Here is one reason I won’t vote for Obama if Hillary Clinton is not the Democratic nominee. A failed McCain presidency would be better for the Democratic party than a failed Obama presidency.
The parallels to Jimmy Carter are striking to me. In 1976, the Republicans had Watergate, Ford’s pardon of Nixon, and general disgust with their party. So the Democrats elected Jimmy Carter, who was an ineffectual disaster as president. Beginning with Carter’s re-election bid, the Democrats endured three overwhelming defeats in the race for president. Even after Clinton won a plurality, the Democrats lost Congress within two years. It took another dozen years to achieve the precarious hold they now have on the majority. Failure by McCain positions the Democrats for success beginning in 2012. Failure by Obama, a likelihood given the dearth of experience and accomplishment he’s shown, will set the Democrats back once again. Obama, from his lack of substantive ideas to the media’s love affair with him, reminds me of a certain Texan in 2000. We all know how that turned out.
I'm well aware that I, as a white female over forty, albeit with a J.D. and an upper-bracket income, am not welcome on this site. It begins to seem I'm no longer welcome in the Democratic Party I've supported for years. I never imagined I would be voting for the Republican, especially this year, but I find I prefer bad McCain ideas to no ideas beyond the ability to read a good speech.