People look at a man like Barack Obama, and they see people flock to him, worried that people are not paying attention enough to who he is, and just following the media's soundbyte politics. In our country, we have become a nation of issues. What is his stance on abortion, on stem cell research, on the environment? We are driven by issues, and there is a pretty justifiable reason why. All of the soundbyte politics supports the supposition that we care only about the issues.
But there is something more important than just the issues. The reason people love Obama is not because he perfectly coincides with their stances on the issues. People love Obama because he is a leader. We have seen a strong drought of leaders in our times. And perhaps, there have been leaders, but all we get is their soundbytes. Obama has been dedicated to being who he is, and has been somewhat fortunate in succeeding, despite not playing the Washington game.
Why do I want Obama and not Hillary? Why do I want Obama and not McCain? It has little to do with issues. It has to do with leadership, inspiration, and honest intelligence. Obama tells me the truth. He believes that honesty still means something in this country, and that you don't have to be calculating to get to be president.
The irony is that I think Hillary and McCain, and many of the other candidates, contain that potential, but their time in Washington has shown them that straightforward honesty and true leadership is not valued by the nation.
I want to send Washington a different message. My goal in making this blog is to present events in Washington as they really are -- the day in and day out, and not just the soundbyte politics that so many are guided by, because it is the only access we have.
I haven't quite figured out how to meet this goal. I live in Utah and not in D.C., so it may be harder for me to access things. Probably the best way to start is just with the senate. Each week I'll release a post about the senators, as much information as I can find, their voting records, but also their views on their votes, things that I think are good and bad about them. My first week will be Obama, and then the next week Hillary, then McCain. From there, I will move on through, trying to make sure I will hit all of those who are seeking re-election this year before elections, and then on to the rest.
My goal is to present senators in their success at leadership, and not just their views on issues. I think few of us today would say we wouldn't vote for George Washington because he wasn't against or for abortion. We would look and want to see his reasoning, and still perhaps disagree with him, but think his leadership more important than his stance on one certain issue.
