Why my father wanted Barak Obama for President

To: Israa Hamad
From: Jan Arnese
Date: 11/10/2008 05:04PM
Subject: Why My Father Wanted Barack Obama for President
( a letter to swing voters in my family in Pennsylvania)


As you know, my father Richard passed away just a little over a month ago.
I am saddened in these final days before the election that Dad won't be able to see the outcome -
he was so optimistic about seeing the moment when Barack and Michele Obama would make it to the White House.

So in honor of my Dad who so often wrote letters to the editor to share his viewpoint with his community,
I will try to tell you in what might have been his words - just exactly why my Dad wanted Barack Obama to win this fall.

My father was a "real" American and a true patriot. And yes, he was a liberal and a freethinker, too. But he was also a child of the Depression and a veteran of World War II, and he kept a copy of the Gettysburg Address and the United States Constitution in his writing file for easy reference. His most cherished Amendment was the First Amendment of course - freedom of speech and freedom of the press, along with freedom of religion.

To extrapolate from some of my father's own writings, I believe he might have presented the following argument for Obama's candidacy:

"In the past two months the McCain campaign has stooped to the very lowest forms of scurrilous attacks and character assassination; they have sought to demonize and denigrate Obama through false accusations and defamatory associations. They have called Obama a terrorist, an infidel, a sexual pervert, an elitist, a socialist, a communist , a Marxist and a " redistributionist" ( this of course is not an actual word to be located in any English dictionary - which does not bode well for four more "semi-literate" years to come under a McCain / Palin administration).

But putting the negativity of the campaign aside, let me remind my fellow citizens that Obama has clearly shown the cool demeanor, the organizational aptitude, and most of all "intellectual vigor" as so aptly described by Colin Powell, that we need and deserve in our next President.

He has proven despite his relative youth to have the bearing and the class of an elder statesman. bettering his opponent in this regard hands down. He has shown a remarkable capacity to remain calm and disciplined in the face of an unparalleled onslaught from all angles, while managing a massive and strategically brilliant campaign. I believe that, far more than his opposition, Obama has the potential to bring both Democrats, Republicans and independents into his administration to solve the daunting challenges facing our country at this pivotal time.

In addition to his outstanding oratorical skills, Obama also has demonstrated the ability to listen, something that has been sorely lacking in the political arena and never more painfully so than during the last eight years under George W. Bush.

Obama I believe also has the leadership qualities that we desperately crave - not only to inspire our youth through a time of crisis - but also to galvanize national and international consensus on global issues that will be so critical over the next decade and for future generations. We are on the brink of financial calamity - and at risk of leaving our children and grandchildren a society full of great schisms and even greater inequality, if we do not choose a President who can act decisively, wisely and magnanimously at this critical juncture in our history.

It is therefore with great confidence as well as pride in my country that I support Barack Obama for President. I encourage you to cast your ballot for him this Tuesday in the spirit of leading our country forward through a period of reinvigoration and renewed faith in our democratic system, and a reignited spirit of citizen participation - with both sides of the proverbial aisle working together to rebuild this bruised - but not broken - nation that we love. "

In conclusion, as my father's daughter, I encourage you -- any of you who for whatever reason may still be on the fence right now -- ignore the slander and demagoguery -- and cast a vote for the man who is by far the superior candidate in this extraordinary election year. Vote for Barack Obama on Tuesday - and if you are not 100% sure, then trust me - and do it for Richard; he won't be able to make it this year.

( Jan, November 2008 )