An Iowa Woman Backs Obama
Esther D'Agrosa • Reader Submitted • December 18, 2007
Like many Americans, I am looking forward to the day when our president is a woman. I am, however, strongly supporting Senator Barack Obama for president 2008. He is the leader for our future. His vision of our country is one that unites rather than divides. Barack Obama is a person of great intellect, integrity, wisdom, sound judgment, and empathy, whose compelling life story is the scaffold of these qualities. We need such a president. Senator Clinton, while an intelligent person and capable politician, is not the person who should hold that title.
Barack Obama is a person of eminent judgment and wisdom, qualities that are not necessarily equal to age and/or experience. These qualities are informed by his intelligence, history, and spirit.
His keynote address at the Democratic Convention in 2004 mesmerized the audience, and resonated throughout the country. That call to unity continues to be a mainstay of his candidacy, and his appeal to many citizens. It is as if we had been waiting eagerly to hear his words, even though we could not articulate them ourselves. That is true leadership!
Obama?s position on the War in Iraq has been clear and steady. He opposed the war before the congressional vote in 2002, and made his (then unpopular) views public at the time. He had the courage of his convictions at a time when it would have been more politically prudent to follow the crowd. He weighed the same evidence as Hillary Clinton and came to a radically different conclusion. He was younger then ? he had less experience then ? but his sagacious assessment in 2002 is the reality of 2007.
Barack Obama is a person who listens. Not since Robert Kennedy have I observed a candidate, like Obama, who was willing to step into the shoes of another person for a brief moment in time. I have attended several Town Hall meetings with Senator Obama. As the question ? answer format of each event unfolded, it became clear to me that Senator Obama was really attending to the questions from each individual. He listened intently, grasped the complexities of an issue, took time to clarify and formulate his answer, and then explained his reasoning. All the while, unafraid of disagreement or contention, he looked for areas of agreement.
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