I'm not talking about Republican and Democratic. No, I'm talking about Obama supporters and Progressives who want a primary him in 2012?
Now, I am in the middle. I am a male, in his early twenties, black, currently in college who first voted at 18 in my senior year in high school, (probably one of the select few who did.) voted in a national midterm election. In 2008, I voted in my first Presidential primary in Georgia for Senator Barack Obama and to be the forty fourth President of the United States that November. For me, the most challenging ballot that I ever cast was in the primary. I basically took about twenty minutes in that booth choosing between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, because to me, they both seemed like excellent presidential candidates, who had the passion to fight for the common man.
Mrs. Clinton, with the shrewd political gravitas, being a former lawyer with the Rose Law Firm, working on a commission on dealing with the Watergate investigation. Helped her husband become Attorney General of the state of Arkansas, then Governor. She became first lady of the state, and was way ahead of her time, being a working lawyer and a partner to her husband, not a subordinate, as many former first ladies had been. After her husbands defeat, instead of shirking to some enclave in a distant land, they worked hard to regain that office, and stayed there until November 1992, when both reached the White House. Mrs. Clinton faced the intense scrutiny and dealt with huge attacks on her femininity, being accused of being too mannish or not knowing her place in her role as First Lady. Acknowledging the fact very early, Mrs. Clinton was indeed a feminist, who rightly believed that a woman could do anything in this nation if she set her mind to it. The Senator and former First Lady had many admirers, including myself loved how she brought millions into the fold of politics as dominant and proud as she was. She had the experience and political gravitas and know how of how Washington worked, being both near the Executive Branch for eight years, and in the Legislative Branch for eight years. She had the political and personal drive to fight for the common man and I admired her for that.
Then came Senator Barack Obama, a lightning bolt in the Democratic Party. He was no Hillary, who employed a great know how of first hand political experience since the early 1970's. He was an outsider, only four years into his first term as the junior Senator from Illinois. He was new and fresh, full of new ideas to get the nation moving again. Before then, he had state legislative experience, being elected for two terms as a member of the Illinois State Senate. He worked extensively with people, being a community organizer who helped the less fortunate in our society get what they needed most in life, stability, love, happiness, and security.Mr. Obama's background, him being from a white mother who was born in raised in the heartland of America and a Kenyan foreign student who wanted a better life for himself and his new family. He faced the hardships of many families, from not having a father in his life, having a Degrassi type teenage life, where he fell into peer pressure and tried out drugs, including cocaine. He often understandably felt conflicted about his racial identity, since he was a black man raised by white grandparents. He learned from them as much as they learned from him. He worked mostly in his political life trying to build consensus with others and finding common ground among others to get the best conclusion possible for the people. Mr. Obama wanted partisanship and polarization dissolved. He brought along new people into the world of politics and got them to care again about the nation in which they lived in. He shocked many, when he won Iowa in January, which sent a message to me in believing he had a shot at the White House.
In my vote, I wanted my first Presidential candidate to be new, fresh, and know the plight of the working man better than anyone. I wanted him to not only know my background and troubles, but others as well. His living in another country for awhile boosted my support for him, even if many didn't follow that. I wanted someone who could break the polarization of Washington, or at least try to. I knew that if either of them won, that I would support the nominee.
Now, on December 20th, President Obama and on the 21st, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton will be into their 12th month in their respective offices. In 12 months, as expected, things have not been done. Some things, like the law Don't ask, don't tell, I believe should have been done a long time ago. Some things, like the pace of the withdrawal of Iraq and dealing with the Afghan/Pakistan conflict, I see both sides to and feel sort of conflicted. I want in the comments, a serious debate. I don't want anybody to call each other names, like calling someone an idiot because of their opinion, no matter how much you believe it is dumb. We will only debate that actually talks out everything. I want the pros and cons of supporting the President and I want the pros and cons of a primary challenge to the President in 2012. If you feel that you can support the President while supporting a primary challenger, debate that. If you believe that a primary challenge will result in a Republican President, debate that. If you believe that we should vote Republican to punish Democrats, debate that. I just want us all to talk out our differences again, not yell them out at each other. If you feel that the Secretary of State should run for the Presidency against President Obama again, debate how that could work? Would she do it? Could she do it and expect to win the White House? I want people to bring up points that are factual and reality based. Use history. Use logic. Explain your arguments to me and to each other. Both sides. Have at it.