One of my oldest and closest friends just sent me this message. I appreciate his honesty, and so I am going to post my reply in full. He writes.
so has california changed you that much???????
You are going to have to fill me in on what I am missing…Help me understand how you can support obama?
Here is my reply:
I’ve actually written about this quite a bit in my blog, but since you are one of my oldest and best friends, I wanted to respond personally.
The short answer? How can I not?
Here’s the long answer:
Over the last 8 years, we have seen a crippling war in Iraq, 4,000+ soldiers who have paid the ultimate price. Numerous signing statements from an executive branch that has nothing but contempt for the Constitution. Illegal wiretapping. Soldiers being deployed in our borders. A deficit that has grown to $11 trillion.
My reasons for supporting Obama have more to do with the fact that McCain simply wants to continue the failed policies of the last 8 years.
Did you have any money in the stock market? How about your 401(k)? How confident are you that more tax cuts for the rich will help you retire on time?
Bush & Co. had 8 years to experiment. And that experiment has failed.
Is Obama the best choice ever? No, actually. My first choice was Ron Paul.
In the spirit of transparency, here is a list of my political contributions this election:
Ron Paul - $500
Darcy Burner For Congress - $150
Barack Obama For President - $50
I am a libertarian at heart, but I am also a realist. And given the choice between the two major party candidates, the facts alone dictate that I support Barack Obama.
It isn’t California that has changed me, it is life experience, and the last 8 years that have changed me.
John
If you didn’t have a chance to watch Obama’s presentation this evening, here it is in its entirety.
See, in high school I was the model citizen for the Young Republicans. When the Democratic Tide of 1992 swept over the nation, I wore all black for a week. For real.
I attended Republican fundraisers, and I still own a copy of “See I told you so” personally signed to me by Rush when I attended a Republican fundraiser.
But since I’ve moved to California, and I have had to grow a business up from nothing with only the sweat and tears of me and my business partner, I’ve changed.
Life is not black & white. Life is HARD. Life is full of lose/lose decisions. Thank God we made the right choices. And it would be a shame to not extend the same courtesy to those who are still toiling away, praying for the next big, better thing.
Life is not a zero sum game. Life is about opportunities. Life is about using your situation to better yourself, no matter how hard it may be.
Life is about rolling quarters for gas money, and years later, when you are smug and content, remembering how you had to roll quarters for gas money.
That is not socalism. That is simply paying it forward.
Nate Silver is a legend amongst baseball stats fanatics. He correctly predicted the Tampa Bay Rays dominace this post season, but he has done even more with his statistical talents when he launched the blog FiveThirtyEight. That blog has become the end all, be all, of political statistics. He applies truth mathematics to the campaign and the polls, then delivers the results in a clear and concise manner.
The mainstream hates his results, but how can you argue his methods? At his time at Baseball Prospectus, he completely overhauled their analysis methods.
Quite frankly, there isn’t any other poll aggregator to trust.
As Barbie once said, “Math Is Hard”. Nate makes math easy. Check out his blog if you really want to know what will happen on November 4th.
Although most people have more intricate dreams, I have accomplished one that I have had since I was a punk-ass kid back in the early 90’s.
As of tonight, I now own at least one unit of every single 8-bit or 16-bit computer the defunct Commodore Computer Company has ever produced. This includes the following CBM models: Commodore PET, Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Commodore 128-D.
But that’s not all. I also have a Commodore Amiga 1000, Amiga 500, Amiga 2000, Amiga 2000HD, Amiga 200HD Video Toaster, Amiga 1200, and Amiga 3000.
Let’s not forget the Commodore CD-32 Console, which completely sucks.
Finally, the Amiga 4000 sits alone without any display, printer, or other hardware to interface with it. If you can help, let me know.
And I know what Penn & Teller have said, but the truth is that my past defines me. If they are better than me in that way, go them. But I still appreciate my old dialup BBS chances.
Wow, after having read my most recent blogs, it would appear that I was an Obama supporter.
And sadly, I would have to agree.
I didn’t want to be in support of the Democratic candidate for president, but because of the sheer hate the opposition has demonstrated, it seems like the only sane thing to do.
So, stop the presses, I officially endorse Barack Obama for president. Not because I think he is the end all, be all. But because I don’t want to be on the side that is actively calling for his death.
The worst thing that could ever happen would be for Obama to be harmed in this last stretch. But to be honest, given the response McCain & Palin have ignored lately…
Well, I just pray that the Secret Service is on their A game…
And honestly, I thought we were beyond that. But the problem is that people like this embrace ignorance.
McCain is starting to condemn these kind of klan like attacks, but his surrogate Palin is doing nothing of the same.
Don’t let HATE define this campaign, “my friends”. Demand that the facts speak openly.
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