Ok, so I was watching the convention last nite and came across one of the Clinton delegates on PBS saying her support for Sen. Obama depended a lot on what Sen. Clinton said last nite. Now let me be clear I am not going to bash Hillary hold-outs and after her wonderful speech last nite I think Mrs. Clinton made it very clear that she is behind the big O.
Also the woman on PBS was not calling Obama a Muslim, etc...I honestly believe she is trying to get to a place where she can get behind the nominee.
CNN interviewed another Clinton delegate after her speech who started saying how presidential Sen. Clinton looked and sounded and it showed how great of a President she would have made. I agree Sen. Clinton did look and sound presidential...I wish we had seen that person throughout the campaign. When asked who she would vote for in November the delegate emphatically said she would NOT vote for McCain but maybe she wouldn't vote at all. Obama she said did not have enough experience and hadn't yet convinced her to vote for him.
Now when I hear stuff like this I have to scratch my head because for me one of the big things looming in this election is the direction of the Supreme Court. We have seen, since Alito and Roberts were nominated, many 5-4 decisions from the court - the majority of which have been at the expense of a progressive agenda. With McCain saying his would be a pro-life presidency - the kind of justices he would nominate should be clear to anyone.
This isn't simply about abortion but civil rights issues such as pay equity, gay-rights, and the like. Is a right wing controlled court the direction these delegates wish the country to take?
I have read many blogs and comments in which O's supporters engage with Clinton's supporters...sometimes this conversation is nasty and spiteful...sometimes they are a based around reasoned arguments with O's side basically saying O and HRC share the same agenda...their differences are nowhere near as great as either of their differences with McCain.
But still we have holdouts....not only the Rove stormtroopers...but otherwise thoughtful people who still are not fully onboard.
So I am going to try a different approach...
Suppose for arguments sake Obama is nothing more than a guy that gives a good speech. That he does not compare to Sen.Clinton and won the nomination because the Democratic Party stole it away from HRC. OK good.
What happens in the next 4 years? Is Congress going to shut its doors?
I know that Bush and Cheney have tried their best to create a defacto King but this system of government is supposed to be based on 3 independent bodies which work in concert for the benefit of the public. Watching Hillary, Sen. Kennedy, Dennis K, (and I'm certain tonite Sen Kerry) it should be apparent that a democratic Congress with a super majority is going to kick some serious ass. Both Clinton and Kennedy spoke very passionately about fighting for universal health care.
So my question to those Clinton hold-outs is this....when Dems introduce and vote on legislation with regards to the environment, alternative energy, pay equity, education, etc do you think it will be easier to pass these things into law with a Democrat in the WH or a Republican.
Whether or not Obama has good ideas or not - the Dems as a party have some good ideas and we need to control the WH to get these thing implemented.
McCain w/ a Democratic Congress just means more gridlock.
Anyway...sorry about the rant...we have a lot of work to do before November...and as Sen. Clinton said eloquently last nite "..before we can keep going, we have to get going...".