Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama

This week I saw something that I thought I would never see. A national politician got hit with controversy, and rather than run from it or prevaricate, he addressed it. By now those of you who follow politics will certainly have heard, or heard of the remarks that Mr. Obama’s minister, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright made and the vitriol and backlash that followed them. Most people running for president would have simply disowned Reverend Wright, pretended not to really know the man, and then tried to burry the story as soon as possible. Obama took this potentially damaging situation and used it as a springboard for talking about an actual issue.

Listening to Obama speak I get the sense that he places more importance on being right than on winning. I say this because in this country we tend to believe in black or white. You have to be right all the time or you must be wrong all the time. Screw up once and fall on your sword you miserable sinner. This histrionic absolutism has eliminated nuance and killed discourse, all so that we can remain comfortable in the womb of our unchallenged assumptions. It’s a rhetorical movement that came out of political hot air radio, and it’s all about winning, the truth be damned. Obama’s speech was all about nuance, all shades of grey. While he vehemently disagreed with Reverend Wright’s comments, he refused to disown the man, to act as if the Reverend’s anger came from nothing or wasn’t real just as he would not disown his grandmother who confessed to be frightened of black men. Obama is uniquely positioned to see this issue from all sides, he understands the root causes of the not so subtle racial resentments that exist in this country. Just acknowledging that they exist is a remarkable achievement.

If there is any sense in this world the speech that Obama gave this past Tuesday will be seen, not as an attempt to recover from a gaff, but as a highlight, perhaps the only highlight, of the campaign season. There will be people who are offended by the speech; every dramatic statement offends someone. It’s an odd thing, but we have a tendency to be insulted by the truth. “You don’t say that, even if it is true” or, “didn’t he care enough to lie to us?” These are the kinds of things we say and think and it’s a sickness and softness in our society. Somehow we have come to believe that if we don’t acknowledge a problem it doesn’t exist. I can think of no more destructive trend than this, it leaves the misinformed comfortable in their fantasy, and insults and excludes those who actually pay attention. Democracy is only as good as the society it represents; cynical or delusional is hardly an ideal condition for the electorate.

For as long as I’ve paid attention to politics I’ve looked for a politician who could be successful without having to pander to the worst and stupidest elements in our society. The first step in dealing with any problem is acknowledging that it exists. Most politicians prefer to make up problems (gay marriage or NAFTA) rather than deal with real ones that they might actually have to do something about. There are a few who speak honestly, who deal with issues as they see them instead of as we would like them to be. But these, John McCain and Joe Biden for example, have by and large been too abrasive and alienating to accomplish much. Obama has the political courage, the perspective, and the charisma; given the chance he might actually get something done. < /span>