Convincing My Dad: Any Thoughts?

This isn't going to be my usual kind of diary. This is more a plea for help and pointers, and ways to convince someone of the validity - and more importantly, the viability - of Obama's candidacy.

We've all had at least one Republican friend, neighbor, or colleague we've had to talk to about Barack. Most times, for them, the argument is between McSame and Barack. That's not a hard one to talk about for most of us - the differences are stark and real. We can talk about the loss of abortion rights if McSame gets the presidency, or about the Iraq war, or about the economy.

But I have a different problem, one that requires more nuance and finesse than I currently have available. Come on past the jump to see what my problem is...

My father is a die-hard Hillary supporter. He says that the only way that the Democrats will win is if she's on the ticket. He'll vote for Barack if he's the nominee, but only because he can't even contemplate a McSame presidency without shaking in his shoes. He doesn't have much hope for the election if Barack is the nominee, and he honestly does not think that Barack is going to be either a) effective or b) alive by the time the general election rolls around.

He admits that Barack is very much like Bobby Kennedy, but that's not a plus for him. He says, "I went through this in 1968; I can't go through it again." He was watching when RFK was assassinated, and I believe him when he says he can't go through that again. I'm pretty sure he's also talking about what happened at the Democratic National Convention that year.

He also doesn't think that Barack will follow through on the things he's saying he'll do. He says "How does he plan to accomplish any of this? He has no experience. He has no plans. I haven't heard a thing about how he plans to accomplish what he's saying he will do."

One final problem: He can't use the internet because he has chronic migraine and can't stand the glow of a computer screen. Anything I tell him will have to either be in person, on the phone, or in writing and printed out. So although links are helpful, I can't send them on to him.

My partner and I tried to answer several of his concerns, but it was tough going. When he said he didn't want a repeat of 1968, my partner said that not voting for someone simply because you're afraid they'll get shot is silly, and I said that Barack would specifically ask people to ignore that fear - he's willing to take the risk, so we have to be willing to take it with him. When it came to his argument for an Obama-Clinton ticket, my partner said "How realistic is it to put someone on the ticket with you who has said that your opponent is more qualified for the job than you are?" (referring to when Clinton said that she and McSame were qualified but Obama was not). My dad didn't have an answer for that. And when he said that he didn't hear Barack saying how he planned to accomplish his goals, I pointed out that one of the main goals was to make it possible for all the different and diverse groups who are part of the Democratic Party to stop fighting with each other over things like race and gender and orientation and religion, and start building coalitions to address the real problems.

Unfortunately, I don't think well on my feet (which is why I don't phonebank or go out knocking on doors - I'd be a disaster!) so I didn't think to bring up that Barack started out doing community organizing and he knows what it means to bring people together and how to do it. Hillary, on the other hand, started out by failing the bar exam twice.

Help me build a convincing set of arguments for Barack, and help me explain to him why Hillary on the ticket would be one of the worst things we could have this election. Let's come up with a set of convincing and completely truthful reasons why we need Barack and why we really, really don't need Hillary. I know my dad wants to be convinced, because he's scared. He'll be 63 in the fall, he's facing some nasty health problems apart from his migraines, and he wants to see progressive goals made into reality and soon, because he's facing his mortality quite often these days. He's tired, though. He was 23 when RFK was shot, and it almost crushed him then. I can understand why he wants to vote for Hillary Clinton in the fall. He doesn't have a lot of hope, and to him she seems like the most viable candidate.

Help me give my dad hope. Don't Hillary-bash, please - that will turn him off. Just give me good reasons why Barack is the right person for the job and why Hillary would be counterproductive to achieving the goals we have.