In an election season with public interest unlike any before it, one might ask what endorsements mean to voters.  Unions, elected officials, celebrities and political pundits all share with the public who they feel the electorate should vote for.  Some endorsers are able to level the resources to back-up those words.  Last week in the Post, I even weighed in on the discussion regarding our next President of the United States.  I am not sure what sort of impact, if any it might have for candidate I support.  Outside of a few dollars, phone calls and emails, my ability to move the electorate’s will is very limited.

 

There has not been one yet that has driven my decision of who to vote for.  But in an election that has seen unprecedented media coverage, one had caught my attention.  Beyond politics, Human Rights is a core tenet few would not prize more in a civil society.  That is why in when I heard of the volunteer legal corp for Guantanamo Bay detainees publicly endorsed a presidential candidate I felt compelled to share it.

 

Habeas Lawyers endorsed Senator Barack Obama for his efforts to help preserve habeas corpus for the unlawful combatants being held by the United States government in Cuba.  In the fog of war, especially an unconventional one where soldiers wear no uniform and salute no country, it has become convenient for our current government to leave behind the rules, laws, even the constitution that defines our nation as we wage this war on terror.  Courage requires standing up for what is right even when it might be unpopular.  That is why I find such an endorsement, beyond mine or just about anyone else’s means something more.