It seems like a long time ago, but it was only during the Democratic primaries that I wrote a diary about how unity in the Democratic party was more important than going down with the HMS Hillary Clinton or the USS Barack Obama. I wrote that we got involved in this election to do things like end the Iraq War, or add some sanity to White House policies and honesty to Washington politics.
If you were really honest with yourself back before this campaign season began, you knew that no matter who won the Democratic nomination, all of the above goals would move a lot closer to fruition. Sure "President Kucinich" might have an unlikely first lady, but you could get used to seeing them hosting state functions at the White House if our common agenda was moving forward, right? Well folks, let’s remember what we’re fighting for because along the way during this campaign, the majority of us, me included, have said and/or written: "Dammit, if fill-in-the-name wins this nomination after he/she fill-in-the-action, I’m voting for McCain or sitting this one out!" And that way, my friends, lays madness.
I wrote this partly in response to the circular firing squads that were eagerly forming at the height of the Democratic primaries, and partly as a way to convince myself that I could and would vote for Hillary Clinton for president if she did become the Democratic nominee. I got many different responses, from people who totally disagreed, to posts thanking me for adding a bit of sanity to the discussion, to one poster who thought it was more important to correct my grammar ("lie" instead of "lay", apparently) than to actually respond to the ideas I'd written. I hate responses like that. Then came the woman (and men) of P.U.M.A.
By now we all have our own ideas of the P.U.M.A.s - batshit crazy old ladies who, traumatized by hurtful chauvanism in the past, couldn't give up the dream of a President Hillary Clinton even after Clinton herself asked them to do so. Or maybe Republicans in Democratic drag, doing their best to sow the seeds of disunity in our coalition party. Or just people who really, really believed in their candidate and couldn't let it go, even after she had left the race. They still have a website where they are now dissecting the Mississippi Democratic primary race and accusing Obama of voter fraud (because, you know, the MS Democratic primary is the main thing on people's minds right now). Their current front page also questions whether the Hillary of today, who asked her supporters to work for Obama's election, is the same one of yesterday. I guess that would be the Hillary of yesterday who questioned Obama's qualifications for the presidency and said that McCain had passed the "Commander-in-Chief test" and Obama had not. I have long since acknowledged the fact that the hard-fought nomination process made Barack Obama a much better national election candidate, so hey...bygones.
But that's not what this diary is about. It's about the gratitude I have for the P.U.M.A.'s and why I believe their very existence is a big reason why I am looking forward to at least four years of an Obama presidency. You see, I think that P.U.M.A. and the press attention that they received led John McCain to make one of the most monumental mistakes in presidential election history. Why else would he have picked Sarah Palin, if he didn't think he could kill two birds with one stone - solidify his credentials with the conservative right and capture the "P.U.M.A. voting bloc". Unfortunately for him, McCain never bothered checking just how many disaffected Clinton voters would actually be delivered in that voting bloc, and whether or not they would leap at the chance to vote for anyone with double X chromosomes regardless of policy. Maybe he was too busy vetting his VP nominee.
So to all the P.U.M.A. members who urged members to go the Dem convention to fight for Hillary, and to all of those angry, screaming women at the Democratic Rules Committee Meeting, thank you. Your histrionics served a greater purpose than you realized at the time. While you weren't successful in your goal to deliver Michigan and Florida's entire electoral delegations to Hillary Clinton, you did accomplish something. You led a major party presidential candidate to adjust his electoral strategy to include you in the mix. You are part of the reason why Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. I trust that the next four year will calm your anger and fears as you see him work with Senator Clinton and the rest of the Congress to end the Iraq War, adress our economic and energy crises, and bring universal healthcare to our country.
Today, buried low on their webpage, P.U.M.A. posted a conciliatory note that reads in part:
As PUMAs we did all we could to ensure that Barack Obama did not emerge victorious. Yet and still, despite our VERY BEST efforts he won with a majority of not only the popular vote, but also the electoral college vote, something no other President from the Democratic Party has been able to achieve in recent memory.
At this point in time, we must realize that the battle for the White House is OVER, and the new battle to ensure our country moves back to a true democracy begins. While many of us shall never respect the proccess which brought Barack Obama to office, we must respect the office which he now holds, and realize the ONLY thing that matters is what he does as President. We cannot and should not allow ourselves to descend to the levels of depravity the left wing of the Democratic Party descended to when it took on Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Sarah Palin.
You know, if I were a conspiracy theorist, I'd think that P.U.M.A. was formed as the ultimate headfake - the best Obamajitsu ever. Huh.