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Segami

(14,923 posts)
Fri Nov 2, 2012, 06:59 AM Nov 2012

Why It Was an HONOR to Vote for Obama for a Second Term




Looking forward to a fantastic second term with our re-elected President Obama.




Politicususa:



I’ve already voted. I voted for President Obama. That’s probably a given, since I am neither insane or misinformed. However, I didn’t do it with less enthusiasm than I would have in 2008. I did it with more. This is the only time in my lifetime that I’ve had this kind of reaction to a President, though I voted happily for Clinton both times. This is different. Obama is my kind of leader. He is the President I would have created were I given the opportunity. He is all that a great leader should be. He is a big person, not prone to pettiness. He put this on display by reaching out to Chris Christie who had been bashing him on the trail. A strong leader should be guided by principle over personal grievances. Obama has shown that he is over and over again.




Obama has the temperament of a brilliant leader. He walks softly but carries a big stick. He treats disagreement as a challenge and opportunity instead of something to be shut down. He conducts himself with the grace of forgiveness and the power of someone who believes that injustice must not stand. Obama remembers where he came from and he carries those understandings to his shaping of domestic policy. He believes in the American dream and values hard work and opportunity. He is the personification of the American dream, in fact. He knows he didn’t build that on his own. As a woman, the fact that the Obama administration has done more for women’s rights than any other moves me. But I also notice how he treats his wife and girls. I see the respect he has for his equally brilliant wife. I see a man who married up, proudly (by up I refer to her strength and intelligence, not economic status or beauty though she does have the latter to spare).




Maybe part of my feelings for this president come from an inherent understanding of the way he thinks because it’s similar to the way I think (similar but much more brilliant. I am no strategist, for instance). I can see where he’s going in advance and I find myself laughing at how he brings others along while the media buys the narrative that he just came to this idea, when I’m pretty sure he didn’t. A few examples – the media has bought that Obama hasn’t done much for left wing causes, but they clearly have no idea what he buried in the stimulus package – a veritable gift basket of liberal goodies that explains why the right hates it so much. Addressing climate change, rebuilding infrastructure, and more. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone. While others believe that he just came around to gay rights, I suspect he was already there. If you read his books, he talks about his ability to position people. Take that along with his belief that the people need to demand the change, that his is how government should work, and you have a recipe for a leader who offered himself up as the example of the reluctant to the party but now glad to be there guest. In reality, Obama has a long history of very liberal beliefs that he smartly hides beneath a centrist style of governing and a fiscally responsible approach to the budget.




And perhaps that is why I enjoy him so much. I am not a strategist and I’m terrible at playing politics. To see a charismatic leader take liberal ideology and cleverly embed it into our cultural beliefs, thereby making permanent change instead of reactionary change, is just breath taking. Obama mainstreams liberal beliefs. He makes the public cry with him, yes, tax the rich! Yes, gay marriage! Yes, feed the poor! Yes, women’s rights! Yes, end the wars! All the while, he never gives away the game. He genuinely extends his hand across the aisle so that his own party is angry, only feeding the narrative that he needs for cover. He tried. He tried so hard. And he does try, and he does offer olive branches the left doesn’t like, but he does so with an eye to balance and pragmatism. Still, it’s good optics if you’re paying attention. He leaves the obstructionists with no cover.








cont'


http://www.politicususa.com/honor-vote-obama.html


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Why It Was an HONOR to Vote for Obama for a Second Term (Original Post) Segami Nov 2012 OP
Yes it was texpatriot2004 Nov 2012 #1
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