Democrats are faced with a wonderfully terrible dilemma: we have two excellent candidates to choose from. On one hand we have a strong woman who has overcome everything in her life through sheer hard work. One the other hand we have an African American man with the ability to inspire a new generation. This is not a hit diary against Hillary Clinton, and it is certainly not meant to demean her in any way. It is, however, aimed at hopefully making your choice a little easier by approaching the choice from an angle of electability. I believe that both of our candidates are very strong on their own merits, but I also happen to believe that Barack Obama is more electable. Here are several reasons why...
The Iraq War
John Mccain has put his political life on the line for the war. According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 57% of Americans want the troops to come home from Iraq within a year while only 38% want them to stay as long as it takes. Despite these polling numbers, many Americans will admire McCain’s consistency on the issue. They will admire the fact that he stood up for something he believed was right. If he goes up against Hillary, McCain will have the ability to say "I supported the war and have never changed my mind. I spoke up when the war was mishandled. We’ve fixed the strategy, and now we need to stay until we’ve finished the job." Hillary will have to explain what she meant with her vote and how it wasn’t supposed to be a vote to go to war and will have to dance around the fact that she would not vote differently if she could do it over again with the same information. Essentially, she won’t admit she made a mistake. It will hurt her very much in debates. On the other hand, Obama will be able to say "I opposed the war before I was in the Senate, and I will never take us to war again without fully exhausting diplomatic efforts." The only way there will be a clear difference to our advantage on the issue of Iraq is if Barack Obama is our nominee.
Inspiration
Barack Obama gets people of all ages, all races, and all walks of life excited about politics. The crowds that he has drawn recently in Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, etc. have been stunning. Young people will turn out in unprecedented numbers and will vote for Barack Obama overwhelmingly over John McCain. A majority of voters aged 18-29 have voted for Barack Obama in each of the initial primaries and caucuses of the campaign with at least two other competitors. People who have never voted before will come out in unprecedented numbers and will overwhelmingly vote for Barack Obama. Why? He has the ability to inspire people. After all the divisiveness, all the getting nothing done in DC, and after all the bickering, people sense something different in this guy. That something is not abstract – he was not a part of the mindset in Washington that led to the Iraq War, he does not take money from lobbyists, he does not demonize his opponents, and he makes Americans excited about their country again.
Don’t take my word for it. Consider these polls taken on January 31st on facebook. Most of the respondents are probably college-aged. Granted, none of the polls are scientific, but they do show clearly that young people gravitate towards Obama more than any other candidate. 17,000 responded to the McCain poll, 27,000 to the Hillary poll, and 22,000 to Obama.
The question is "Regardless of whether you will vote for him/her, do you think _ will make a good or bad president?" Green is Very Good/Good, red is Very Bad/Bad, and yellow is not sure.
Independent Appeal
Not only does Obama inspire young people and those who have completely tuned out Washington, but he has enormous appeal among independents – which is McCain’s central advantage over Hillary. Nobody in the Democratic Party doubts that Hillary would make a fine president. Many of us doubt, however, that she has the ability to take centrist voters away from John McCain, especially as she will be forced to explain her Iraq War vote. So much of the country has yet to get to know Obama, while most of the country already has its mind made up regarding Hillary. Barack Obama, with the way he speaks, and with the way he proposes to get things done in DC, has the ability to reach out to all voters and cut deep into the moderate elements of the Republican Party to make progressive values mainstream again. He will form a progressive majority for our party and build a working coalition. Obama has won the most independents in all of the early primaries and caucuses.
Past vs. Future/Change Message
Right now, 19% of Americans believe that the country is headed in the right direction. John McCain has been partially responsible for leading us down this disastrous path we are on. Barack Obama, more than Hillary, represents a complete departure from our current path. Electing a black president with an African, Muslim father after two terms of Dubya will be a powerful signal to the international community that we are ready to lead a brave new world into the future. Imagine a debate between McCain and Obama. Imagine the 70 something year old Washington DC veteran attempting to defend the old policies of the broken Republican Party in front of the entire nation – against Barack Obama. The change narrative is unstoppable. It worked for Bill Clinton in 1992 against a sitting Vice President. It worked for John Kennedy in 1960 against a sitting Vice President. It will work for Barack Obama in 2008 against a powerful status quo republican.
It’s for these four reasons that I ask you to join with me in casting a vote for Barack Obama on February 5th and beyond. Hillary may make a fine Commander in Chief, but she will be a tough sell in the general election. Barack Obama may just be able to steamroll over McCain, and this Democratic Party needs a win more than ever. It’s not about our egos, or the glory of victory, or even about settling the score. It’s about getting this country on track. It’s about the national revival that we so desperately need at this moment in time. We will not have truly won until we fix this country. We can’t fix this country if we don’t win the election. Barack Obama can win.
Obama has won the last four major polls that put him head to head against McCain. Hillary has lost six out of the last seven against McCain.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/...