Cognitive Choice '08: President Of The United States

I am sure that this will come as no surprise to my 4.2 readers, but I am recommending Barack Obama and Joe Biden as being the cognitive choice for President and Vice-President of the United States of America.

Almost every single American can agree that our country is in dire straits at this time in our history. The Iraq War. Losing ground in Afghanistan. Bin Ladin still on the loose. The economy falling into a recession, if not into a depression. Increasing levels of unemployment. Record number of foreclosures. Poor and strained relations with many foreign countries, some of whom used to be friends and allies.

It has been a long, long time since things have been this bad, if ever.

John McCain is a hero. What he experienced in Viet Nam is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. And then to turn down freedom out of loyalty to his fellow Americans and to his country is something that is quite remarkable. He deserves the respect and admiration of every American for the service and sacrifices he has given this country.

But that alone does not qualify him to be President. Furthermore, McCain has eschewed that part of his life, that integrity, for political gain. He has turned his back on everything he once believed in and stood for, just to gain support from the Republican base. He has been more than willing to help Bush shred the Constitution, to destroy the economy, and give up on basic values like human rights.

In these troubled economic times, McCain has stated he thought the economy was strong. He has admitted to not knowing much about the economy. When the banks were collapsing, he did a show of grandstanding, returning to Washington, and accomplishing nothing. He has expressed that he is more than willing to continue with Bush's failed economic policies, but to start taxing health care benefits, as if they were too expensive already.

McCain has repeatedly shown his eagerness to not only continue the unjust war in Iraq, but to start other wars that are depleted economy and overtaxed armed services cannot support.

McCain has not displayed the type of temperament needed to be president. He is quick to anger. He is rude and disrespectful, not only to his opponent, but to people that are the closest to him. This is a concern given our strained relationships with many countries. For heaven's sake, the man didn't even know that Spain is an ally, and we're supposed to expect that he would heal these problems?

He has displayed poor judgment in his pick of running mates. Even though I do not wish the man ill, one must take in other factors, like the fact that given his age and health concerns, his choice of VP should have been done with thorough deliberateness and thought. Instead, he picked what he thought would be the most politically advantageous.

If John McCain is unqualified to be President, Sarah Palin is a nightmare. She has no clue to what the issues are in the rest of the country. She has no experience whatsoever in dealing with foreign relations. To make matters worse, she has shown in her short career as governor, and before that, as mayor of Wasilla, the same kind of corruption and secrecy that we have seen for the past eight years. We do not need nor deserve that kind of abuse of power anymore.

Together, McCain and Palin have offered absolutely nothing on how they would address the problems this country is facing. Instead, they have offered us unsubstantiated innuendo and rumors and outright lies. They have either contributed to, or refused to stop, some of the most vulgar and disgusting rhetoric ever seen in a national campaign.

On the other hand, Obama has been running a very effective campaign. He has offered solid plans to help the country both in terms of the economy, but in our standing in the world. He has been positive, but has shown more than a willingness to defend himself when maliciously attacked.

Even non-partisan groups have found that his tax plan would be more beneficial to more Americans than McCain's. Obama has a plan to give us more affordable health care, rather than taxing the already too expensive and dysfunctional system we have now.

Also of great significance is that Obama is prepared to make a safe and gradual withdrawal from the quagmire of Iraq and refocus our energies where it belongs - in getting bin Laden and keeping this country safe. For all the questioning we have heard for the last two years about Obama's ability to lead - well, that was all negated when General Colin Powell threw his support behind Obama.

The most telling thing to me is the way Obama has carried himself through the last two years of campaigning. He has been accused of being buddies with terrorists, and indeed, of being a terrorist himself. He has been accused of being a Muslim, even as he is attacked for not going to the "right kind" of Christian church. He has had his family besmirched. He has received more death threats than any other candidate in the history of this country.

During all these threats, smears and outright lies, Obama has maintained his composure and demeanor. He has not flown off the handle. He has not complained about the "gotcha media" or that he was being treated unfairly. He has still offered his hand in friendship to those that would rather spit on him, both figuratively and literally.

These are the traits of a well-balanced person and of a leader.

Obama has also shown good decision making skills by choosing a running mate that is a compliment to his own strengths and weaknesses. he has also chosen a person who would be able to take over and ably lead the country if he should, for whatever reason, be unable to continue with his duties as president.

What this race has boiled down to is a choice between maintaining the status quo, in the hopes of it somehow producing different results, or taking proactive measures to get this country back on its feet and become the bar to which all other nations and cultures should be compared. It is a choice between fear, anger and hatred or hope, peace and prosperity.

It is time for a change. It is time for hope. It is time to elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden.