I can already hear the howling: So you think McCain would be better? A continuation of Bush's disastrous foreign, economic, health and energy policies? More GOP Supreme Court judges? Any Democrat would be better for the country, so if she manages to get the nomination, hold your nose and pull the lever for Clinton, you fool.
First of all, no, I do not want John McCain for President. The Republicans do not deserve to retain the White House, period. I need no convincing that we need real change, real bad.
Wouldn't any Democrat be better for the country? I'm sure Barack Obama would be, many Democrats would be, but as to Hillary Clinton, no, I think not, for two reasons:
One, I'm no longer certain Clinton is a Democrat. Sure, she and her husband are still members of the Democratic Party; however, the Clintons have come to behave consistently in ways that are contemptuous of party rules, and with reckless indifference to the party's health and well-being. They act as rogues, pursuing power for themselves and their pals - rules, ethics, and truth be damned.
And two, Clinton's conduct - displaying multiple personalities, lying routinely without compunction, praising the Republican candidate while attempting to kneecap Senator Obama, burning bridges with her supporters on the left like MoveOn while actively courting and cozying up to the rabid right, represented by the Clintons' former persecutor Richard Mellon Scaife - Hillary Clinton's conduct has completely eroded any confidence I once had in what a Clinton II presidency would portend.
Never mind the open question of how effective a President Clinton, with her huge negatives already on the right and now the left, could be in changing the course in Washington. How can we now safely assume anything about the priorities and proclivities of a Clinton administration, that they would comply with our expectations of a Democrat?
The Clintons have seen fit to alienate the African American constituency that supported them so loyally, and who would presumably be needed to elect any Democrat in the fall; they practice divisive and destructive Machiavellian strategies without subtlety or nuance, and their mismanaged campaign routinely issues forth propaganda that Karl Rove could be proud of. Yet somehow if they attain the White House, we should rest assured of good Supreme Court appointments, wise energy and humane health care policy, and restoring America's reputation around the world?
No, we can't. Because we can't believe a word they say. If the Clintons look like anything to me anymore, it's a great big Trojan Horse. They aren't acting like Democrats now. There's no longer any reason to believe that they will revert once they're back on their thrones.
Therefore, if the Clintons hijack the nomination, we're going to need another option. A write-in campaign for Barack Obama might just succeed. Because voting for Hillary Clinton is no longer on my Democratic Party menu.