Why I support Obama

I support Barack Obama’s run for president.

I suppose that’s no surprise to those who know me or to those who have a cursory knowledge of me through this Web site. After all, I’m part of his standard demographic: young and college-educated.

Several acquiantances have thought my Obama support was identical to that of the people you see at his rallies– the fanboys/ fangirls who’re excited by his every word, gesture or action.

I’m not.

When I first heard Obama was running, I was skeptical. Like a lot of people, I thought he had barely a sliver of experience to run on. I had LOVED his 2004 Convention speech and thought that he was a good speaker, but really– is he more than that? Then the Iowa caucuses happened, and he won.

Like most people, I was SHOCKED that he won. After all his opponent is a former first lady, a second-term senator and has the backing of the entire party machine behind her. How the hell could she lose this? But he won, despite the odds.

Like a lot of people I was excited by this moment: a black candidate who had been the underdog in a crowded field had won a presidential caucus in a lily-white state (to use the cliche). Even at this point, I was still convinced that I wouldn’t really mind either way–whether it was Senators Obama or Clinton.

Then New Hampshire took place and he lost. And I was crushed. I was shocked to find that I was crushed. I wasn’t even sure why. But that moment forced me to do my due diligence and read about him, his policy positions and his perspectives on the United States’ role in the world. The latter is especially important to me, a foreign citizen.

My eyes glazed over when reading about Obama’s domestic policy views. To be fair, nearly all the Democrats have identical domestic agendas.

But the thing that really interested me was Senator Obama’s foreign policy ideas. Unlike Senator Clinton, who like most Democrats believes that to be perceived as successful in foreign policy one must talk like a watered-down neocon, Senator Obama had the guts to challenge this orthodoxy. Whether it was his views on Pakistan, Iran or Cuba, he took stances that few politicians would dare make, and he made sharp arguments in their defense. It seems to me that his arguments are pragmatic– it’s not about acting “tough” for the sake of doing so, but being smart AND tough. What will achieve the desired outcomes? This should trump any posturing.

What’s more, I think that Obama has a good shot of improving relationships with several American allies and possible allies, simply by power of personality. Personality is a powerful thing. It explains why former president Clinton is thought of more highly in most African countries rather than Bush 43, even though the latter has done far more for Africa than the former. I’m not just suggesting that personality suffices, but I do think it’ll help open doors and help the US government reshape perceptions around the world.

Some might argue that the US need not care what the world thinks. But the reality is that in a world where most of our enemies fight against us asymmetrically, even the world’s largest, strongest army cannot handle the burden of global terrorism on its own. It needs allies, and it can make these allies through respectful dialogue, not by a ‘with us or against us’ attitude.

But it’s not just how the world sees America; it’s about how America sees America. For the last seven years, this country has become more frightened and suspicious of the world. It has led itself to believe that the only party that can really keep Americans safe from terrorists is the Republican party with their brand of bluster and heavy-handed policies. Obama has so far shown Americans (and should continue to show them) that it’s possible to keep the US safe without using war preemptively, energizing unfriendly regimes or humiliating foreign tourists. In short, he has the opportunity to offer Americans an alternative. It’s more than any other candidate could or would have done, and I’m grateful that he took such a risk. I hope that other people are wise enough to recognize the courage behind his stances and support and encourage this departure from standard US discourse on foreign policy.

I can’t vote for him this fall, but I really hope that you do. I believe he has the power to be a game-changer, for the United States and for his party.