Why I Plan to Vote for Barack Obama

I was born in 1946 and my first recollection of President of the United States was the last year of the Presidency of Harry Truman (1945-1953).  Only later did I learn anything about him but I do remember (I was seven years old) that he was followed by Dwight Eisenhower who was a hero of my father.  My father had served in World War II as had so many and had the distinction of hearing Eisenhower address the troups once during my father’s time in the Third Army.  Americans returned home from the war not to talk about the glory of war, not really to talk at all but to look to the future and marry their girl friends and start their families and buy a home and embrace, once again, the American dream.

I was a senior in high school sitting in English class when, over the loud speaker in our room, it was announced that John F. Kennedy had been killed as he rode in his motorcade in Dallas, Texas.  Some students were stunned while others, without embarrassment shed tears.  He was, in many ways, the American version of Royalty.  He may not have withstood the scrutiny of modern media but in 1963 Americans lost any vestige of idealism.  Lee Harvy Oswald robbed us of our right to that future.  We became lonely or angry or hopeless or all at the same time.

The Johnson years were overshadowed by the war in Vietnam and his advancements in civil rights clouded by the six o’clock news and body counts.  As a nation we seemed to be reeling from our disillusionment.  By the time Johnson left office I had graduated from college and headed to Seminary.  Now to endure Watergate and the resignation of a sitting President was almost more than the nation could endure.  I, as much of the nation did, became fixated on the daily hearings of the scoundrels of Washington who were our chosen leaders betraying us on a daily basis.  Hope seemed lost.

For me the years and administrations that followed seemed like repeats or remakes of the same movie.  It was like watching Ground Hog Day over and over again.  Parts more interesting than others but still the same.

This year I see John McCain and Hillary Clinton as continuations of that same movie.  One is Republican and one is Democrat but the future looks the same.  I am no longer seven years old but nearing sixty two.  I want a change!  Can Barack Obama give that change to this nation?  I don’t know.  I hope so.  It is a daunting task bigger than any one man or woman.  In many ways he is such an unknown and I think I like that.  I have spent the last thirty five years as a business man.  Warren Buffet likes Obama and I like Warren Buffet.  I like JImmy Buffet too but that may not count.  In his book The Audicy of Hope Obama says, “…the issues America faced were never abstract and hence never simple.  War might be hell and still the right thing to do.  Economies could collapse despite the best-laid plans.  People could work hard all their lives and still lose everything.” 

I don’t know what the future holds but I remain a man of faith who lives in a country blessed with freedoms beyond the worlds wildest imaginations.  I don’t want to lose them but I do believe we need to address our challenges looking forward and I think Senator Obama will give us that chance and his best efforts.

Rick Wedel