It occurs to me that it may be hard for me to reach anyone "undecided"
in this campaign - at least among my friends, voluntary readers and
business associates. This brief blog, however, is intended for them,
wherever and however this may find them.
I do not personally find it a close call between Obama and McCain, for
a host of reasons. And as a child (politically) of the 60s I am
reminded of my feelings about JFK, and his leadership style. One
candidate for me is, as JFK was, the candidate of hope, aspiration -
spirit, if you will, that encourages me to believe that better, not
worse, will be around the corner if we choose him. And certainly
America in my lifetime has not previously had greater need for the best
leadership it can get from its political process.
I will borrow a few phrases and ideas from the Economist (Nov. 1-7),
which reached the same conclusion, apparently for some of the same
reasons.
We follow from an administration "whose war on terror has left America
less feared by its enemies and less admired by its friends." And the
state of America's reputation in the world now means the new leader's
challenges are "not just a matter of handling the rise of India and
China, drawing them into global efforts, such as curbs on climate
change; it means reselling economic and political freedom to a world
that too quickly associates American capitalism with Lehman Brothers
and American justice with Guantanamo Bay."
I belief Obama has demonstrated a greater capacity for doing that than
McCain, by a wide margin. I also believe, after living in the United
States on both coasts, working as a journalist and in business from the
Central San Joaquin Valley to Wall Street, and abroad, and after months
of campaign-watching, that this is election is, as a business colleague
of mine (and a native of the Middle East) observed, "America's
referendum on racism."
I don't believe that if Obama were white we would hear some of the
arguments raised - "elite?" "aloof?" inexperienced?" - about a man who
was head of the Harvard Law Review and early on committed himself to
social and economic change, eventually waging such an astonishingly
effective campaign that has, as the Economist notes, "out-thought, out
organized and out fought the two mightiest machines in American
politics - the Clintons and the conservative right."
So for me the choice is clear, on many counts. I have reason - and
every hope - to believe that Obama may win on Tuesday. But I would not
want to think I had failed to raise my voice in his favor in the waning
hours, if only to reach one or two people who might be persuaded that
this is the right thing to do in 2008 - for America and the rest of the
world.
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