SILVERGLATE: WHY I VOTED FOR OBAMA

For me, in the end, the choice was really quite simple. The institutions of the nation that have not worked for some time fell into further decrepitude in recent decades, and especially in the past eight years. The institutions that sort of hung on - most notably the separation of powers and Bill of Rights provisions of the Constitution - took a huge hit under Bush, although in truth they didn't do all that well under his recent predecessors. But the past eight years have been a sea change, and a huge amount of damage has been done. And so for me Obama's relative inexperience was a huge plus factor. My hope is that he's not fallen so in love with "the system" that he'll hesitate to root out large segments of it. He's obviously got the brains, and the character. Does he have the will?

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