Why Obama is Slowly Loosing my Support

I wrote this yesterday morning. As most of you have heard late yesterday morning McCain announced Palin as his running mate. With this news my support of Obama is even more on shaking ground. This weekend I am devoting most of my free time to research both candidates more but with the current thoughts on Obama I must admit I am leaning, currently at least, more towards an McCain endorsement by the beginning of the weekend. We shall see. In the meantime I think we all should research the candidates more and see how the last 2 years have changed both our views and the candidates platforms.

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I have been an Obama supporter for longer than his campaign has ran. For well over 2 and half years I have kept an eye on Obama, praising his dreams of a better America and supporting his run for the White House.

I agree with him on most of his ideology. It is time for a change in Washington. It is time to end a war that is causing America to hemorrhage money like never before. It is time for all people, no matter their sexual preference or skin color, to be treated with respect and dignity, given the same opportunities and able to dream the same dreams as anyone else.

For the last 19 months Obama has told all that will listen about a new Washington. He has promised taxes cuts. He has promised to reach across the aisle and unite both sides. A new Hope and a Change to politics as we know it. But after 19 months I still don’t see it. I don’t see the change promised. I don’t see the hope that has been at the center of his campaign.

The more detailed he becomes about his Washington dreams the more I see not a cut in taxes but a rise in taxes (a rise in almost all taxes across the board including the 55 cent tariff per gallon on imported ethanol and keep in place the 18.4 cent federal gas tax, which McCain will consider suspending during certain high gas price times, such as right now). I see not a way of creating new jobs by becoming a global player but by creating tariffs that will ultimately not create jobs and will actually cause fewer international corporations to invest in America.

He claims to be wanting to end the war in Iraq. His plan calls for troop withdrawals that will end in 2010. With the current plan most troops would be out of Iraq by 2011 anyways so his exit strategy isn’t that different that even McCain’s.

Obama keeps talking about the power of the people but his ideas are based around what seems to be the power of the government. More government oversight, more government programs, more government spending.

His energy plans are great, but so are McCain’s. In the beginning Obama stated he will run a clean campaign but lately it seems he is throwing as much mud as any other politician. He keeps claiming McCain “said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars” when actually McCain has been an advocate for higher standards throughout his entire career (the case in which Obama is referring actually deals with a time when McCain did in fact vote no but only because he felt it had a harsh unrealistic timetable. So it was not actually the fuel efficiency he was voting against but the timetable.)

Obama also claims the since McCain took office oil imports have tripled, which is true. But so have the amount of cars on the road, the amount of people in the country, the amount of shipping, so its not as large of an import as Obama is making it out to be.

The beginning of the end of my Obama love affair came a few weeks ago when early in the morning I was awoken by a message announcing Biden as Obamas’ running mate. Since the very beginning Obama has told of how he is creating a new Washington, bringing fresh breathe to Washington, and now he chooses one of the ‘old guys.’

Biden had bad mouthed Obama; Biden is part of the Washington Obama promised of changing. Now Biden and Obama are one. Obama gave in. If he gives in once, what will stop him from giving in again? An Obama/Biden admin is not one that reaches across the aisle. Biden is the last person that one would think when a bipartisan unity is the goal. Obama claims to be willing to work with both sides, but has done little to prove it.

Obama claims to be bringing a change to Washington but seems to have given in to the politics of the old Washington.

Obama claims to be creating hope in America but higher taxes, tariffs, and government regulation aren’t the answer.

The Obama I supported 19 months ago has given in, changed, and become just like all the other politicians. Each move being a strategic one, each email just more hype and asking for money, each speech just like all the others, every move being scripted and planned to the tee. I began as a grassroots supporter for a new hope, for a politician that promised true change, but now am I nothing more than a pawn, a movie extra, in an well scripted old school political campaign.