ie:missional teaching. glocalizing. living. serving. repenting. incarnating. loving. repeating.

I have a good friend who simply cannot believe that any clear thinking American would vote for Barack Obama for president. In fact, he issued a challenge for someone–anyone–to give him a convincing reason to vote for the Illinois senator. Few took him up on the offer.

I first called this election for Obama well before the primaries were over. Not because I planned to vote for him, not because I think he’d make the best president, not because I shuddered at the thought of another Clinton in the White House, but because seemed obvious to me he would win it in a walk. Here are the reasons in no particular order:

1. Because of the last two elections. Those residents of America that call themselves liberal have been steamed in the last two presidential elections since they feel they have been ripped off. Bush’s 2000 win over Gore through the electoral college (via the Supreme Court) and the Swift Boating of John Kerry (with proclaimed voting irregularities all over the place) have motivated them to get out the vote even if some of those voters are dead or sharing a ballot. Supposedly 105% of the population of Indiana (correction: Indianapolis) have now registered to vote. What happens if a state has more people vote than are on the registered voter list? Can they withhold their electors? Who knows, but it is obvious that far left liberals really do not care as long as Obama is in the White House.

2. Because of George W. Bush. Any Republican nominee was to be running against two opponents-the Democratic nominee and the immensely unpopular sitting president. Only if McCain (or Romney, Huckabee or whoever) had immediately drawn a stark line of distinction between himself and Bush would they have had a good chance. McCain’s late effort to do so only gives the appearance of desperation. In fact, one of the primary reasons that Democrats are on the verge of a filibuster proof majority in the senate and gaining as many as 30 seats in the house is because Republicans have not stood down the president at more turns.

The recent Wall Street cave in bail out put front and center the problems of the current administration. The over-simplified “It’s a big solution ’cause its a big problem” kind of talk from the president reflected badly on McCain if for no other reason because he’s a Republican. He chose to support the almost universally loathed bailout plan, rather than strongly oppose it and thus appeared as socialistic as Obama. To show true leadership and ingenuity, McCain should have been critical of the rush to judgment. Instead, he proposed a delayed “solution” that was easily and quickly dismissed.

3. Because he is black. Barack Obama is appealing to the African American community because he is perceived as one of them, even though he is of mixed heritage. It’s the same reason that McCain would be appealing to veterans or Romney to Mormons or Clinton (either one) to women. There is a strong identification factor because of his race. But, for the Democrats, it goes deeper.

During the primaries, the only diversity at all was on the Democratic side. There was an African American and a woman included in the running. The Republican ticket was white bread America (please people, Alan Keyes just does not count). McCain and Paul, the “old white guys,” Huckabee the “funny white guy,” Romney the “white rich guy,” Thompson the “white actor guy,” etc. Republicans don’t appeal to minorities because the Republican party is primarily about lip service. Did anybody see the crowd shots at the RNC? It looked like a snow storm. We have millions of immigrants who come to this country (legally) for the opportunities that the free market system affords them and Republicans, the party of opportunity, can’t even lock up that vote?

4. Because of big business interests. For better or for worse, Republicans are seen as business friendly to the extreme. They like to think of their party and the one that is good for business and that helps business to flourish thereby allowing the rising of all boats in society. This is well and good, but it does nothing if it isn’t communicated to and understood by Americans and it actually is harmful when you have a few companies reaping record breaking profits (Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron Texaco) from Americans who are given little real choice (we’ve got to drive gas vehicles since there are so few viable alternatives).

Republicans have done a terrible job of demonstrating how the growth of business drives the growth of the economy and have allowed their party to be pigeon holed as the one that only cares about creating wealth for the already wealthy. Even the founding fathers warned about the centralization of wealth in the hands of a few because of the corrupting nature of it.

5. Because he’s a socialist. The difference between Obama and the Republicans is that he is open about his socialistic beliefs while they are still in the closet. Socialism is not simply a belief in the redistribution of wealth; it is the belief that the vague entity known as “the government” knows better how to run the people’s lives than the people do including how they should use their money. Socialism puts the interest of the structure above the interest of the citizens. By this measure Republicans (at least the ones in DC) are as socialist as any Democrat, including Barack Obama. Our sitting president has expanded government to the point that true Republicans are repulsed by it, while he pushed for a growing amount of executive power to the point that constitutionalists are repulsed by it. It seems obvious that Republicans are very content with big government as long as they are in control of expanding it. They now are surprised by the embracing of it by the average American? They have fomented the mindset and now will live with the consequences and potentially without the power to do anything about it.

So, if Senator Obama becomes President-elect Obama sometime tomorrow evening, and the Republicans begin to whine about ACORN, the media, campaign finance reform and all the other post-Halloween ghouls, just remember: they have only themselves to blame.