I endorse Barack Obama.



I'm so excited. Election day is less than a week away. After four years of following the elections, from Barack Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, to the clusterfuck to the Whitehouse that followed. From an assured Gulioni-Hillary general election, to John McCain's easy win in the primaries, to the historic democratic primaries. I remember being up at 2 or 3 am wandering the news sites when Joe Biden was announced as Obama's running mate. It was exiting, flipping on MSNBC, watching the early analysis as the sun came up. Seeing Joe Biden's first speech in front of the state house in Springfield, IL. I remember what a sense of security he brought to the ticket. Before Biden, I thought that Obama lacked some political capital and experience. But with Biden on the ticket, it doesn't matter. Of course I still think a Clinton/Obama ticket would have been best for everyone.

But on another note:

It really offends me when people say that they don't vote or aren't even registered. A lot of the people that I know don't care who the president is, I'm sure none of them could even name the secretary of state (Condeleza Rice) or the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi). It's incomprehensible to me to think that most people are so uninvolved. How can you just not vote. How is it possible that they don't care about anything. I remember two years ago talking about Barack Obama. They asked who's Barack Obama? Who's Barack Obama?!? That was preposterous to me even back then.


The people that don't vote have no right to complain about government, ever. They can't say that taxes are too high, or that we need better schools, because they had their one chance to change it all. With a the simple act of filling out a ballot they have their voice and they reject it. This is how the religious must feel when encountering an atheist. Most religious people simply cannot imagine not believing in God. And I can't imagining being so out of touch with the world that I wouldn't vote. So all three (to use a generous estimate) of my readers, I implore you vote. Please, it doesn't matter who you vote for or what you vote for, but please fill out a ballot, drop in off (if you're in Oregon.) Take five minutes out of your life to look at the voters pamphlet. Of course Oregon readers know to say no on Mandatory Minimum Sentencing and yes to limiting English as a Second Language classes to two years maximum.

So on that note, I depart. Happy Halloween everyone.