This country is in distress.

We are in the middle of a war in the Middle East where conventional victory is not possible, but the fight is expected to cost U.S. taxpayers $2.4 trillion assuming a withdrawal by 2017, according to Reuters. Wall Street is in trouble on a level not seen since The Great Depression. The value of the U.S. dollar has been decreasing steadily since the turn of the millennium and the biggest export for our nation is debt, which is increasing our inflation rate rapidly. This makes Americans poorer while creating a huge debt we will have to pay later.

All this has taken place under the leadership of our 43rd president, George W. Bush. I could ramble on his inadequacy and incompetency, but rather than crying over spilled milk I prefer to seize my opportunity to ensure this type of character does not inhabit the White House for another four years. In the first presidential election I am able to participate in, I am prepared to vote for the only candidate who can turn our country around. I am voting because of Barack Obama.

John McCain is essentially an extension of Bush and his flawed policies. According to Congressional Quarterly’s Voting Studies, McCain has voted with Bush 95 percent of the time, a rate that has been increasing over the past couple years. Bush’s term has been riddled with unaccountability, poor decisions and appalling executive management. It appears as though a McCain administration would be essentially a third Bush term, something our country does not need right now.

Obama represents change and progress in every facet imaginable. As a first term senator, he defeated the Clinton political machine in a fashion never witnessed before. The way Obama organized volunteers, voters and donors was mesmerizing. He helped ensure that for the first time in 20 years, a Bush or Clinton would not take the Oval Office.

Culturally, Obama understands our generation better than any other recent presidential candidate. Socially, Obama represents a direction our country needs to head in. Being an individual of black descent, Obama’s residence in the White House will deliver a much needed blow to the underlying racism present in our country. Generations that follow Obama’s tenure will be more welcoming to diversity.

Obama is also a true exhibit of the American dream, rising from modest beginnings in my hometown in Honolulu, to becoming the first black head of the Harvard Law Review, graduating magna cum laude in 1991. A decade and a half later, he reached the position of senator, a rapid and outstanding climb considering his humble origins. Obama is truly a man from Main Street, not Wall Street such as McCain and Bush. An Obama win will remind us that – through hard work and dedication – we can achieve our dreams and ambitions.

I am voting because Obama represents the path our country needs to take. But I’m just one vote. If you have not already registered, you can still go to the county elections department and register in person before the elections. This could be our banner year. After all, there is no reason to wait on the world to change when the ability to change the world is within reach.