Well, folks, the time has come for me to pick a new candidate since John Edwards dropped out yesterday. I asked for help in a diary yesterday and, surprisingly to me, didn't get a hell of a lot of help. There wasn't a large response, and nothing really convincing from the folks who did comment.
Frankly, over the past month or so I've been turned off by supporters of both candidates on Kos. There was the incessant insults from Obama folks saying I was not "reality-based" and calling Hillary a "you know what." There were the vicious comments from Clinton supporters about Obama that were belittling and childish. Both sides continuously whined that they were somehow being abused.
So really, my choice isn't really being made based on Kos at all. I read about three papers a day and many blogs and listen to radio news and get a bunch of stuff sent to me by friends so there are plenty of other places to get info than here.
I have concerns about both candidates. Hillary is too beholden to the status quo, and one of the things I liked best about Edwards was his desire to take on the entrenched moneyed powers. Obama is too focused on speechifying and bringing people together and not enough on the hard choices and solid policy decisions needed to actually change the status quo.
I get the feeling that Hillary's debt to the powers that be will prevent big change from happening, and that Obama's desire to keep the powers that be at the negotiating table will result in gridlock or failure. With either candidate, regardless of soaring rhetoric or tough talk, I don't really see the big change that I saw with Edwards.
I am turned off by Bill Clinton's appeal to racism. I am turned off by Donnie McClurkin. I am turned off by rural supporter rallies held at Monsanto's lobbyist's office. I am turned off by attacks on other Democrats using right wing frames.
But also I like both candidates a lot. Hillary is a tough negotiator who has been in the trenches not only as a legislator but as a lawyer and as a First Lady. I don't discount the latter because she knows enough to watch her back with the Republicans (and Lieberman) after the shit they pulled. Obama is a seasoned conciliator who has proven he can work with competing sides in the state legislature, and can inspire people from different walks of life to rally beside him.
I have high hopes that with a Democratic President -- either one -- the better angels in Congress will be able to force an extraction from Iraq that they can't do with a Republican. I also believe that a negotiated health care plan between the White House and Congress will result in a positive plan. So I am not so worried about the Clinton weakness on Iraq or the Obama weakness on health care.
Both need some work on their energy policy and a stronger push for infrastructure investments to provide economic stimulus and stability, but they are saying some good things on both fronts.
But either candidate will break through a ceiling and provide a vitally important ceiling as the first woman, first African American, first tons of stuff. That is huge for either one, and again is a wash.
I think we have two excellent candidates. Both have weaknesses I don't like, and both have strengths I do. I truly believe John Edwards would have made a much better President, but that's not gonna happen so I have to pick between the two.
What it comes down to in the end for me is which candidate will move the country farther in the direction I want it to go. That means a mix of policy, persuasiveness and toughness that can get things done for the country and put us back on the right track. Neither will, I think, do what really needs to be done but they can restore some balance where it is needed.
So I pick Hillary because while Obama's rhetoric is quite inspiring and often more progressive, I simply think that Hillary can actually get things done as President and I think Obama will have significant difficulties. His type of big tent, everyone at the table style is perfect for a Senator but not always so great in an executive, but Hillary has proven she can work with Republicans when needed and still be tough when she has to.
Obama's biggest strength is his ability to inspire, his willingness to stretch people's hearts and minds in directions they already lean. He can continue to do that as a leading Senator, and perhaps he will be more effective from there than with all the slings and arrows hitting him as President. If he works with Hillary (assuming she wins the nomination and general) the two of them can create great things. I do not think Hillary would be anywhere near as helpful to a President Obama.
I'd rather have someone who has lesser goals but can achieve them than someone who has soaring ambitions (not personal) and can't. With Hillary in the Oval Office and Obama in the Senate and the two of them working together, I think the most good will result.
Hillary Clinton is my candidate for President. Not because she is markedly better on any issue or policy, but because I think she will move the issues that are important to me forward better than Obama.
But if Obama wins, I'll back him, too.