Why I Refuse To Vote For Barack Obama

[CuteOldGuy]

That's the title of this very long column, which I know most of you won't (or more likely, can't) read. The author thinks Obama is the better candidate, but will not vote for him. It's very interesting, and it would be fun to have some rational feedback from our liberal friends on the column. Instead of the usual bullshit. This guy makes some good points. I'd like to know your serious reaction to them.

A brief excerpt from the column:

I find Obama likable when I see him on TV. He is a caring husband and father, a thoughtful speaker, and possessed of an inspirational biography. On stage, as he smiles into the camera, using words to evoke some of the best sentiments within us, it's hard to believe certain facts about him:

1. Obama terrorizes innocent Pakistanis on an almost daily basis. The drone war he is waging in North Waziristan isn't "precise" or "surgical" as he would have Americans believe. It kills hundreds of innocents, including children. And for thousands of more innocents who live in the targeted communities, the drone war makes their lives into a nightmare worthy of dystopian novels. People are always afraid. Women cower in their homes. Children are kept out of school. The stress they endure gives them psychiatric disorders. Men are driven crazy by an inability to sleep as drones buzz overhead 24 hours a day, a deadly strike possible at any moment. At worst, this policy creates more terrorists than it kills; at best, America is ruining the lives of thousands of innocent people and killing hundreds of innocents for a small increase in safety from terrorists. It is a cowardly, immoral, and illegal policy, deliberately cloaked in opportunistic secrecy. And Democrats who believe that it is the most moral of all responsible policy alternatives are as misinformed and blinded by partisanship as any conservative ideologue.

2. Obama established one of the most reckless precedents imaginable: that any president can secretly order and oversee the extrajudicial killing of American citizens. Obama's kill list transgresses against the Constitution as egregiously as anything George W. Bush ever did. It is as radical an invocation of executive power as anything Dick Cheney championed. The fact that the Democrats rebelled against those men before enthusiastically supporting Obama is hackery every bit as blatant and shameful as anything any talk radio host has done.

3. Contrary to his own previously stated understanding of what the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution demand, President Obama committed U.S. forces to war in Libya without Congressional approval, despite the lack of anything like an imminent threat to national security.

Read the article here, and respond:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...-obama/262861/

[budman33]

He lives in Venice, California per the article.

So he doesnt really know shit about life in Pakistan. Other than that he is perfectly entitled to his opinion.

[CJ7]

bla bla bla

everyone cut to the chase and if youre so inclined, simply say I dont like Obama well enough to vote for him .. you'll be a better person for it.

the constant inane rhetoric falls on deaf ears ...

[markroxny]

First COG, you need to stop with the insult that liberals don't read, especially when you keep begging them to read your articles as if they offer some huge revelation. I read it, the whole thing. woop de do. It's no amazing read, you just happened to find someone who thinks like you do and wrote an article. I'm happy for you.

I will be very interested in seeing how many votes that outside candidate gets.

As far as the points. I think the very liberal use of drones by the Obama administration could be argued legitimately. There is a lot more "collateral" damage in places like Pakistan than I am comfortable with. We play the game with the bravery of being out of range as Roger Waters said in song. However, Obama has not gotten us into unnecessary wars that put more american boots on the ground and that is something I really like about his administration. He ends wars.

Which brings me to Libya. I personally do not agree that the involvement of the united states in the Libya conflict constituted a war. We along with other countries offered support. However, I do not like that we basically were trying to assassinate Ghadafi which is strictly prohibited. We are not supposed to assassinate foreign leaders. And if you are going to interfere in Libya, why not Syria for the same rationale. As a black man, it also bothers me that the first African American President helped launch an attack against an African nation. But what's done is done. I pray Libya will find some stability in the years to come.

Having said that....no matter who is president, they will do things I don't like and disagree with strongly, including Gary Johnson. At the end of the day, I like a lot more of what Obama has done and is doing as president than I dislike.

So I read your article, it raised some points. I'm still voting for Obama and not Gary Johnson. But I wish him well.

[CuteOldGuy]

Thanks, Rox, I knew you had it in you.

[joe bloe]

Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

That's the title of this very long column, which I know most of you won't (or more likely, can't) read. The author thinks Obama is the better candidate, but will not vote for him. It's very interesting, and it would be fun to have some rational feedback from our liberal friends on the column. Instead of the usual bullshit. This guy makes some good points. I'd like to know your serious reaction to them.

A brief excerpt from the column:

I find Obama likable when I see him on TV. He is a caring husband and father, a thoughtful speaker, and possessed of an inspirational biography. On stage, as he smiles into the camera, using words to evoke some of the best sentiments within us, it's hard to believe certain facts about him:

1. Obama terrorizes innocent Pakistanis on an almost daily basis. The drone war he is waging in North Waziristan isn't "precise" or "surgical" as he would have Americans believe. It kills hundreds of innocents, including children. And for thousands of more innocents who live in the targeted communities, the drone war makes their lives into a nightmare worthy of dystopian novels. People are always afraid. Women cower in their homes. Children are kept out of school. The stress they endure gives them psychiatric disorders. Men are driven crazy by an inability to sleep as drones buzz overhead 24 hours a day, a deadly strike possible at any moment. At worst, this policy creates more terrorists than it kills; at best, America is ruining the lives of thousands of innocent people and killing hundreds of innocents for a small increase in safety from terrorists. It is a cowardly, immoral, and illegal policy, deliberately cloaked in opportunistic secrecy. And Democrats who believe that it is the most moral of all responsible policy alternatives are as misinformed and blinded by partisanship as any conservative ideologue.

2. Obama established one of the most reckless precedents imaginable: that any president can secretly order and oversee the extrajudicial killing of American citizens. Obama's kill list transgresses against the Constitution as egregiously as anything George W. Bush ever did. It is as radical an invocation of executive power as anything Dick Cheney championed. The fact that the Democrats rebelled against those men before enthusiastically supporting Obama is hackery every bit as blatant and shameful as anything any talk radio host has done.

3. Contrary to his own previously stated understanding of what the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution demand, President Obama committed U.S. forces to war in Libya without Congressional approval, despite the lack of anything like an imminent threat to national security.

Read the article here, and respond:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...-obama/262861/

The first paragraph is irrelevant to Obama being the best choice for president. I don't give a damn if he has a nice smile. I'd rather have an unlikable, boring compentent president than a cool, hip radical Marxist with a nice smile.

Too many people are voting based on likability.

[timpage]

You know what I think about the extrajudicial killing of Americans who have renounced their citizenship and are actively engaged in war, or the fomenting and support of war, against the United States. It's a war and they are legitimate targets. I posted on this yesterday. I'm terribly sorry that women and children are injured as a result of the drone strikes. If the countries harboring these terrorists would kick them out, arrest them or kill them outright without us having to do it, that could all be avoided. Instead, those countries provide a safe haven....and, unfortunately, some of their citizens suffer the consequences. Lest we forget, our friends the Pakistani's let Osama Bin Laden live unmolested in their country for five years....after he murdered almost 3,000 Americans. Reap the whirlwind, and all that. Fuck Pakistan.

Offering CIA and Special Forces help to the Libyan resistance doesn't constitute a declaration of war. It's been done many times and in many places before, sometimes with unfortunate outcomes. I'm OK with it, in fact, I think we should be doing more. Not combat troops but arms and some more logistical support. We should help kick that ugly dentist out of Syria too. It's my opinion that, at the end of the day, helping Arab countries achieve democracy, or at least some semblance of democracy, will be a good thing both for those countries, and for the United States.

[CuteOldGuy]

Yeah. Democracy in the Middle East. Worked well in Iraq, didn't it? And Egypt. And Libya. Yesirree bob, we've got friends all over the Middle East now, don't we?