I'm Torn About A Barack OBama Stance

For the past few months, something has bothered me about Barack Obama's stance on the war. Or more specifically his criticism of Hillary Clinton and John Edward's decision to vote to go to war. Now let me say up front, I like Barack Obama. Although I've stated that I identify myself as being a Republican, I can see myself voting for him for President if he won the Democratic Nomination. Furthermore, I don't like or respect Hillary Clinton or John Edwards for various reasons that are not important at this time.

But for a while, I found it incredible audacious of Barack Obama to criticize Hillary and John's votes in the Senate. Barack Obama was merely a State Senator at the time...not even a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. So one thing that should be blatently clear is that he would be privy to much less information regarding Iraq and the war on terror than Hillary and John Edwards would have.

It sounds incredibly easy to stand back and say that he was against the war without having all the information at his disposal that the House of Representatives and US Senate had. Increcibly easy and Incredibly Naive.

I simply couldn't believe that his stance could be viable...that he had no honest way of knowing how he would feel/react with all the same information before him that Hillary and John Edwards had.

And then I saw this. I have to be completely honest, I cried and cried and cried when I watched this video. I know that there are thousands of kids that this video can apply to, both from 9/11 and from the war against terror. I just want to scoop each of those kids and tell them how much their Daddy loves them and how he looks over them all the time.

As I sat there, crying, thinking how unfair such a thing is...a though crept into my head...no one should have to go through that. No child from any nation should have to lose their parent in any way, much less in such a senseless way.

And then I thought...maybe that's it. Maybe Barack Obama is as empathetic as I feel I am. Maybe he knows that as tradegic as it was, more unnecessary fatherless children is even more tradegic.

I'm not soft on terror, and I don't think Barack Obama is either...but maybe more empathy is needed in order to ensure the right thing is done.

As upsetting as that video is for me, I vow to watch it regularly...not only to ensure that I myself value my time with my family as much as possible, but to make sure that I respect other's sanctity of family as well.