Change in America

This nation is plagued; the threat of terrorism, the high price of oil, the purported health care crisis and a war that many Americans have stopped believing in.

I'm a Republican because I believe that conservative methods are the proper way to deal with these problems. Democrats have a siren song of programs and openness but the price that would be paid for these services are veiled, in the case of Obama, by soaring and inspirational rhetoric, by brilliantly reflecting the worries and frustrations of America in a subdued persona that belies a tough and enduring spirit, by the dream of change.

Obama is a splendid orator; after hearing certain speeches of his, I wondered if I was really a Republican or not. Specifically, the Jefferson Jackson Dinner speech of his struck a chord with me, and the speech he just did it Iowa in lieu of his loss in Kentucky was even more effective; Obama actually started talking about policies rather than dreams. This has been one of my biggest problems with Obama; dreams and hope but no substance. The government would fund college education in exchange for civic service, he says, but how would they get the money for it? They would leave Iraq, he says.

Such a rosy picture he paints; I almost buy into the illusion. Iraq will is not an open shut case and the money we will save from ending operations there will take a great deal of time to start to show. In the beginning of the campaign, I remember hearing him mention closing loopholes in the tax codes for corporations as a way to fund his programs. That's just not feasible, the same way ending earmarks would not reform the debt our country has accumulated.

Barack Obama is not the Second Coming of Lincoln. He's not a wise sage which will lead us out of the wilderness. He's a politician, and a very good one, but not an experienced one. At the very least I understand that Clinton would get things done because she has been engaged in the system for a long enough time to know how to play the game. I respect him for how he has changed politics and proven to the American public that blacks can transcend the issue of race at least moreso than Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton in the political field. Barack Obama has further humanized the issue of race, he has dissected further than any other politician in recent history and he has made all of us better as a result. I admire Obama.

But I do not believe he's the right man for the highest office of the land. I'm immune to the issue of Reverend Wright for a number of reasons that I might detail later. What worreis me is how in our frustration we have forgotten all those who have experience in order to support what looks and sounds good. As great a man as Obama is, his policies need to be tested. McCain and Clinton have been policy wonking for a while now, Obama has not. By policies, I don't whether he wears a flag pin or whether or not he was in the building when Reverend Wright was shouting about America's evils. I'm talking about that foolish, foolish promise he made at the Philadelphia debate about not raising taxes but still promising allt hese expansions of domestic programs. I'm talking about his summits with leaders of nations which would gladly support those who wish America and her allies harm. If you don't believe me about how a summit without conditions or basic agreements can be disasterous, look at Kennedy's summit with Kruschev. Didn't turn out too well.

America is in need for a change, but change that comes fast and without a reasonable ambivalence to balance it can lead to terrible consequences. John McCain might not be the coolest or the hippest person to my generation, but he understands war, and he knows how to make the sacrifices we made worth it. He has the experience necessary to propagate change in a sustained and sensible manner. Obama does not.