Obama is the only answer

If you’re saying to yourself as you read this, “who gives a rat what some dumb website thinks,” then we’ll agree with you: It doesn’t matter what we think.

What does matter is why.

SFBay endorses President Obama for re-election as President of the United States because he has decisively led our nation out of economic ruin brought about by the failed policies and misguided, bellicose obsessions of his predecessor.

We endorse President Obama not for each and all of his policies, but for the principles, process and approach with which he shapes and executes them.

We hardly agree with President Obama on a line-item basis. His administration’s abhorrent, insensitive actions against the medicinal marijuana industry simply can’t be forgotten, even under the influence of their strongest offerings.

And while we staunchly believe in truly universal healthcare for all Americans, we applaud President Obama for “ObamaCare,” a bold, risky move by a first-term president facing unfailingly recalcitrant Republican opposition in Congress.

We believe President Obama possesses the intellect, the leadership, the policies and the brass — as Bill Clinton might say — to lead our nation back to prosperity, as the locomotive — not the caboose — in the long train known as the worldwide economy.

We respect President Obama for his ability to maintain decorum under any circumstances, against unprecedented disrespect from Republican opponents.

From a heckling Joe Wilson — “you lie! — at the State of the Union to a finger-raising Mitt Romney in the debates — President Obama has never failed to honor and respect the office of President, even in the face of undignified attempts to rattle him.

We have also observed his opponent, Mitt Romney, flat-out lie his way through at least half of this presidential election. One problem is, we’re not sure which half.

We can’t discern if it’s the first half — where conservative Romney pledged to overturn Roe v. Wade, or espoused the dismantling of FEMA — or it’s the second half, where moderate Romney drifted into the center median of U.S. politics with misleading positions on abortion and taxes.

And throughout the campaign — and indeed, the Obama presidency — Republican leaders should be ashamed for allowing factions of their party to fan the flames of hatred toward President Obama surrounding his citizenship and religion.

Whatever the reason, a staggering level of hateful vitriol has been spewed toward President Obama, from official Romney mouthpieces like John Sununu down to bitter, unfunny Tweeters hiding behind a curtain of anonymity.

A victory for President Obama would not only continue us up the proper path as a nation, it would deservedly kick in the teeth the minority of Americans who hate him because he is black — whether they admit it or not.

Jesse Garnier

Jesse Garnier is the editor and founder of SFBay. A Mission District native, he also teaches journalism as associate professor at San Francisco State University.