Hope.

In the eight years I have been writing this site, I don’t think I’ve ever come out and talked about politics. I’ve linked to technical articles with political undercurrents that I think you might like, but never talked about my own feelings about politics. Given that I have pretty strong opinions about just about everything, no matter how small, this is kinda funny.

But it’s also kinda sad.

I have been politically Independent since I was old enough to vote. I have never come out and told people who I was voting for, let alone who I think you should vote for. Why should I? Make up your own damn mind. That’s what it’s there for.

But by not speaking out, however, I’ve been a passive recipient of the Bush Administration’s steady assault on the rule of law over the past eight years. Habeas corpus? Gone. Fourth amendment? Gone for the 75% of the population living with 100 miles of a border. Legalized torture, willful disregard of the Geneva Conventions, illegal wiretapping, unprecedented expansion of executive powers, massive federal debt, and a shattered economy? We have them. (And that’s just the short list!)

Not this time.

I am voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden next Tuesday. And I think you should, too.

I considered John McCain’s candidacy for a long time. I was impressed by his campaign in 2000, and that favorable impression lasted for a long time. But the last eight years have left us with a very, very different America, and a very different John McCain.

• We need someone who can run their campaign based on people’s hopes, instead of people’s fears. I am tired of being afraid of my government.

• We need someone who is articulate, intelligent, and open to new ways, instead of experienced with the old ways of getting things done. I have had enough of the old ways.

• We need to have someone who is careful, considerate, and who listens to other people’s advice before acting.

After watching Barack Obama for the last year and a half, I think he is the man for the job. His speech on race, A More Perfect Union, is a gutsy yet thoughtful look at race in America. While his speech to the Democratic National Convention shows that the man can talk the birds out of the trees, it was A More Perfect Union that first made me go, I want this man to succeed. Listening to any political figure talk about a complicated, messy issue and acknowledge that there are many shades of gray in between black and white gave me great hope for how he’ll address other issues.

And I have not been disappointed.

I know that many of you do not live in a state where you think your vote will matter. But it does. Don’t throw it away. Even in Texas, don’t throw it away. I live in a swing state that was never supposed to be a swing state. But with the belief and hard work from a lot of people, that’s changed.

It can change where you are, too.

Listen: I haven’t forgotten Barack Obama is a politician, with all the fallibility that goes with that job. I don’t believe that he’ll deliver on every single campaign promise. I don’t even expect that he’ll deliver on most of them.

But he’ll deliver on one of the biggest — hope for a better future — and on another — that with hard work we will get there.

So get out there and vote for Barack Obama on November 4th.