Posted on 11/07/2008 10:40:35 AM PST by Traviswf
Hi there. I voted for Obama, but have been reading a lot of Freerepublic lately to see how the other side is reacting. I'm not trying to troll here - honestly - but if you feel I am, that's understandable. I just wanted to offer a perspective on this that I think may be interesting to some of you. Oh, and this is much longer than I intended. And I'm fairly certain I'm not posting this the right way...for which I apologize.
When Bush was elected in 2000, I was upset. And yes, I whined about him "stealing" the election. I don't really think that's true anymore - it was just a painful way to lose. Sure, we can whine about the popular vote vs. the electoral vote, but you can't change the rules in the middle of the game. Then I watched the movie Recount and realized just how awful the democrats were at trying to win the damn thing. Gore seemed like he didn't really want it.
When Bush won in 2004, I was absolutely devastated. I thought the world was going to end. I didn't think we should be in Iraq, I agreed with Kerry that we had to finish the fight in Afganistan. I was worried about the courts. And frankly - I just didn't like Bush. I didn't like the way he governed, the way he spoke, and the way he talked as if we on the left were less American.
On 9/11 I happened to be in Toronto on business. When the towers fell, I knew I had to get home. A colleague and I wanted to go to New York, to help in some way. But we were told nobody was getting anywhere close. Our next instinct was to get home - to California. We didn't just want to be with our families, we desperately wanted to be in our country. That day was rough because my colleague thought his wife might have been on one of the planes - her travel plans were very similar. It took hours of agony before we, thank God, found out she was safe.
So we rented a car in Toronto and drove across the country. It took a couple hours to get across the border in the middle of the night. We stopped in Omaha, and then Colorado. I can't even tell you how much I loved my country driving across its beauty in those days after the attacks. And there were no jokes about "we're in enemy territory" because we were in "red states." We were in America. Everywhere we went people said "How are you? Is everyone safe?"
I know everyone has similar stories of those days. And certainly many, many people have stories of real loss - not just "we thought we lost someone, but it was a happy ending." Then, fairly quickly, I felt my patriotism coming under attack because I had a difference of opinion about how to fight back. I didn't think Iraq was the right choice - it made no sense to me, and I certainly wasn't alone. But people questioned my love of my country. And that was very, very hard to forgive.
When 2008 came up, more than anything, I wanted to win the White House back. I wanted to punish the Bush administration for what I felt was not just a failure to be competent, but a failure to keep the country united. I inititally supported Hilary, but I had this feeling in my gut that she was just going to be Bush - but for our side. She'd be a partisan warrior, a polarizing figure (which Bush wasn't when he started, but Hilary already was...). It made me sick to my stomach.
I wanted to go back to feeling like an American in those days after the attack - where our disagreements were things we laughed about over a beer and the real threat was far, far more serious.
I'd written Obama's candidacy off as a dry run for 2016 or later. Or maybe he was running for VP. I thought - hey, dude, at least finish a term in the Senate. Then when he said "we're not a collection of red states and blue states, we're the United States of America" it hit me like lightning. It had nothing to do with him - it had to do with the country, and my love for it and this feeling deep down in my gut that we were fighting over the placement of the deck chairs while the ship was sinking.
Wow, this got really rambly. Sorry about that. Here's why I posted initially. I saw this thing on here about Obama's "national defense force" and some posters commenting about the coming civil war or some such. I'm pretty sure Obama was just talking about funding for police. I mean - are you guys really worried he's going to do this? There was a rumor on the left that Bush was bringing a military brigade trained in "riot control" home from Iraq before the elections. People were convinced Bush was going to take over the country in a military coup. I'm sure you think that's laughable - as do I. Obama is not going to raise a civilian force of brown coats. First of all there's no money for it, nobody would go for it, and he'd be laughed out of the White House.
He's also not a socialist. And he's not coming for your guns. If he did either of this things, he can basically just go home now. Those are not realistic positions for any president to have. He will likely appoint liberals - at least too liberal for you guys - to the courts.
But here's the thing. He's going to try and be a good president. I think they all do. And Obama ran on uniting the country, on being bipartisan. That's sort of ALL he ran on. It's how he won 60% of independent and brought home so many of the Clinton voters. So if he doesn't deliver on this - I imagine he'll be fairly easy to beat in 2012.
So that's my two cents. Obama was always going to get my vote as the nominee because I'm a lifelong democrat and a liberal. But I'm not a socialist or a pacifist. I believe in the 2nd amendment and favor the idea of most issues being decided by the states. I'm not a religious man, but I respect those who are and I think the Dems over reach in pushing religion out of the public square. I believe global warming is a serious problem, but I also think Al Gore enjoys it WAY too much.
And here's another caveat. I know it's easier to be bipartisan and talk about "togetherness" when my guy won. I was where you guys are now in 2000 and 2004. I mean, my party ALMOST ran Howard Dean and then said "No wait! John Kerry is a much better idea!" Or in this election to have a friend say "You've GOT to read Alec Baldwin's latest piece on HuffPo." I mean...really? He doesn't count as an "Obamacon" you know, he only plays a republican on TV...(you guys ever notice that our most annoying Hollywood liberals end up playing republicans? what's with that?)
So yeah - we've all spent some time in the woods. I just hope we can all agree that we're just as American as the other, and we're passionate about what we believe to be the right path to take. There are real problems with the economy, and Islamic Terrorists aren't going to take a vacation for four years.
That's about it I guess. Sorry you guys lost.
“I imagine he’ll be fairly easy to beat in 2012.”
In the meantime, mind if we name a sewage plant after him?
Obama confiscated it?
No, seriously, I hope this post stands. No one ever died, for having a reasonable discussion.
Cheers.
As to Obama, you can judge him by the friends he keeps. It is odd mixture of Clinton operatives and Carter advisors with a smattering of some of the biggest extremists this country has ever seen.
Time will tell if he is more of a pragmatist than an idealist, but on the major issues he is so far wrong that the stock market is all ready tanking with the news of his presidency. Get ready for high (not higher) taxes, invasive IRS practices, expensive gasoline, and destructive policy with national health care and foreign relations.
No, he may not use the military, but by the time he is through, you will see great adventurism by tyrants world wide because of his perceived weakness. In short, he is an accident that has happened and a train crash in the making....
You voted for a guy who refused to show that he was qualified to run?
Why do you hate America so much? Are you feeling guilty that you live in the greatest country on earth? Oh well, there is no accounting for your decision. Just pray that another 9/11 doesn’t happen.
Sorry to tell you, but you have been punked by the Obama Criminal Enterprise. If you think that he is good for the US, bipartisan and generally a trustworthy guy because of some speeches... I pity you.
Wrong on both counts.
Oh, and don't EVER fall in love with a politician - he'll break your heart, always.
Most of you guys will hate Obama in two years time, take that to the bank.
All of those sentiments can be countered with one thought..
Why wouldn’t you give your Presidential candidate the same scrutiny that you would, say, a Used Car Salesman. You seem to have fallen for his slick marketing campaign, but if you look at his actual legislative record (ie actions instead of words), you’ll see that he isn’t this nice, sweet moderate man you believe.
Remember, you voted for Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, not a motivational speaker.
But heck, you made the bed, time to lay in it. You have no one to blame.
I promise I will give President Obama 10% more respect than your side gave President Bush.
Obama’s not a socialist? News to me.
You have obviously been OBAMBOOZLED.
I hope you don’t get banned.
You do not seem like most of the flamethrowers who have come here for their first (and last) post on FR.
(I am not a big fan of the zot)
We're conservatives. We didn't have a candidate in this election. Where conservatism was on the ballot, it did very well.
Don't confuse Republicans with Conservatives.
No, I didn't read a word you posted beyond "I voted for 0bama." Bully for you, pal. I hear you can stop paying off your mortgage now, that must make you feel pretty good.
Thank you for your viewpoint.
The one thing that really sticks in my mind is when BHO was speaking in front of bunch of left-wing-nut-jobs in Oregon (after or before a free concert, of course). After saying Americans shouldn’t expect to drive as much as they do, he went on to say that Americans shouldn’t expect to eat as much as they want to. I can understanding pandering, but this way beyond anything I’ve ever heard before. I don’t expect hearing this junk from someone who wants to be our President.
Required national service in the form of community service hours? 50 - 100 hours per year? What the hell is that? The new Massah? Da Kingfish? This is for school age children through college. Read Zero's own new gov page. Will required service come for the rest of us too?
Nam Vet
this doesnt need to be zotted.
Bush made people so mad that they would vote for anything else. Obama happens to be anything else.
There’s stuff I disagree with in your article, but I agree it’s not a troll. You were a lot more civil than most of the leftists that occasionally come over here. I sincerely hope your post is not deleted.
Speak for yourself. This fight is far from over.
Sleeper Troll Alert!!!
FIRE AT WILL ! ! !
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