The case for Obama. February 1, 2008 ~ 11:50 am
Posted by Julie in : Politically Incorrect , comments closedDid anyone catch the Democratic debate last night on CNN? Rick and I saw something interesting, which was later voiced by Keith Olbermann in his analysis of the debate: for the first time, Clinton and Obama were not picking at each other so much as they were picking at the Republicans. It was as if they looked around and realized “Hmmm, we’re the last two standing, we don’t have to do the backbiting anymore, let’s focus on the Republicans.” It looked like a Democratic ticket, people. And while I would still rather have an Obama/Edwards ticket, as Rick said “I wouldn’t mind an Obama/Clinton ticket with John Edwards as Attorney General.”
Bear in mind that I said an Obama/Clinton ticket, not the other way around. I still like Barack more than Hillary for several reasons. One, he is one of the most inspirational speakers I have ever seen. He makes people excited about getting involved in politics, especially young people. With him as president, I really feel like America would be a forward-looking nation again, the kind we haven’t seen since JFK was in the White House. I could be proud of that country and be proud to be an American again instead of somewhat embarrassed or at worst, defensive about it. Two, while I remember the Clinton era with fondness, I am a little wary of having the same two families in charge of this country for the past thirty years. We kicked the English out of this country two centuries ago because we weren’t fans of dynasties. Three, Hillary’s latest health care plan is what they’ve done in Massachusetts. Rick lives in Massachusetts, I know about that system and how it doesn’t work for the middle class and the poor. I don’t think that taking it national will get rid of those problems. And four, perhaps most importantly, Hillary supported this war and voted against the Levin amendment, which would have required Bush to go back to Congress for approval before actually going to war. And she has never once said that it was a mistake. She has sidestepped about that relentlessly, saying “With the information I had…” I hate when people don’t admit they made a mistake. Just own up to it and get over it. I would find it much easier to get behind her if she could just do that one little thing, like John Edwards did. “Yes, I made a mistake. I should not have voted that way, I admit it” sounds like a grown-up, and a responsible leader. “With the information I had” sounds like someone who can’t admit their mistakes. We’ve had that in the White House for the past seven years, and look where that’s gotten us. I worry about four more years of that.
That last paragraph was a lot longer than I originally intended, but what the hell. Yes, if it comes down to it and Hillary is the Democratic nominee, I will vote for her in November. I am a yellow dog Democrat at heart, and I cannot abide McCain or Romney (why I can’t deal with McCain would be another very long paragraph, and we just won’t go there right now). I cannot abide any more years of Republicans in charge of this country in general, watching my rights and civil liberties be eroded before my eyes every day. But on Tuesday, when I get to vote for the candidate closest to my heart, I’ll be voting for Barack Obama. And I will be proud to do so.
