I've stayed out of supporting any Democratic presidential candidate to date. To me, Hillary is loyal to Hillary's status and membership in the global corporate elite. Obama's not much different. Edwards' populism I suspect is largely genuine, but I doubt he'd be pushing it if he were still in the Senate.
Dodd has said some real things, Kucinich has the right ideals but I just don't see him as a tough player. This isn't to say I'd have any choice but to vote for any of them against the Republican ego-maniac they'd put up. (And vanity is the only thing any of the Repubs have to offer, excepting, maybe, Ron Paul.)
So I've said all along that the first candidate who starts talking plainly about America's actual condition gets my vote. Even though he's not a candidate, I'm voting for Gore. Hell, I might write him in if I have to.
To wit, this Guardian piece
A drive for global domination has put us in greater danger
Al Gore
Thursday May 24, 2007
The Guardian
The pursuit of "dominance" in foreign policy led the Bush administration to ignore the UN, to do serious damage to our most important alliances, to violate international law, and to cultivate the hatred and contempt of many in the rest of the world. The seductive appeal of exercising unconstrained unilateral power led this president to interpret his powers under the constitution in a way that brought to life the worst nightmare of the founders. Any policy based on domination of the rest of the world not only creates enemies for the US and recruits for al-Qaida, but also undermines the international cooperation that is essential to defeating terrorists who wish to harm and intimidate America. Instead of "dominance", we should be seeking pre-eminence in a world where nations respect us and seek to follow our leadership and adopt our values.
The minute we pressure Gore to join the race (and I'm not unaware that there's a measure of manipulation and planning about that option going on in Gore's camp), the entire basis of the political discussion in America is changed.
For the first time, should he run and keep talking like he has, the other candidates, and thus the Democratic leadership, will be forced to deal head-on with the lawlessness and power-drunkeness of this administration. Which to date, despite crime after crime, they have failed to do.
He's been harping on this and similar themes for awhile now. I hope people watch Gore insisting on talking about the issues in his masterful appearance on ABC's Good Morning America, viewable here. Watch him talk about the "cracks in the foundations of our Democracy", Besides the content of his comments, it is beautiful to watch him completely undercut the "journalism as usual" garbage spin of media's professionals.
At this point, we need a groundswell for Gore, even it is only to force the agenda he's outlining into public discussion, and the Dem presidentials to either speak up or sit down.