Hey Obamaholics! Convince "Me" to vote for St. Barack!

[agentS]

Alright gals and guys. You the DU poster; you've been following this campaign since it began...1yr6mnts ago. Or whatever. It's been a while.
At this point you know the candidate Barack Obama very well.
Therefore, I issue forth for you a challenge; convince "me" to vote for him.
Give a well-thought out or at least a halfway-decent reason to vote for him.
This is your 'chance' to prove to everything how convincing you are and how 'strong' or 'well-planned' St. Obama's candidacy is.

Step 1: Choose which "me" you want to convince. Pick 1 per post. Please label which "me" you are addressing in the post.

A) I am a Nader/Mckinney fan and I lean toward voting for them. I want someone who will be willing to change the course of the country to a progressively oriented country. I also want someone strong against corporate malfeasance. I voted for Gore in 2000.

B) I am a center-right leaning Republican. I have voted Republican for 20 years, but I am not a big fan of the party right now. I am no longer a supporter of the war, but I have misgivings about the Democrats and gun control. I live in a swing state that is +1 McCain in the recent polls.

C) I am a low information voter with no political affiliation. I work hard and play hard, but I find myself working harder than ever and not having a lot of time or money to play with. All I know about the candidates is McCain is "Straight Talk Express" but he's close to Bush and older than dirt. And Obama is or might be a Muslim who had a racist pastor or whatever they were saying on FOX the last time I tuned in. I haven't voted since 1996 for Clinton.

D) I am a Latino-American who has relatives who recently immigrated to the US. Immigration and the economy are my #1 and #2 issues. I have heard McCain is pro-Latino on immigration but I have heard he flip-flopped on that. I haven't heard anything about Obama on immigration. The sagging economy is an issue and I have heard that people are blaming people like my family for the economic problems and that disturbs me. I voted for Bush in 2004 but for a Democratic rep and senator in 2006. I am in a Western swing state leaning towards Obama +3 in the recent polls.

E) I am a Vietnam Veteran. I am pro-Bush and for staying in Iraq. I was planning to vote for McCain, but I saw the video on Youtube where he lied to the Vietnam veteran about his record. So now I don't know whom to vote for. I don't think Obama is strong on National security like McCain, but McCain's recent comments/gaffs troubled me. I heard about the Social Security thing on the radio as well and I have a wife collecting Social Security.

Step 2: Present your case to the "ME" you wish to convince. Cite sources and give details, and direct it specifically in language that "ME" can understand or is expecting, or even not expecting.

Stipulation; You want to convince "me" to vote for Obama, not against McCain or anyone else. What if Nader were the main game? What if Huckabee was the nominee? "Because McCain sucks" won't cut it. Yes he sucks; we already know that. I'm not saying that you shouldn't criticize McCain, but there has got to be more to your argument than just that. "Do You want another 4 years of Bush" is acceptable, though, but only as a starting point.

There you go. For those just passing thru, feel free to cut and paste responses to use in your e-mail to convince people who might need convincing or at least some ideas.

[SoCalDem]

1. Vote for him..or don't.

no skin off MY nose

enjoy your stay here

[WinkyDink]

2. Oh, boy! An assignment! Not.

[Joanne98]

3. Vote for him or we'll cut your **** off!!!!!!!!!

[BlooInBloo]

4. (shrug) Go vote for McKinney.

[billyoc]

5. Fuck off, troll.

[fasttense]

6. Dude, you are seriously delusional if you think

I would waste my time on convincing you and use your bizarre rules of discussion. Where do you come from? Since when does the antagonist set down the rules?

You come to the DEMOCRATIC Underground and claim, in a round about way, that you are not for the presumptive DEMOCRATIC candidate. Then set down rules on how we are suppose to talk to you. What are you thinking?

[Kahuna]

7. Go Cheney yourself. nt

[patricia92243]

16. Wonderful!

[Arkansas Granny]

8. I don't think you are going to get the replies you're seeking by calling him "St. Barack".

[w13rd0]

9. "Alright gays and guys"???!?!

pfft

[agentS]

10. D'OH

Typo/

[anniebelle]

11. You need to go back under your rock and think up something better than this.

You cannot argue with an idiot or convince a simpleton, so run along back to those who believe your nonsense. Bye bye now.

[comtec]

12. What do you want on your tombstone asshole?

I'm not patient with cretins like you anymore.
you don't want to vote for Obama, fine.
GO AWAY!
You are essentially advocating McCain... you have broken TOS, bye!

[crankychatter]

13. I'm starting door to door today for local Dems

I'm not canvassing for Obama

If I was, I'd be careful to avoid debate and make an effort to find common ground

If the goal is flame bait... then I'll give you a C grade

But if you were, as you appear to be, trying to convince people that this is a sincere and helpful exercise you're suggesting?

then you fail the class

[DangerousRhythm]

14. St. Obama?

Simple. Vote for whoever you want to. *shrug*

It's not upon us here to provide you with all the information you can find if you just read his website and his positions, especially if you come with that St. Obama crap. Either you agree or you don't.

[berni_mccoy]

15. In your search for the truth, you must ask the questions. We can only help you find the answers.

Which one are you? A, B, C, D, or E?

[cali]

17. Moronic post filled with falsehoods. Return to your slimy little bridge.

[Ganja Ninja]

18. $4.00 Gas, $130.00 per barrel oil, more than doubling the

national debt in the last 8 years, Osama still on the loose and living large, banks on the brink of failing, costs for everything going up, unemployment going up, illegal immigration still out of control, military equipment of all kinds worn out and in need of replacement, government spying on it's own citizens, a trillion dollars spent on a war in Iraq that was unnecessary and counter productive, pollution up, America's popularity abroad down, world environment in crisis, America dependent on foreign oil to the tune of $700 billion a year, cheap chinese crap!

If you can't see the problems we're having then you're a blind fool and you know what they say about arguing with a fool.

[democrattotheend]

19. I would change your title

You may be sincerely looking for info but the title makes you seem like a troll. Just some advice, since you are new to DU.

I just woke up and don't have time to answer all of your questions right now, but with regard to Nader/McKinney, I will just say that regardless of how progressive/strong against corporate malfeasance they might be, neither of them has a chance to win. So if you care about the issues and the future of this country, you will vote for the candidate who has a chance to win who most closely shares your views. If you're really passionate about the Green Party, move to San Francisco and help the Greens win the mayor's race next time, or work to elect Greens at the local level where they might actually be viable.

[tekisui]

20. Just stay home on Election Day.

[scarletwoman]

21. You might elicit less hostile responses if you used less disparaging language.

I mean, "Obamaholics", "St. Barack" -- wtf? Why would anyone want to go to the trouble of responding to your request when you start off with mockery? You give no one a reason to think you're sincere.

I happen to believe that we ought to be able to make the sale, so to speak, to all kinds of voters; but tossing out snark on a message board is only going to get snark tossed back in return.

sw

[Ganja Ninja]

22. "Agent S"

I guess the S stands for simpleton.

[Loki]

23. I'm not going to try and convince you of anything.

All you have to do is look around you. The Republican brand is a cancer on this country and Democracy. You want more of the same, then vote for the Republican puppet. You like war, you're afraid of terrorists, you're easily led down that pathway because of your ideology and fear, I'm not. I own my own business, and I pay more taxes now than I ever did under Clinton - don't give me the Republican mantra of lower taxes - it's bullshit. Don't give me the fucking gun argument, Iv'e got those too. My father was a Navy veteran of WWII, you say you were pro Bush for the war, you backed a slacker during the war that you say you served in. My father would have called him a fucking bullshit artist and that would have been all he had to say about that coward. But you are still blinded by your ideology. My experience with idealogues is they don't like to deal in truth, it ruins their argument, so arguing with you is a lesson in futility. Vote the way you want to, I think you have already made up your mind. But if you have the courage to think beyond labels, and look at the future of this country, you might be able to do the right thing. Because it's going to take people who have courage to change this country, and get it going in the right direction. Do you have it? Or are you just another lazy "follower". I'm tired of these incompetents, get the fuck out of my way, I'm taking my country back, for my future, my family and for the world who wants to finally be able to look up to America again.

[B Calm]

24. After the past 7 1/2 years. . . . . we have to convince you?

The right to own guns is a very LIBERAL idea!

[VolcanoJen]

25. You lost me at "Saint."

Your rules are ridiculous, your stipulations a bit laughable, and I don't see any reason to labor through this pointless exercise just for your personal amusement.

Have a nice day, though.

[Alter Ego]

26. Hmmm...

Calling him "St. Obama" are we? You right-wing trolls certainly will never be called original, I'll give you that.

[Heidi]

27. Locking.

"Obamaholics" and "St. Barack" are flamebait and do not set the tone for productive discussion.

Heidi,
DU Moderator