In recent months and weeks, I've had a lot of casual conversations with supporters of various candidates, mostly my friends and family, mostly living in the New York area, or with origins there. It's a mix of 20somethings (my friends), who are mostly progressive-identified with a few exceptions, and older 50- and 60-somethings, identifying as "liberal" or "moderate," again with a few exceptions. Focusing on those supporting Obama or Hillary, I've begun to notice how there really seems to be a different focus on different qualities of these candidates, which can be tied to their views on the Bush administration, American politics, and the role of the President. This may sound vague and obvious, but hear me out after the jump...
With a few exceptions, such as one person in my extended family who dislikes Obama due to his tax policy and a bunch of irrational stuff related to him thinking he is a socialist, the majority of the Hillary supporters I know will have no problem backing Obama in the general...most Obama supporters I know will be backing Hillary in the general in the unlikely event she pulls it out...with a couple who wont, some based on personal knowledge and dislike of the Clintons.
Some of the most interesting conversations have involved myself (an Obama supporter who originally backed Edwards) and my parents (Hillary supporters). Basically, from these conversations, I've gathered the idea that my mother and others with similar views see the Bush administration basically as a frat party run amok meets a bunch of religious yahoos, a bunch of idiots throwing contracts to their cronies. What they want is an adult to step in and run the show. Their primary focus is not a sea change, or seeingt anyone going to jail for war crimes...even though, at the end of the day, they would be happy to see a big progressive change. They just want someone to "right the ship." They know Obama is a smart guy, and a guy with good values, etc. But they only know him campaigning, not governing, and they'd like to see him govern for a bit more...i.e. my dad thinks he could probably be a great President in 2016. They know the Clinton brand, and at the end of the day, while it does not demonstrate anything mindblowing, it demonstrates a guarantee of decent governance.
Obama supporters like myself see the Bush administration less as a confederacy of dunces and more as a committed group who has done previously unseen levels of damage to the fabric of this country and its constitution, giving corporations, the executive branch, and the military epic powers. We are looking for a sea change, not just to "right the ship," but to restore the rights of citizens and then take on additional problems. Getting back to zero is just a step for us, not a goal. We have more faith in the relatively unknown, because what we have known for the past several years has disgusted us.
For many of us, we see getting back to zero as an improvement, so in a general election we would vote for Hillary. However, we can do better.
I guess I'm just trying to give a voice to some of the mentalities behind both sets of supporters, for what it's worth. Perhaps this can help people when trying to convince their relatives, friends, etc. about the values of their respective candidates.