This is a post that I really should have written a few weeks ago, but time did not really allow, and I didn’t feel that much of a need to. After spending a bit of today following what’s been going on, however, I felt compelled to finally get to this. This is a post about politics, so be warned, lest you be swept away by my tide of opinion.

As you all know, there’s a little contest being held right now by our neighbours to the south. It’ll be a while before it’s finished, but it seems like things are moving at right about this moment. Yes, I know I’m a Canadian and don’t have a say in this, but I feel the need to echo what many people I respect are saying. And ultimately, the outcome of this fight will affect us up here.

There’s a ridiculous difference in the atmosphere of this presidential race from the one we had in 2004. Back then, all we cared about was getting the Republicans and Bush out. The choice was basically Bush vs. not Bush, and that sort of race doesn’t exactly inspire people. Not so, this time.

I should mention that I am very, very liberal. Many times, people confuse that for being Liberal. That is not so, as I am so liberal that I am not Liberal, but New Democrat. It’s taken me a while to come to terms with this, but I’ve fully embraced this fact during the last election.

Anyhow, essentially, I’ve decided to throw my worthless, non-US-citizen support behind Barack Obama.

So why did I feel a need to go ahead and voice my support for him? Everything that I’ve read about him leads me to believe that he really gets it. For me, the largest issues in politics pretty much revolves around civil liberties, democracy, accountability, and technology. He pretty much hits the nail on the head with respect to these things.

There are many people that have some fame and notoriety on the Internet who are smart and share my sentiments. Randall Munroe and Lawrence Lessig are among several who’ve written about their support for Obama. These are people whose opinions I trust, for their work in the area of the above issues.

Specifically, it’s his positions on network neutrality and his plan to keep the government accountable through the use of technology, making government data open by using standard machine-readable formats. And it’s this smart combination of technology and democratic governance that appeals to me and, evidently, many notables who have the same concerns.

I highly suggest that those of you who also share my choice of election issues to read the endorsements by Randall and especially Lawrence Lessig’s. Lessig’s posts really describe Obama’s character well and the stark difference that the other candidates sort of emit. It’s really been a long while since I’ve felt excited at the prospect of how the Presidential elections can change the States.