This morning my husband directed me to RM Rocks' post about Marcia Stirman and her letter to the editor explaining why she is a Republican.  A month or so ago a dear old friend asked me to "convince her" that Obama was the right candidate.  After much consideration I realized that the best reasons I could come up with were really the reasons why I'm a Democrat.  So I sent her the following list. I hope you like it.

 
First and foremost, I'm voting for Obama because I'm a Democrat, and I believe in Democratic values and principles.
 
I believe in a woman's right to choose.
I believe in the separation of church and state.
I believe in unions.
I believe in public education.
I believe in universal health care.
I believe that the gap between the rich and the poor shouldn't be ever-widening.
I believe that the middle-class needs to exist and remain strong.
I believe that our government has an obligation to help its people.
I believe that a properly run government CAN help its people.
I believe that corporations should be regulated.
I believe that the top 5% of the country who makes more than a quarter of a million dollars a year should have a higher tax burden then you or I.
I believe that global warming is man-made.
I believe that we need a real solution to the energy crisis, not just "drill here, drill now".
I believe our foreign policy should be less cowboy and more global, more diplomatic.
I believe we need to stop mortgaging my childrens' futures so the elite few can keep their tax cuts and have even more today.