barack Obama’s two books, I have listened to several of his more rousing speeches, and I have read his much of his campaign platform. I agree with him completely on voting against the Iraq war, seeing it for what it was, a convenient extension on a justifiable war against terrorists that ultimately has led to far more death and destabilization in that region that would have resulted in a continuation of the existing containment policy. I agree with him that universal health care should not be mandated but provided by the government working within the free market. I want net neutrality, guaranteeing that our bits are treated as equals as they transit the internet and that no private company or government agency is allowed to suppress our speech or invade our privacy. I want an executive branch that is balanced by the two other branches and will strive to reach across the political aisle to find a consensus, not constantly and bitterly battle over politically useful issues.

I’ve campaigned for the first time over the last few weeks for Orlando4Obama, and it has been remarkably empowering! I’ve worked with men and women of all races, ages, religions, and orientations in this campaign, all of them “fired up” and “ready to go” for Obama. They all believe, as do I, that Barack Obama not only has the ability to beat any Republican opponent but also, once the election is behind him, lead us in restoring hope in the power of the people to make government better!

Get informed about the various candidates’ platforms, listen to what they have to say. Get excited about your chosen candidate, spread their word, and inform others. Don’t vote out of ignorance or choose the lesser of evils, get fired up! Yes we can take back government, but it will only happen if we all take ownership in making it better.

That’s what Obama has campaigned on, and that’s why I will continue to spread the word about him.

Yes We Can

Smearing Obama

While I’m certainly more sensitive to smears against Obama than any other of the candidates, I still believe that Obama has had to handle more than his fair share of nasty misinformation. What blows my mind are that some of my friends and family have believed or even passed along these claims. Here are some of the more pernicious ones and their factual responses.

Obama is a secretive Muslim - He’s actually a Christian, not that it should matter.

Obama belongs to a blacks-only church - His church Trinity Church of Christ, though predominantly black, welcomes anyone regardless of their color.

Obama won’t support Israel - Obama has frequently acknowledged the importance of supporting Israel, though not without acknowledging the plight of the Palestinians.

Obama doesn’t have enough experience - Though this one is less a smear than a simple opinion, Obama has actually been an elected official for longer than Hillary Clinton.

Finally, here’s Obama himself speaking to a paper in Nevada. In lieu of reading and/or listening to his two books, this interview is an excellent snapshot capturing a little bit of why I support him over any other candidate.