I make no ironclad promise because I’ve been known to change my mind in the voting booth before, but my intention as of now is to cast my vote in tomorrow’s Democratic Primary here in Pennsylvania for…
Barack Obama.
I will do so nervously and with some grave concerns.
I have no doubt that, among the three contenders to succeed the Worst. President. Ever., Hillary Clinton is best prepared to assume the duties of the Oval Office. Going in to this never-ending primary season, she was my choice. But I have not liked the tone of her campaign nor can I escape the feeling that her administration would be too much of the same-old, same-old. I don’t mean just that she would be Clinton Redux but that she would bring little new to Washington in terms of personnel and attitudes. Both Hilary and John McCain are candidates of the past and carry the baggage of the mess that has reigned in our nation’s capitol for the past two decades.
Obama appears to have, for now, lost his “audacity of hope” persona and sunk into the gutter with his opponents, but I’d hope he’ll get back on track after getting the nomination if that happens.
Clinton is also right when she says she would be better able to stand up to the Right Wing Hate Machine which will surely be rolled out once a Democratic candidate is certain. Whether Obama has the stamina, will and anger to do that is a big question. On the other hand, a Clinton candidacy would probably make the Limbaughs, Coulters and that ilk, not to mention the insane wing of the blogosphere, even more rabid the than we have seen before, and we’ve seen really rabid. Another leap of faith: Obama’s appeal to youth and his ability to speak to many of the, yes, bitter segments of the populace will offset and perhaps even preclude at least some of the Right’s efforts.
It seems incredible to me that there is a chance that Obama (or Clinton) could lose in November to McCain, not just because he’s McCain, but because the idea that the American people would succeed George W. Bush with any Republican candidate, especially one who is committed to his illegal and immoral war is difficult to fathom. It would be a calamity of such colossal proprotions that it challenges every remain shred of confidence I have in this nation, even after seeing what we have allowed it to become under the current administration.
There are many factors which will play a role in the November contest which are, as yet, not fully visible. Either race or gender will impact the Democratic nominee, age will do the same to the GOP standard-bearer. Both sides will play these cards and it will be ugly.
The Washington Press Corps’ love affair with McCain cannot be discounted, nor can the overall press tendency (there are enough examples now, and more every day, to not have to pretend this isn’t real) to hold different standards for the Dems than for the Repubs. Obama misspeaks? A national press frenzy. McCain misspeaks? No big deal. Clinton’s tax returns? Must also include Bill’s and be subjected to intense scrutiny. McCain’s tax returns? Ho-hum and, oh yeah, let’s not ask for his millionaire wife’s as well, lest we intrude on her privacy. Whitewater? Gotta bring it up as often as possible, even though it was all a mirage. Keating Five? Old news, why bring it up how. Obama’s pastor? Sacrilege. McCain’s pandering to and accepting the endorsement of a right-wing nutcase pastor? Hardly noticed. This is going to be a more serious factor than anyone on the Democratic side yet realizes.
There also the factor of the as-yet not clear anger and disillusionment that might affect the Democrats when this vile primary race is over. If enough idiots in either the Obama or Clinton camps actually do “stay home” if their candidate doesn’t win, as they threaten, the potential for disaster is immense if the race somehow stays close (in my heart, I still want to believe that McCain will be exposed as far out of touch with most Americans in a general election campaign). You need only look back to see how the Republicans wandered in the electoral wasteland for years when the then minority right wing element offered at best tepid support to the national nominees to understand how stupid that sort of thinking is. If we haven’t learned by now that it really does matter who’s sitting in the White House, we never will.
There is also one Big Wild Card. If the Democrats end up in an unlikely but possible brokered convention should neither candidate be able to win, could someone–Al Gore?–come out of nowhere to be the candidate? For the record, I actually believe that Gore could win easier than either of the two putative nominees.
Clinton will win here in Pennsylvania tomorrow by all indications, propelled by those middle-age white male voters who some say will decide the presidency as well come November. I will find it painful not giving her my vote but I will pull the lever for the candidate who offers, at his best, the promise of progressive change and reborn hope and maybe even, if only for a while, a revival of our best instincts as a people.
I will be voting for the losing candidate tomorrow, hoping against hope that such will not also be the case on November 4.
April 21, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Let me just point you to one thing you said. “Hillary Clinton is best prepared to assume the duties of the Oval Office. ” If you believe that, why on earth would you vote for someone else? I don’t know what makes or breaks decisions. I also believe Clinton is the best qualified person. I compared policies, read their books, sorted through all the articles, and nothing has convinced me that anybody else in the running is as capable.
If you try to measure who is more negative, that is pretty subjective and hard to pin point. I understand feeling the desire to vote for someone who is more “above it all.” In fact, the deal breaker for whether I would vote for Barack Obama in the GE came rather suddenly and surprisingly for me. I saw him give Hillary Clinton the finger at a NC rally. And I thought to myself, this is the exercise of male hegemony, patriarchy, old fashioned and unadulterated. We all know what we saw and he’ll say he was scratching his nose. When I called the Obama campaign, they laughed at it and said, “I know my nose itches sometimes, doesn’t yours.”
So I absolutely understand how something Hillary Clinton may have done could be a deal breaker, even if she is the best qualified. Until we get in the ballot box, where every vote really does count. And then we have a civic duty to do the right thing.
April 21, 2008 at 3:57 pm
“Best prepared” is not always “best performing.” I appreciate your input, even if I have some doubts about your anecdote.
April 21, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I am not lying about it, but I understand no one believes anybody else these days.
April 21, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I wasn’t accusing you of lying. I think many of us see what we want to see when we are emotionally and intellectually involved.
April 21, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Every time I look at this supposed bird-flipping, I see the video and it looks like Barack Obama is scratching his nose with his pointer and middle fingers.
April 21, 2008 at 6:59 pm
is he or is he not wearing a flag pin? That will resolve the issue once and for all.
April 21, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Jack: Hillary is the candidate to stand up to the right-wing hate machine. As much as I want to believe Obama can win, I fear the Repubs will push him down into the mud, steal his milk money, give him a wedgie and tie his shoelaces together. Hell, look what they did to war-hero Kerry. It’ll be twice as ugly with Barack.
How much more satisfying would it be to watch Hillary stand toe-to-toe with them?
April 21, 2008 at 8:19 pm
That’s pretty much what I felt early on and, on the face of it, what I still feel. But there’s an after-Election too, and we need a different sort of president and White House, not just different from Dubya–hell, we could pick somebody off the street like that, and he or she’d be better the minute they walked in (not to mention the removal of Cheney and how that will improve things)–but somebody who is not tied to the same people, the same policies (by default with the same people), the same limited visions. I dunno if Obama can provide that, but he has a better chance than Hillary does, IMO.
April 22, 2008 at 8:19 am
One problem with Obama is that he gets cranky, and not in a little way. For example, Clinton went on Olbermann and Larry King last night. Now, she probably knew Larry King would treat her decently, but he asked some pointed questions. Obama was invited but refused. I think he was scared of a bomb like what happened in the last debate. Clinton went on MSNBC and they hate her to death. That just takes amazing guts. She really is not afraid of anything. I don’t think Obama is seasoned. You have to get to the white house to be in the white house. And truth be told, he may not able to change as much as he claims. It depends what kind of Congress he has and, as he admitted about himself, he isn’t interested in the bureaucracy. That’s a little worrisome since the president is in fact bureaucrat in chief. It isn’t enough just to provide the vision and let other people do the work. Clinton works very hard. I have never heard that about Obama, even from his friends. He relies on the asset of his personality. Is he intelligent? Absolutely. But it won’t be enough. Anyway, if he’s the nominee, we’re looking at McGovern. It’s plain as day.