Good evening,

As a Doctor of Divinity (and soon to be Doctor of Metaphysics), one could say that I am an expert on belief and what it is that makes people believe in something. I have often comtemplated topics such as life, the origin of the Universe, religion, etc. Today, however, I am contemplating something far different. The question at hand is why, oh why, do people stand so strongly by Barack Obama?

Over the course of this summer, I have spent a lot of time on Facebook. (both on my own account and through the Kucinich page) There is a group, a very large one, titled "One Million strong for Barack." As of right now, this group has over 332 thousand members, the majority of whom are college students of voting age. Many of my own friends are a part of this group. Why? That is exactly what I have set out to understand.

I asked 10 friends about why they choose to support Obama. "He is anti-war," said 4 of them. Is he? That is interesting. Its not exactly how I see it, or how he sees it either. None of the 10 random people who I polled (100% of the survey) had any idea what Obama's stances on issues were. In other words, these people are supporting a man to run their country whom they know absolutely nothing about.

So then I came to question why it is that they really choose to stand by him. I started to become more and more upset in the ignorant responses I was getting from people who I asked. A few friends replied to me saying that they "had not really looked into the candidates." So why support a specific candidate when you admit that you don't know anything about anyone?!

The best answer I could come up with is the classic problem with our country. A combination of ignorance and brainwashing. People are going to vote for Obama because it is the cool thing to do. Hes young (relatively), hes hip, he is cool. Those are not reasons enough. College students flock to support Obama because all of their friends are doing the same thing.

I saw Obama on the daily show last week. (it may have been a rerun) He came onto the stage and got the longest applause I have ever heard on the show. Young co-eds were screaming in joy like they had just seen Jude Law naked, masculine men were cheering like their home team just won the championship. This is not a frat party, kids. This is politics. This is the future of our country. Obama gave Jon Stewart a "cool" handshake and a pat on the back. He slouched ever so slightly in his chair. He was clearly trying to look like one of the guys, and it was working. He got an interview that was twice as long as any other candidate has gotten on that show. Shame on you, Jon Stewart.

Today I read that George Clooney was backing Obama. According to IMDB, Clooney said that "Obama is like a Rock Star." No mention of his policies, his record, his experience, just what he looks like. Damn shame.

In 8th grade I voted for our class president because I thought she was hot. I had no idea what she wanted to do for our class and I doubt she did either. She won. I was happy. The fate of the world should not be decided in such a way.

So now it is up to us, the Students for Kucinich. We need to spread the word about Dennis. Maybe he isn't 6'1 and a ton of fun. Maybe he doesn't have the "rock star" appeal to attract former bikini bandits to dance around in their panties and sing his praises. I will tell you what he does have, though. He has a plan. He has experience. He cares about each and every person. He understands what this country desperately needs. He is a true rock star. Hopefully we can convince the rest of these kids to realize this.

Peace,

-Ben Rubin D.D