Under no circumstances was I going to vote for any Democratic Presidential candidate who voted for the ill-fated Iraq War Resolution. Even, if it meant that another tired-looking, middle-aged Republican was going to occupy the White House for another 4 years. I couldn't understand that 77 United States Senators, with sparkling credentials could be duped by a faux-Texan who invaded Iraq, not just for oil, but to avenge an assassination attempt on his father. How stupid can 77 people be? One, can suggest that the individuals who voted for this war were either blinded by blatant jingoism or scared of being labeled unpatriotic. I could think of nothing more patriotic than standing proud and tall in the United States Senate and voicing concerns for the war and demanding fellow citizens that they had a responsibility to stop this war before it even started. Yet, only one person brave enough to do that, while his other colleagues just sat in their seats with their thumbs up their asses. Robert Byrd gets ridicule for sounding like a pathetic old fart and having been a past member of the KKK, but on that day, he proved to me what it really means to be patriotic.
Let me formally introduce myself. I'm a card-carrying member of a minority group that doesn't believe Hillary Rodham Clinton would make a good President. Her supporters would claim such a ridiculous idea on the basis of her strength and intelligence. This by no means is an opinion that a woman can't be President. Nor is either intelligent or strong. I hold the belief that if a woman occupied the highest office of every major country, that the world would be a better place. I just couldn't fathom the hype surrounding Senator Hillary Clinton. She's attempting to win the highest office in the land by campaigning on her husband's resume. A resume of accomplishments that he achieved on his own. She wouldn't dare campaign on her list of credentials because there's nothing really there except traveling to over 80 countries as First Lady.
But what boggles my mind is the belief that she is a hard-nosed fighter that makes Rocky look like a pansy.
If that were the case, why didn't she stand up in the Senate floor and speak out against the war? Like all her other colleagues who voted for the resolution, she stood there and repeated the same talking points memo that came out of the White House.
Her surrogates will tell you that Barack Obama doesn't have what it takes to stand up against the Republican attack machine. If that were true, why do an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, a publication funded by arch-Conservative Richard Mellon Scaife? The same Richard Mellon Scaife who gave the American Spector 2.3 Million dollars to dig up dirt on Bill Clinton. And, the same Richard Mellon Scaife who used his publication to spread the heinous false rumor that Hillary Clinton killed Vince Foster.
Those who liken Hillary as tougher than Rocky live in a fantasy world. A world where being tough is code for kneecapping your opponents. Or, stooping to the lower depths of humanity just to make the other person look like they're another piece of garbage that you picked up from the street.
We here believe that Senator Clinton is an intelligent, and yes, hard-working politician, but her recent actions suggest that she is a person who lacks conviction and principle. I find her campaigning eerily similiar to that of Richard Nixon who barely won the 1968 Presidential race against Hubert Humphrey. Like Nixon, Hillary appeals to the worst of what America has to offer. Her Constituency are comprised of Conservative Democrats and leftovers from the Silent Majority. Like Nixon, she campaigns on the basis of fear. Fear of letting a totally inexperienced man occupy the White House. Those in the "Liberal media" will tell you that Barack Obama's recent troubles with Jeremiah Wright and his "bitter" comments have lost him significent white votes. But it was Hillary's 3AM ad in Texas that was the kicker. Her white vote increased by 10 points, even though she barely won the Texas primary.
On the contrary, Senator Obama has campaigned by appealing to the better angels in all of us. Some say his weakness is just that, "weakness." That he isn't man enough to go toe-to-toe with either the Clinton Slime machine or the Republican attack machine. But I beg to differ. When someone fights dirty, they're actually masking some sort of weakness. While Richard Nixon was widely considered to be tough and brilliant, he was one of the weakest son of a bitches that ever walked the face of the Earth. Even Pat Buchanan couldn't understand why such a brilliant man (and believe me I use that term loosely) could be so insecure and paranoid. To mask such weakness and self-doubt Nixon re-invented himself as this tough, law and order guy who was going to cleanse America of all its social ills. Eventually the paranoia caught with him and you know the rest of the story. A New York Times article last year gave insight as to why Hillary Clinton voted for the Iraq war. Her insecurity about her public image and LACK of national security experience made it difficult for her to vote no. If that were to be true, then how can a person who campaigns on experience, be trusted to answer the phone at 3AM? And, should she become President (which is VERY UNLIKELY) we all know how it's going to end.
Mr. Obama has taken a flurry of blows from every corner, yet John McCain, the Republican nominee, has close the deal. While, pundits will question Obama's electiability, they should ask this question. Why hasn't McCain closed the deal? With all his status as a maverick, a war hero, coupled with Obama's tough few months, John McCain should run away with this. But he hasn't.
Let's be honest.
The real change in this country would be the complete divorce between the lobbyist and the politician. Should that occur, all that we envisioned will come true. What Barack Obama means by "change" is a new dialogue. What Mrs. Clinton represents in her dialogue is the politics of street fighting. The continiuing battle between the left and the right. Mrs. Clinton wants to use the Presidency to finish off these battles and she sees the American people as just collaterial damage. Mr. Obama's approach is not what you hear from a cowboy. But then again what has cowboys, even fake ones done for us lately?
As a nation divided by red and blue, we must seek a leader who's intention is to bring us together rather than divide us. Bush, Hillary and McCain are representatives of the old guard. They're psychologically damaged human beings who use power as a way to make themselves feel good. And, we in the end, suffer for it.
Mr. Obama is not perfect (nor should we expect him to be) But his run at the Presidency isn't an ego-trip. If so, the people would've caught up to him on Super Tuesday and handed Senator Clinton the nomination on a silver platter like she wanted in the first place. Senator Obama understands what is truly at stake and that is the future. After 7 years of living in George Bush's America, we as a nation deserve a fresh start. Someone with new ideas and a reliance on thoughtful conversation rather than piss-pour discourse from politicians who talk as if they crawled out of their favorite neighborhood establishments. Someone who can stand tall after taking a hit.
That someone is Barack Obama.