Why I'm Voting for Barack. (summary of links)

Having viewed countless webpages and videos over the past months about Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin, here are the links that made the most difference for me...

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ECONOMIC HISTORY
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Let's start with a general overview of who has been better for the U.S. economy (Republican or Democratic presidents) over the past 80 years.
Amazing:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/14/opinion/20081014_OPCHART.html

...and over the past 16 years? View the charts here:
http://digitalroam.typepad.com/digital_roam/2008/09/dear-senators-your-politics-are-showing.html

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CHARACTER
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Now for the candidates, I first look at their personal character.

These stories are about small moments, but they are revealing, and memorable:

Act of kindness in 1988:
http://leishacamden.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-that-it-matters.html

An unsung moment of the debate:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/27/11751/6583/851/612394

And, simply look at how McCain and Obama came across in the 3 debates: who has been consistently a strong, compassionate and diplomatic statesman?

Consider their marriages. Barack Obama has been successfully married for 20 years. John McCain cheated on his first wife several times, then left her for a wealthy heiress, his current wife.

However, the biggest issue of character in this election has been the attacks on Obama's character, thanks ("but no thanks!") to the McCain camp.

The McCain campaign emphasizes Obama's links to "terrorist" Bill Ayers. Here's the truth:
----Concise summary of the Obama-Ayers connection:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers#Obama-Ayers_Controversy
----McCain focuses on two things that Bill Ayers said in 2001 ("I don't regret setting bombs." and "I feel we didn't do enough.") Here's a more complete picture of the truth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ayers#Statements_made_in_2001
Even in his radical days, Bill Ayers never killed or hurt anyone. His focus was peace.
----I wanted to see what Ayers himself is like. I found these to be moving and profound:
http://billayers.wordpress.com/videos/
----For more details on the truth behind McCain's attacks on Obama, see:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/he_lied_about_bill_ayers.html

Is Barack Hussein Obama a Muslim?
----Is someone who for the past 20 years has confessed Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior a Muslim? The answer is no :)
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_barack_obama_muslim.htm
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
----But more importantly, what if he was? Does that make him un-American? See Colin Powell's powerful response: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz49wFWgSR8

Is Barack Obama a Socialist?
----Yeah, right. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-obama-chicago-socialist,0,4048540.story
"John Bachtell, the Illinois organizer for Communist Party USA, sees attempts by Sen. John McCain's campaign to label Obama a socialist as both offensive to socialists and a desperate ploy to tap into fears of voters who haven't forgotten their Cold War rhetoric."
"'Obama is about as far from being a socialist as Joe The Plumber is from being a rocket scientist,' said Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. 'I think it's hard for McCain to call Obama a socialist when George Bush is nationalizing banks.'"

This 30-second video by Hill Harper summarizes Obama's character...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeDF8glnHQE
Highly intelligent and capable. Hard-working. Extraordinarily dedicated to bettering society.

Finally, the most telling decision: look at the candidates' choice of VP -- the Vice President is supposed to be ready to take over should the President die. Who's more qualified?
Obama chooses a foreign policy and national security expert, Joe Biden.
McCain chooses Sarah Palin.

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ENDORSEMENTS
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Next I am influenced by recommendations of well-respected experts in these fields...

The Economy:
-----The most successful investor of all time endorses Obama.  http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iEoh4tPLHPMMok875VIJDcq3FOKg
-----Google.com's Chairman and CEO endorses Obama.
-----Endorsements from other economists and successful business tycoons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_endorsements#Economists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_endorsements#Businesspeople

National security and foreign policy:
-----Retired four-star General Colin Powell (a Republican), who was a national security adviser in the Reagan White House, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush during the Gulf War, and the first secretary of State in George W. Bush's administration, endorses Barack Obama:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz49wFWgSR8
-----Other military endorsements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_endorsements#Military
-----Economist.com readers -- some of the most well-informed on politics, economy, and foreign affairs -- vote on Obama/McCain and it's a landslide victory: http://www.economist.com/vote2008/
-----and horrifyingly, Al Qaeda endorses McCain: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_el_pr/al_qaida_us_election_2
-----and why would McCain be better for Al Qaeda? http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/opinion/26kristof.html?em 

The Environment and climate change:
-----Al Gore, Bill McKibben, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and others: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_endorsements#Environmental_organizations.2C_Humane_organizations.2C_and_Wildlife_groups
-----The largest number of Nobel Laureates to EVER endorse a political candidate for office has this to say: http://sefora.org/2008/10/14/all-2008-us-nobel-laureates-in-science-endorse-obama/

Healthcare:
-----The largest number of physicians to ever collectively endorse a political candidate for office: http://www.doctorsforobama.org/pressrelease.html

Finally, newspapers: Obama has 3 times as many endorsements as McCain...
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003875230

And 6 times as many have switched their endorsements to Obama:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003875870

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POLICIES
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For details, have a look at the non-partisan comparison of policies:

Tax plan:
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411741

Health care reform:
http://decision.healthcare.com/obama-mccain/

Education:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93004032

Iraq and foreign policy:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/06/america/war.php

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Pro-Life and Pro-Choice
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Since I have Evangelical Christian friends who are bothered by Obama's Pro-Choice stance on the abortion issue, I think these links are worthwhile to consider:
---Pro-Life for Obama http://www.prolifeproobama.com/plpo_welcome.htm
---Roman Catholics for Obama http://www.romancatholicsforobama.com/1.html

I think the results of Obama's policies will be both Pro-Choice and Pro-Life.


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FUNNY VIDEOS
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And now for some humor...and some truth :)

Highlights of the 3rd and final presidential debate...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Evfm8RXn6A

Given just 3 minutes, an amazingly comprehensive introduction to Sarah Palin...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSBgH_wf5bc

What does the Mayor of Wasilla do? 2 minute video, true and hilarious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP26nV3QFlA

Love song for Sarah Palin...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9V_aOCga0

McCain and Palin Relationship...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMIafelp-ww

Obama Girl vs. McCain Mama?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HEv_Wtyj8

Bust a move!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2Lg1myJmyc

People in the Middle for Obama
(not funny but worth watching ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/user/middleforobama

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To see my full list: http://delicious.com/georgekao/bundle:president2008