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How to talk to some skeptic American Muslims about Obama
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We have to admit, there are things Barack Obama says which causes American Muslims to cringe, to put it mildly. So here are a few ways to approach your Muslim friends and neighbors to convince them to vote for Barack Obama (or feel free to use these points for positive self-talk before casting your vote).
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 | Talk about direction: Remind American Muslims of the big picture. Politics is about direction as much as it is about specific platforms of candidates. So, Obama's direct statements on the issue of civil liberties may not go far enough, but compared to John McCain's positions, Obama's policies are looking in the correct directions. Similarly, Obama's proposals on addressing climate change do not go as far as Al Gore's recommendations; however, Obama acknowledge the severity of the problem of climate change and his policies would put America on the path to further, and perhaps more radically, address the issue.
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| Talk about Influences and Political Connections of the Candidates: Barack Obama has a history of grassroots activism and his campaign has refused to accept cash from lobbyists. The Democratic Party has also put itself in line with Barack Obama's campaign by also refusing money from lobbyists. On the other hand, McCain's record this front is dismal, despite his rhetoric of campaign finance reform. He has continued to take money from lobbyists and he continues to have lobbyists on his payroll. Politics today is plagued by special interests, which hurt the public interest. For example, one of the major problems during the Bush administration has been a refusal of elected officials to acknowledge or address the climate crisis. Obama is free of the influence of Washington lobbyists and the big-oil influences that plague the Republican party and so he is able to address the problem of climate change in ways that McCain cannot and has not.
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| Talk about the public good: American Muslims tend to feel strongly about social and economic justice. Barack Obama has worked on health care issues in the United States Senate as well as in the Illinois senate and he has put forward a detailed plan for bringing health care to all Americans. On the other hand, McCain does not acknowledge the problem of health care and he has shown how his plan would protect people with pre-existing conditions from being denied. In addition, McCain's so-called health care plan amounts to giving employees tax breaks so that can join the same, broken and corrupt private health insurance companies that have hurt so many Americans.
Obama wants to enact legislation that would put tough penalties to those who practice voter fraud as well as to properly inform voters who have been misinformed about accurate and full information so they can vote. Obama wants to end racial profiling by federal agencies and provide incentives to state and local law enforcement to stop the practice. It is difficult to see what, if anything, John McCain says on these issues.
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