Why I Support Barack Obama

I started this campaign season as a Kucinich supporter. As it became clear I’d have to select one of the leading Presidential candidates, I began to look earnestly for differences between them. I listened as emphasis was placed on “experience”, “two different Americas” and “Hope.”

From my vantage point, the positions taken by the three leading candidates on the nation’s pressing issues weren’t sufficiently different for me to say unequivocally that, based on the issues, I’d support one over another. From health care to education, from social security to the economy, to the war in Iraq, I found myself feeling that I’d vote for any of them. All of the top runners were smart, accomplished, well informed and had about the same amount of experience as elected officials.

However, one stood out, clearly, as a “leader.” That one is Barack Obama. The policies implemented by the Bush administration have placed this nation in a quagmire. More than any time in history, we need leadership and not just smart disciplined detailed oriented managers. We need someone with vision who possesses the ability to communicate and inspire others to become engaged. This country cannot continue on the path of apathy. This is the time for an engaged, active populace. Maintaining the status quo has resulted in whole swaths of America becoming disengaged but now, more than ever, we desperately need them. Obama is the one candidate who can bring us together to beat the Republican candidate and begin to fix the mess Bush created.

For years I’ve thought about the difference between managers and leaders. These two distinct personality types are essential ingredients to any organization. None the less, they serve different purposes and produce different results. This is a pivotal time in American history. We desperately need someone in the Whitehouse who can begin to reverse the damage of the Bush administration. Someone who can rebuild bridges; someone who has demonstrated a commitment to the people but most important, someone who possesses the gift of leadership and is willing to share it.

That someone is Barack Obama.

by Sharon Kyle
3 February 2008

Sharon Kyle is the Publisher of the LA Progressive. With her husband Dick, she publishes, edits and writes for several print and online newsletters on political and social justice issues. Sharon is enrolled in law school at the People’s College of Law in Los Angeles. She is also the mother of two grown children, Wade and Deva and the step-mother to two children, Raheem and Linnea. To contact her, please use the form on the Contact Us page.