Barack Obama for President

Following in the illustrious footsteps of Oprah Winfrey, Al Gore and most recently the L.A.Times, Fabric Horse hereby announces our enthusiastic endorsement of Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination. Many politicians have announced that they will withhold endorsements until after Super Tuesday, but we felt it important to get off the fence and add our voices to the resounding chorus chanting his name that seems to grow louder by the day.

Now it should be said that in a world, or even a country, where two party politics didn't reign supreme, this stitcher would find her own values mostly in line with Dennis Kucinich. But. In 2008, this country has found itself at last with a view beyond the Bush administration. This following two elections where nearly half of our voting populace chose the Bush administration. Not just one term, but two. That speaks to the power of people in the middle of our country, who vote for gun rights and Christian values. This is the reality from which we are only now emerging. That said, I don't think this country is ready for the radical suppositions of the Kucinich campaign. Progressive American politics suffered a harrowing defeat in 2004. In an attempt to prevent a repeat of the 2000 election and any accusations that third party candidates contributed to the re-election of a republican president, many on the left voted their conscience for Kerry only for him to lose anyway.

Four years since that moment, we are part of an election including a black man and a woman. Wonders never cease. And what's more, a black man who attracts the support of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Progressives by way of a single platform. His appeal, though intangible, is undeniable. Through the sum of his positions on healthcare, immigration, poverty, Iraq, and the environment, Carrie and I have agreed that we feel that instinct and fact both play a part in our gravitation toward this man who seems to gain momentum across demographic and political boundaries. Instinct is a tough emotion to evoke in politics and for this, I have taken notice of the Senator from Illinois. His well-spoken, confident and straightforward manner are an excellent counterpart to his message of constructive policies and proactivity--a stark contrast to other candidates' reactionary insinuations. Time and again, he has focused first on the issues and second on his opponents' relationships to these issues. The office of the President would benefit so greatly from Obama's integrity that I scarcely believe we would recognize it as our own.

In the dignified spirit of the Obama campaign, I will not focus on the reasons why FH does not endorse his opponents, but simply highlight the reasons we find his message so compelling. His own political background, some might say under-ripe, lacks the corporate entrenchment, the murky associations, the empty talk and the debilitating realism of his elder opponents. His background and experience living abroad gives him the air of a truly open-minded globetrotter, and for this his policies have the weight and the thoughtfulness of an information formed by global, transnational experience. For example, his take on immigration includes measures for both strengthening the mechanism for legal immigration within the United States, and also measures to strengthen the Mexican economy and therefore decrease the incentive to immigrate illegally. This comprehensive policy considers the issue from a humanitarian, as well as, an American perspective. Evidence of this greater understanding of issues can be traced throughout his proposed policies on several issues. Too long have our leaders trotted around championing the American experience as a singular mindset, separating us geographically and politically from the other peoples of the world, as well as from one another. For us this distinction in Obama's philosophy, which serves as the cornerstone for his decisionmaking as a leader, is the single most compelling reason for our support.

Clinton and Obama are nearly indistinguishable on the issues, as has been noted by many news sources and by the candidates themselves. For this reason, the candidates' capacity as leaders has been called up as the singular most important factor in determining their success at the polls. If you haven't yet heard Obama speak, listen to his speech on MLK Day or his speech after taking South Carolina by storm. It is some of the most persuasive evidence of his ability to unite people.


Image Copyright Shepard Fairey and OBEY GIANT ART

With that, Fabric Horse would like to encourage you to vote on Tuesday if you live in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, or Utah. Ride your bikes to the polls. Vote for Obama.