and I didn't mean to offend you with my comments. I support Obama not because of his race but because he sponsored humanitarian aid to the Congo (his first sole sponsored bill) and because he has been in elected office getting bills that I like passed for the past 12 years, for example, In Chicago he sponsored and helped to get a law passed that required all police interrogations to be videotaped--not easy but he even got white police departments to agree to it. In the national senate he co-sponsored the Coburn Obama Bill to Transparency in Government that passed 2006--it forces the government to publish a data base on the internet to show where all of your tax money goes.

And he helped to earn my vote by co-sponsoring the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act" passed in 2007 which has been called the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate. And because he presented the Iraq De-Escalation Bill 2007--no it hasn't passed yet, but at least he offered it in 2007 which would have had combat troops out of Iraq by April of 2008.

And because he co-sponsored the "Lugar-Obama" expands the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and anti-personnel mines. This is to make the world safer from random stockpiles of weapons that terrorists can use.

And because in 2006 he co-sponsored a climate change bill that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2/3 by the year 2050. And in 2006 Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to provide one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.[73] After passing both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, SCHIP was vetoed by President Bush in early October 2007, a move Obama said "shows a callousness of priorities that is offensive to the ideals we hold as Americans." (Wikipedia)

So those are my reasons--they are for his policies and what he already done in the Senate during his short time there. I like his energy and I like his political courage to make some unpopular choices (it was really unpopular a few years ago to speak out against the Iraq war--if the Iraq war had been successful obama would have annihilated by pro-war activists).

Anyway, those are my reasons, and I think they're intelligent ones.

Peace.

sorry

Okay, I understand your point about knowing Clinton better in some ways, but have you read Obama's book? Part of the reason I'm voting for him lies in the way he presents himself--not as a politician but as a man (his first book: dreams from my father). I found it extraordinary.

But there are also the bills he's already passed:

1. His first sole-sponsored legislation was Humanitarian relief to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security (became law in December 2006).

2. Co-sponsored Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, called the most comprehensive and far-reaching revisions to ethics and lobbying regulations since the Watergate era. (Became law September 2007).

3. He co-sponsored Coburn-Obama Bill: a government online data-base to track all government spending from your taxes. Fiscally responsible liberal.

4. "Lugar-Obama" expands the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapon stockpiles around the world--reduce terror through weapons reduction.

6. Co-sponsored climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US by two-thirds by 2050. (Co-sponsored with McCain).

7. Iraq De-Escalation Bill 2007.

And oh yes--he also sponsored the expanded version of (SCHIP) After passing both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, SCHIP was vetoed by President Bush in early October 2007, a move Obama said "shows a callousness of priorities that is offensive to the ideals we hold as Americans." (Wikipedia)

This is not an exhaustive list, and some people can find other bills (these are my favorite) with more to quibble with. But having sponsored or co-sponsored over 400 bills for the 109th Congress alone, it puts to rest I think the notion of his being a Senate slacker. Clinton gives the impression of always doing her homework--but where is her list of legislative accomplishments to show it? I've looked, and other than SCHIP I haven't been able to find them. I'm a woman, but I can't give her my vote for that reason alone.

I agree with you that Clinton I's ideals were working for a while before they got derailed by stupidity. I guess I feel that Obama is Clinton I's logical, if counter-intuitive heir. (Remember the man from Hope? The man who could light people up just by walking in a room--even if some of those lighting up were from internal combustion?). That's what I like in Obama--he has a record. He is qualified--I think that he is being called the great talent in the field for a reason. With hope there's always the possibility of being disappointed--but I have to place my vote with the brains, the positive energy, and the--for lack of a more sophisticated word--goodness of Obama. No candidate in this race is perfect, but even from this partial list of his accomplishments in the Senate you can see why he may do more good than any of the other candidates in either party. Maybe that's "naive" and I need a "reality check" but then again, maybe that's just too politically cynical for me.