I’ve never been in a state that actually mattered in a primary, before. The last several elections were pretty well decided on the Dem side before they came to us, but sometimes we would go vote in the Republican Primary for fun.. This year could be different. When they come to TN, this could be close. Right now, the state seems to be leaning hard for Hillary, but you never know what one month brings.
In the past, Allie and I were on the same page. 2008 and ‘12, we both loved Obama. We liked Dean in ‘04 (but were okay with Kerry), and supported Gore in ‘00.
This is the first time we’ve disagreed on candidates, and while I braced myself for the possibility of maybe arguing about it, we both realized quickly that neither of us are quite sold on our candidate. Both of us are perfectly happy to switch sides. In fact, for a few days last week, I seriously considered Bernie, and I think today, my wife is looking a little harder at Hillary (though she hasn’t confirmed that, yet, she has said a few grumpy things about Bernie supporters in Iowa.)
Here’s where we stand and the questions we’d love to hear from others, but even with all the press out there, we feel there are some questions that haven’t been asked yet, and we both are willing to change sides based on the answers:
1st: We both love Obama, but we’d like to avoid another 4-8 years of Congressional Gridlock. Allie thinks that the Republicans hate Hillary so much, they’ll shut down the government on her just like Obama just to embarrass her. I told her that I think that while she’ll be a great boogey-man for the right, she showed when she was in the Senate that she can reach across the aisle and work with the right. Bill did a great job of working and getting things done as Pres, even while the right was burning him in effigy. I’d rather have a Pres with bad press but good results than someone that is liked, but can’t really get anything done. Also, I worry that while a lot of people who lean Republican like Bernie, it’s quite possible that they don't really know him, yet. Once the primaries are done, and they focus on the candidate, not only will they dig through his past, but they will turn him into another evil lefty. I LOVE what he says, and I think Bernie NEEDS to be a part of our country’s conversation in the years to come, (or someone should step up and take over what he is saying), but I do wonder — can he pull of what he says he wants to do? And if he can, why has he not done it while he’s been in the government these last years?
2nd: Who is going to be in office with them? In the end, the President is more of a corporation with a CEO (Though, not at all run like a corporation). In other words, the people around the Pres can be just as important as the Pres. Will we see a lot of Bill’s friends return? Who are Bernie’s allies?
3rd: What does the rest of the world think? This one’s not as important, but does make a difference to us. We need strong alliances with the UK, Europe, and even our Chinese friends. I don't want someone carrying around a hammer looking to nail things down, but keeping a big stick nearby isn’t always so bad, either. Kerry and Obama have done more to help Americans through 2 years of diplomacy than the entire Bush administration did to destroy it in 8 years.
There are more questions, but I think those are the big ones. Feel free to let us know your thoughts. We are both very willing to change sides, and would love to hear what people think. Why are YOU siding with Bernie or Hillary? (or someone else?)