OK, I'm going to see if I can do a short one for my last one (I'm also sneaking it in right after midnight because I'm too busy to write it tomorrrow!).

My previous topics were: GOP obstructionism/Romney shape-shifting, the importance of science, pragmatism vs ideology, health care, the Supreme Court, and the economy.

Today's theme is the 99%. By which I mean that Obama is basically out to help the average person, and the underprivileged, the minorities, the powerless. He's doing this economically, but also through a lot of other means. I think this is honestly one of the most important things government can do.

Here's a basic list:

The Consumer Protection Bureau has already come out with several major decisions and investigations that have helped everyday people protect themselves against corporate giants that normally take advantage of them. For whatever reason, the Republicans think this agency has TOO MUCH power. How is it possible for consumers to have too much power to protect themselves against mega-corporations?

Obama has helped the gay community by appointing more openly-gay people to the government than ever before, by repealing don't-ask-don't-tell, by endorsing gay marriage, by giving benefits to same-sex government employees, and by no longer arguing for DOMA in court.

Obama has helped women by passing the Lilly Ledbetter act, which helps women finally attain pay disparity (and which again is really important for everyone, because there are a lot of families headed by single women, so an increase in their salaries leads to an improvement in the lives of their kids), by expanding the availability of contraceptives and woman-centric health care, by increasing the funding for the Violence Against Women Act, and by promoting women throughout the government, including the Supreme Court.

Obama has regulated various companies that have taken advantage of normal people in the past, including banks, the real estate industry, health insurance companies, and polluters. By regulating pollution and other climate-change issues, he has helped everyone in the world.

Obama has helped immigrants by focusing on deporting criminals rather than otherwise innocent people.

Obama has helped veterans by improving the VA and all kinds of post-military programs.

Obama has vastly improved government transparency, putting up websites that let you track the stimulus and the budget in general, as well as releasing records of government visitors.

Obama has helped low-income people go to college by increasing Pell Grants, and made student loans cheaper by getting rid of the middlemen and making loans directly to the students.

Obama has increased funding for people with disabilities.

Basically Obama has worked hard to make life easier and less oppressive for everyday people who don't have a lot of power for themselves, who are often-discriminated-against minorities, and who need a leg up to make it in a world that is stacked against them. He lived the life of the underprivileged himself, as a biracial son of a single mom with a foreign dad, who lived in a third-world country (Indonesia) for a while as a kid, who quit a job working on Wall Street to be a community organizer in Chicago. I think he understands and empathizes with everyday, hardworking people in a way that his opponent can't even conceive. He stands for the 99%.

Obama is the guy. Vote for him!