Obama's top priorities resonate with residents, OK's gov Brad Henry

[madokie]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectID=65&articleID=20081026_65_G3_spa744416

By BRAD HENRY
10/26/2008


Voters this year are fortunate to be able to choose between two strong and capable candidates for president.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama have extraordinary personal stories that reflect the best of our nation. McCain is a true American hero whose strength of character endured years of torture in a North Vietnamese prison camp. Obama, raised by a single mother, lifted himself up from a hardscrabble childhood and rejected what promised to be a lucrative law career so he could help poverty-stricken neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago. Both men have served their nation with honor and distinction in the U.S. Senate.

But these are uneasy times, and Oklahomans have the same worries plaguing all Americans. Challenging economic times demand bold leadership. And that is why I believe Barack Obama and Joe Biden can spur the change necessary for a promising and prosperous tomorrow. On a number of crucial issues — health care, energy and education, to name a few — an Obama-Biden administration would enact policy initiatives certain to resonate with Oklahomans.

The U.S. is in the throes of an energy crisis of epic proportions. Obama and Biden understand the misery of staggering prices at the gasoline pump and the depth of vulnerability that comes when our nation imports nearly 70 percent of its oil from foreign countries, many of which are openly hostile to American interests. The world is running out of easily accessible oil, but we have failed to accommodate this new reality.