What Does Obama Want To Change? - Recieved In My E-Mail

Dear Friends: My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign, Illinois. I'm
46 years old, a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small
business owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't considerable myself
to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not
Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are 'two Americas' - but
that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want
to be if they'll just work to get there - and nowhere else on earth can
they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those
who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of
America first.

The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of
this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest,
hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for
too long.

Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in
politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising
their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote
and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at
the political pundits and so-called 'news', thinking that what they hear
is always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can't understand how
elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork
barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the
government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government
programs.

We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders.
It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election
with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even
agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into
that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my
vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I've hired
a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election
is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working
for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?

I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply
don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and
calling it 'change'.

Change what?, I ask.

Well, we're going to change America, they say.

In what way?, I query.

We want someone new and fresh in the White House, they exclaim.

So, someone who's not a politician?, I press.

Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for
Obama, they state.

So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has
enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education,
raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his
party's nomination for the White House - that system's all wrong?

No, no, that part of the system's okay - we just need a lot of change.
And so it goes. 'Change we can believe in.' Quite frankly, I don't
believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In
recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how
they're voting. I live in Illinois, so most folks tell me they're voting
for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why - only that he's
going to change a lot of stuff. Change, change, change. I have yet to
find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why
this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most
powerful nation on earth - other than the fact that he claims he's going
to implement a lot of change.

We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his
Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a
moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, what qualifies this man to
be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?

CHANGE WHAT?

Friends, I'll be forthright with you - I believe the American voters who
are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as
evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken
to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can
explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible.
Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who
wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from
Princeton, look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next
First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping
about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes.

For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading
applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.

?Here's a question - where were you five and a half years ago? Around
Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son
has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a
half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of
sleep. 6, 000 meals, give or take.

John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North
Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.


When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to
be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held
longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was
offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and
torture began.

Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a
foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your
fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found,
and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.

Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military
service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to
denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of
Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze
Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now
serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq. Barack Obama is fond of saying 'We
honor John McCain's service...BUT...', which to me is condescending and
offensive - because what I hear is, 'Let's forget this man's sacrifice
for his country and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more
about change.'

I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly
convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him
to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of
our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants
to lead America, and there's a huge difference. Factually, there is
simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable
background and motives who prattles on about change can't hold a candle
to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation,
retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to the Senate in 1982.

Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new.
Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of
character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe
'likeability' is a higher priority for them than 'trust'. Being a
prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the
United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly
DOES.

Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking
Americans to say, 'Enough.' It is time for people of all parties to stop
following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep
America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a
dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting
for, and why.

There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to
all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a
man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want
a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country.

I want a President who's qualified to lead.

I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain.



AMEN ! ! !