Barack Hussein Obama

With all the hype around Senator Obama this week, I thought I would post a short bio and a note on some of his positions. At then end, I will tell you why I can’t vote for him.

Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii in August of 1961. His father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas. His parents got divorced when he was two years old. His mom remarried and the family moved to Indonesia when Obama was six years old. At age ten, he moved back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. The future Senator graduated from Columbia University in 1983. He worked for a few years and then returned to school, this time at Harvard Law School where he earned a degree and graduated in 1991. He moved back to Chicago and worked for a civil rights firm and taught at the University Of Chicago Law School. He was married in 1992 and has two daughters.

Obama won his first election to the State Legislature in 1996. In 2000, he made an attempt at the US House, but was defeated in the Illinois primary. He was then elected to the US Senate in 2004, and was sworn in on January 5, 2005.

It is a little difficult to point out exactly where he is on many of the issues. He simply hasn’t had enough time in the Senate to let his voting record tell a story. He is very passionate about a few issues on his website (AIDS being one of them). In the press release for December 6, 2006, Senator Obama says, “I agree with the [Iraq] Study Group’s call for a significant redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq. As I said a few weeks ago, there are not good options left in Iraq, but I believe a redeployment is the best way to finally reach a political agreement between the warring factions.” This statement worries me. I believe there are ways to win in Iraq, and I believe a redeployment will only help our enemies.

At a reception on Sunday, he was asked if the country was ready for a black president. He responded by saying, “Are some voters not going to vote for me because I’m African American? Those are the same voters who probably wouldn’t vote for me because of my politics.” Senator Obama believes only Republicans could be racist. Incase the Senator has forgotten, David Duke ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat from 1975 to 1990. When he decided to try and run as a Republican in 1991, he received a letter from the GOP expressing their disdain for his activities. And don’t forget KKK leader and Senior Democrat from West Virginia Robert Byrd.

I won’t be voting for Senator Obama if he should happen to get the Presidential Nomination. It has nothing to do with his skin color. It has a lot to do with his views on Iraq, and the fact that I don’t appreciate the comment from Sunday. If I could pick anyone to vote for in 2008, it would be Condoleezza Rice.