History in the Making
Back in 2004, I listened to coverage of the Democratic Convention, in particular all the buzz about a youngish man running for the Senate in Illinois. Despite this being his first foray into national politics, there was a certain excitement about him. The press loved him, and I remembered there was a similar excitement over Bill Clinton after the Democratic Convention in 1988. The public seemed to be more excited about Clinton than the national candidate back then, Dukakis. Barack Obama had that same sort of energy about him.
Right after that Convention, I told my husband that Obama was the man to beat in 2008. He laughed at me. So did many others when I repeated that statement. Everyone KNEW that 2008 was to be Hillary Clinton’s year. But you see that’s the problem with becoming the heir presumptive too early. It’s hard to build the kind of excitement Obama had just from making one great speech in 2004. And Hillary, much as I think she’d make an excellent President, lacks the sort of charisma that Obama and even her husband has.
Yes, when it comes to qualifications, Clinton is far more qualified than Obama. But if we’re really to argue about qualifications, neither of the Democratic front runners holds a candle to McCain. Not only has he served longer, he’s been known to work diligently for bi-partisan action on important issues. And of course the very big plus in his column for me is that he served in our armed forces. It makes a leader think harder about taking our men and women to warzones when the leader has also served. A leader with that experience knows their lives are not to be trifled with.
But I’m voting for Obama instead. 8 years of the Bush administration have convinced me that the GOP is not the party of fiscal responsibility. I particularly admire that Obama stood up and spoke out against a gas tax holiday. That took guts, and he’s right—it is a stupid, non-productive move. I’m also concerned with how many new laws are going on the books today that restrict a woman’s reproductive choices. I don’t want a pro-life President there when Ginsberg retires.
Good luck Obama. You will need it in fighting your way to an historic election. I just hope that the racism ingrained in so many does not lead to your defeat.
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politics
