I put my support behind Barack Obama some time around November or December 2007.  Something abstract about his nature has drawn me to him that I have been unable to identify.  I feel inspired when I hear him speak, I feel confident that no matter what changing landscapes the next four years bring, he would be able to guide us through them as safely as possible.

I started to realize in the last few months that it has less to do with his political beliefs or his views on the various issues.  While his views are solidly in the Democratic party’s side of the field, I have increasingly been realizing that I feel like that’s more of a intersection of values than it is loyalty to any particular party.

All this has been very intangible for me until I read the Week in Review in the newspaper this past Sunday morning.  Week in Review is always my favorite part of the news paper, and not just because it’s the only part of the papers with comics; I appreciate the summary of the events.  (I read it for the articles, not the pictures.)  This week’s edition had a great summary of the candidates and the issues.  It was when reading Obama’s summary that I finally realized why I have so much failth in his guidance:

Everyone contributes; silent lurkers will be interrogated. (He wants to “suck the room of every idea,” said Valerie Jarrett, a close adviser.) Mention a theory and Mr. Obama asks how it translates on the ground. He orchestrates debate, playing participants off each other — and then highlights their areas of agreement. He constantly restates others’ contributions in his own invariably more eloquent words. But when the session ends, his view can remain a mystery, and his ultimate call is sometimes a surprise to everyone who was present.

I think that leadership revolves around the guiding a team, as a group, to finding the best possible solution to a problem – not individual team members’ selfish desire to have their solution be chosen.  Some people call this “working for the common good”, but I think that is too abstract.  It is about selflessly finding the best way to approach a problem – which is exactly what Obama is doing in these meetings.  He is mining for all the ideas and information and then using this judgement and leadership to steer the team in the right direction.

It is this leadership that I will be voting for on November 4th – not just his party or his voting record or his policies.  It is knowing that he will be choosing the best solution regardless of where it comes from that makes me sure I am voting for what will surely become one of the greatest presidents of our time; afterall, the last president to show this style of leadership was Abraham Lincoln.  And, when it comes down to it, I am confident that if the best idea comes from the Republican side of the house (unlikely!), he will not hessitate to support it.