I Voted

Since I’ll be out of the country on election day, I took advantage of early voting and yesterday afternoon, I cast my ballot for Senator Barack Obama as President of the United States.

Here’s why:

I believe that health care should be available and affordable to all Americans. Taxing existing health care in favor of giving everyone a flat credit is not sufficient. People like me who receive good healthcare via their employer should get to keep it. People who aren’t provided with insurance by their employer, and people who currently are denied it for various reasons, should have a way to get it at a reasonable price.

I believe that we should leave Iraq quickly, yet responsibly. I don’t know what “victory in Iraq” means, and I’m not convinced that it actually exists. We went there for the wrong reasons, and are still there out of stubborn disregard to facts. Let’s help Iraq get back on its feet. And then let’s leave.

I believe that women should have the right to choose.

I believe that same-sex marriage should be legal.

I believe that every American is entitled to a good education. That means taking action to address crappy schools, working to recruit and retain good teachers, and making college more affordable.

I believe that while drilling offshore and in Alaska might help us, “drill, baby, drill” is only a band-aid on a much larger problem. We need to quit paying lip service to alternative energy and seriously begin investigating and using it.

I believe that we should address the problem of illegal immigration, but there is no reason to start deporting people left and right. Those who have been in the U.S. for years and built healthy lives here should be given a path to legality.

I believe that talking to other countries, even those we don’t like and those that don’t like us, is a good thing. I don’t care if there are preconditions. Simply talking to someone does not validate their actions, and talking to countries like Iran and North Korea does not mean that we support their oppressive regimes and tactics. It just means that we want to talk. Talking is good.

I believe that it is ok to “spread the wealth.” The single mom making $30,000 a year needs a tax cut. Bill Gates doesn’t. Heck, I don’t. If I have to pay more in taxes to ensure that a poor family has healthcare, I am 100% ok with that.

The last eight years have not been great. I believe that a country that elects Barack Obama is a country that wakes up on November 5 as fundamentally different nation. And I hope I get the chance to see what that nation could do to turn things around.