A Black Conservative for Obama

Things are a bit quiet at work, so I figured I'd ride the blog wave till sometime before my weekly project review meeting with the boss.

Perhaps the easiest way to start is to show my cards on the issue of the U.S. presidential election. I'm not an American, nor do I live in the States, but this is an election that could signal a major shift in overall US policy not just towards my home (Canada) and native land (Africa), but also in terms of voter turnout and (gasp!) making politics "cool" again.
Despite my conservative leanings, I am hoping for an Obama victory in November. This actually has nothing to do with his "blackness", after all I scorned the idea of Al Sharpton running for that office in 2004, and more to do with the repercussions if Hilary "don't call me Rodham" Clinton or John "i'm going slightly senile" McCain became President.

First, let's deal with the NY Senator: Bill Clinton turned the White House into his own private bordello for 8 years, and I see no reason why he should be allowed to return there, especially now that he won't have an official job. I mean, let us contemplate for a few seconds what Bill could get up to while Hilary is on a goodwill mission to Africa, for example...that's what I thought. Now to his wifey - this is the same person who supported Dubya when he went to Iraq, whose husband came up with the crap called NAFTA (which she has waffled on) and whose biggest claim to fame is that she was a first lady. She claims to have a grasp of the issues, but let's be honest, how many presidents actually come up with policies? It's the beaurecrats, dummy.

Twenty years ago, McCain would have made a great president. At 71, this war veteran doesn't seem to be as coherent as the two Democrats, and frankly, seems to have benefitted from what can best be described as a weak Republican candidate pool. Other than the fact that he can't seem to express a sentence without stammering or fumbling for words, the old man is liberal on issues a true conservative shouldn't be, especially when it comes to moral conservatism (my ideal of true conservatism). I'm also a bit concerned about his campaign speech that tries to validate the Iraq war in principle, if not literally. That's not the only issue conservatives want to hear, but then he is weak on those issues. Furthermore, isn't it strange that in a culture where people are forced to retire at age 65, folks want to elect someone who, assuming a 2nd term, could be 80 by the time he's leaving office??

Barack may admittedly be weaker on the issues, mainly from lack of experience, but that didn't stop JFK, Lincoln or even Bill "I have an itch that needs scratching" Clinton from becoming President, and on balance they did OK. Let's give the black man a chance, even if this represents settling of the highest order.
Yes, you heard it here first - in the absence of a true moral conservative in this race, Barack should be elected because the alternative choices are crap.