As you regular readers know, my first choice to be the Democratic nominee for president was New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. But the vast majority of early Democratic voters didn't see things my way, and Richardson dropped out after the New Hampshire primary.
That left me with a dilemma -- who would I support in the Texas primary if things got that far? My choice was between Edwards and Obama, and I was leaning towards Edwards. I really liked the progressive and populist ideas he was putting forward. I also thought he was probably the most electable.
My fellow Democrats have a lot more faith in the American voters than I do. I believe America to still be a very racist and misogynist nation, and I'm not at all sure that either a black or a woman can be elected -- even with the country in the current heavily Democratic mood.
Don't get me wrong -- I'd love to see it happen. I was a Jesse Jackson delegate to the state convention twice. I agree with what Bill Clinton told a black congregation yesterday, in that I've waited my whole life to vote for a black or woman candidate for president. But the "Bradley effect" scares me. It's easy for whites to say they'll vote for a black or woman in public, but what will they do in the privacy of the voting booth?
But enough of my paranoia. Democrats are stepping boldly into the future in this election. Either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. When Edwards dropped out last week, that made it a sure thing.
I have chosen to support Barack Obama simply because I believe he is the most liberal of the two candidates. The more I see of Hillary Clinton, the more I believe her politics are identical to Bill's -- moderate and corporate-friendly. After the last 8 years, we need a radical change in this country. I think we are more likely to get that from Obama.
I will vote for Barack Obama in the Texas primary and again at the precinct caucus this March.
But I just hope America is ready for whoever is nominated. With the war lost in Iraq, the Taliban coming back in Afghanistan and a recession looming, we cannot afford another Republican in the White House.
I, as I'm sure you know, was Edwards all the way. Richardson would have been a second pick. I am still on the fence as of Edwards dropping out.. I am leaning towards Obama at this point, but it really really feels forced.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the policies published on their web sites and voting records of both Democratic candidates (as vs the pretty speechifying done by some candidates), they're virtually identical. There has been only one vote in the past four years where Obama voted different from Hillary.
ReplyDeleteRegarding electability, I share your reservations about whether the majority of Americans will vote for a black man. We know that voters in even the most conservative states will vote for a woman -- Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana have all had woman governors -- but none of these states have elected a black governor and it is unlikely that they will anytime in the near future (and no, Bobby Jindal isn't black -- he's *Indian* which in the eyes of Louisianians is one of them helpful funny talkin' furriners like what answers the phone when you order that thare Kitchen Whatchamacallit from the Home Shopping Channel on that thare Cable Tee-Vee, he ain't *black*, just kinda suspiciously dusky).
That said, that's not why I now support Hillary. Hillary has her own electability problems, the main one being that the press frankly *hates* her and lies about her every time they get a chance. It's because of two factors: Health care, and experience. Her health care plan is better than Obama's (if not as daring as I'd like), and she knows how to get shit done as a manager of the executive branch (since Billary has been in the executive branch since 1978 when Billary was first elected governor of Arkansas). Obama is smart, but he hasn't ever run even a small business, much less the largest bureaucracy in the nation. I have no confidence that he can properly purge the Bushbots and get the executive branch working efficiently and effectively again. We've had too many years of fumbling and bumbling. We need someone who can hit the ground running and *get shit done*, and all the lofty speechifyin' in the world ain't gonna do that.
- Badtux the Practical Penguin
Badtux-
ReplyDeleteWhile we agree on many things, I just don't buy the "hit the ground running" argument. Ya'll make Obama sound like a first-grader lost on his first day at school.
He is an intelligent man who will surround himself with intelligent people, and he'll have good Democrats like Kennedy he can call on to help him root out the "Bushbots".