February 5, 2008 - “Super Tuesday” — was the most important day of the primary and caucus season of the most important general election in the United States of America in our lifetime. Alex says the campaign currently underway is the most interesting in the 36 years since he cast his first presidential ballot in the Nixon-McGovern election of 1972.
Alex opened this blog in February – “Super Tuesday” here in California — and e-mailed invitations to relatives and friends inviting them to vote in an online poll and post a comment. Then, when Alex’s home state of Virginia, of all places, turned out to be a “pivotal” state, we e-mailed relatives and friends around there, including professors and fellow students from Boston University, the University of Virginia and Hampton University.
We are curious to know what our oldest and dearest friends, relatives, and colleagues think about this historic election. Now, it’s a general project in which Alex has invited comments from just about every person he ever had a serious discussion (or argument) about politics. The list includes people we haven’t communicated with in years because we really just want to know what they think. There is no “right” or “wrong” answer. We value opinions of those who lived through the 1960s and 1970s and know that, despite the media hype, those years were about a lot more than drugs and rock ‘n roll.So far, thoughtful comments have been posted by people with years of experience as activists, writers, and scholars in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Americans living in Finland, France, and South Korea.
Please join in.
- Select a candidate or “None of the Above” in the poll in the right sidebar.
- Click the “Vote” button to record your selection (Please only vote once).
- Click on the button at the bottom of the main column that says: “Read All Comments and Leave A Comment.”
This displays a page with all the comments for your review.
To Leave Your Comment:
- Scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “Leave a Reply.”
- Type your name(required)
- Type your E-Mail address (required, but will not be published)
- Type your comment in the big text box.
- Click “Submit Comment” button to save your comment
Please don’t post the link on public. This blog is by invitation only. I am “moderating” comments to stop “trolls” from posting offensive comments. There is no “right” or “wrong” answer. Just say what you think. Our friends are “skewed” a little bit to the Left. We would appreciate comments from Hillary Clinton voters and Republicans and from more Americans abroad and in more states, including Texas, Ohio, and now especially, Pennsylvania.
A couple of friends have told us they cannot participate in a political blog, and we understand their reasons. When Alex started this project he nagged about leaving comments. He has since come to realize this was vanity. He wanted to boast “I’ve got comments from this place and that faraway place on the other side of the world!” But that’s not the point. The point is to connect with old friends. Browse the web site and if you don’t want to leave a comment about crazy politics, please write back and say “Hi Alex! Hi Cathy!”
Thanks, Peace,
Cathy Deppe and Alex Walker
Friends Who Have Left Comments:
California
- Alex Walker
- Richard Sutherland
- Barbara Leon
- Guy Haas
- Cathy Deppe
- Walter Johnson
- Bill Ferguson
- Wes Rolley
- Charles Love
- Jennifer Touchton
- Paul George
- Juanita Whiteside
- Charlotte Casey
- Christopher Touchton
Colorado
- Patricia Daniluk
Hawaii
- Greg Geboski
Illinois
- Andrew Deppe
- Joan Taylor
- Steve Andrews
- Martin Deppe
Maryland
- James Buie
Massachusetts
- Susan Fendell
- Jim Devlin
Michigan
- Silvano Vanegas
New York
- Diane Pinero-Zucker
- Carol Hanisch
- Gale McGovern
- Vince Staskel
- Billy Easton
North Carolina
- Jerma Jackson
Pennsylvania
- Kiki Peppard
Rhode Island
- Polly Friedman
Texas
- Rene Parish
Virginia
- Anne Parrella
Wisconsin
- Ellen Bravo
Americans Abroad:
- Judith Wright, South Korea
- David Henry, France
- Mary Gregory, Finland
I am a proud, active, registered member of the California Green Party. I voted for Cynthia McKinney.
As an African-American I am very happy Barack Obama is doing so well. He’s bright and he’s a good guy. He’s brought a lot of new young voters into the process and that’s great.
However, there is hardly a dime’s worth of substantive difference between Barack and Hillary; I have no confidence in the corrupt and incompetent Democratic Party; and at age 58 I am too old to get carried away with speeches, symbols, and candidates being “The First” whatever.
Peace, love, and have a nice day.
Alex Walker
Los Angeles, California
I voted for Barack Obama because he is brilliant and I agree with his agenda. I discount the “lack-of-experience” argument as being weak. What is most important is one’s agenda. Unlike George W. Bush, Barack Obama truly is compassionate.
I voted for Cynthia McKinney on the Peace and Freedom Party line (voting in the Democratic primary was not an option). At 61 I’ve never voted for a Democrat for President. But if Obama is the candidate I am considering voting for him, even though I agree there’s little substantive difference between his and Hillary’s stated policies and he was not even my first choice among the Democrats – Kucinich was. What influenced me was Michelle Obama on CSPAN (the UCLA rally), who was awesome – I wish I could vote for her. She said what I believe – that we won’t be given any of the things we need, from health care to education to peace, by electing anyone president. Only a grassroots movement demanding those things will win them, but the Obama campaign is committed to continuing that kind of organizing after the election. Will that turn out to be true? I don’t know. But the campaign has touched something, especially among young people, and it’s worth a try.
I voted for Barack Obama because he is an orator, showing evidence of becoming a statesman. He brings far less baggage to the job than Ms. Clinton. “Experience?” What Experience did Bill Clinton or Harry Truman have that suited them to become President? And Mr. Bush 43? What qualifies a dry drunk baseball franchise partner, oilman, and former Texas governor to be President?
I’m simply closest to Obama on all the issues (economy, foreign policy, you name it). It also helps that he’s done real grassroots fundraising, as opposed to Clinton’s big buck support.
I voted for Barack Obama because I want him to be president. I think we will see important changes under his leadership. However, I will support the democratic candidate whomever he or she is as another term of a Republican President would be disasterous even as the last two terms have been.
Did you really have to ask your friends this question, Alex?
xxoo
I am a Green Party voter. Cynthia McKinney represents my views very well.
I spent the morning looking at their voting records and ratings by public interest groups. They were peas in a pod. (The only exception perhaps being that Clinton has a by far better rating from the Humane Society.) I like what Clinton says about abortion more than Obama and it’s a big issue for me. I hate Clinton’s vote for the war, and that’s a big issue for me. Health care – well I guess Obama’s plan is a smidge better, but they both suck. They’re both for the death penalty, etc., etc.
So there I was in the booth. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I voted for Kucinich.
In terms of how I matched up, I matched most closely with Kucinich. But, a vote for Kucinich, like a vote for McKinney, is a wasted vote. I voted for Obama because it is the practical thing to do. He actually has a chance of winning. Chasing after wild-ass Don Quixote’s like Ralph Nader, or Cynthia McKinney, is what helped to inflict Bush upon us in the first place. Let’s be responsible and exercise the franchise in a way that will advance the common good. Al Gore was greener than Nader. How to explain a vote for Nader in ‘00?
In the actual election I voted for a Green party candidate whose name I can’t recall. Cynthia lost me when she showed too much immaturity at different times.
In your election I voted for Obama because I think that of the candidates now running, he has the best chance to improve the political process in the U S.
I was glad to vote for Obama (For Kucinich 4 years ago, supporting Edwards 4 weeks ago) Obama’s mother was a internationalista, went to Indonesia to help women, and brought her son along. So Obama has great international experience, of knowing and respecting people of other cultures and countries. I don’t think he’ll be quick to bomb them. When he became a lawyer, he went to poor areas of Chicago to be a community activist, instead of making money at a big law firm. I’m happy to be able to vote for someone with a former title of “activist,” and knows how to use the word “justice.”
I made some comments at California Greening blog. In short, I have not seen any of the GP candidates who have the message to win wide support for Green Change in 2008. At this time, in this election, the Green Party needs a candidate who can articulate why a Green Tomorrow is better than today. Repeating old campaign slogans will win no new friends.
Realizing that Barack is a kind of blank slate on which we all write dreams and fears, I am mostly concerned about what happens after the election, when the real battles will have to be fought, on health care for instance. I believe that these battles will be won, for a change, at the grassroots, and I believe Barack, his staff, and those of us who have grown up with him politically are the ones who understand this and know something about how to get it done.
I voted for none of the above because even though I could vote for McKinney or Kusinich if they were on my ballot, I can’t see that getting all het up about the electoral system is going to get us anywhere until there is a strong grassroots socialist movement that works with and incorporates the other oppressions. Time, money, energy should go there.
Nothing less will save us, especially given the global climate change situation, and time is running out. The “over-development” and unsustainable consumption capitalism demands to survive will hasten our end even faster and more completely than George Bush and his cronies, who are only a part of it.
My problem with the Greens is that many are both anti-capitalist and anti-socialist (including Nader and, I suspect, McKinney–someone correct me if I’m wrong). I don’t see where that leads except to more of the same, and I don’t want to mislead people by encouraging others to go down that road.
Where is OUR “vision” in all of this hullabaloo?
I do worry that I have absolutely no clear idea of who Obama is, or who’s really lifting him up so high so fast.
However, although I don’t know who he is, I do know who Hillary is, and as Cynthia McKinney says she is “a representative of the military-industrial complex.”
I was going to vote for him but I had changed to Green for a couple of years and then changed back to Democrat but they didn’t record it at the BoE and I was forced to resort to replacing myself by talking other people into voting of Obama. I think I got at least three.
It amazes me to no end when I see Blacks supporting Hillary Clinton. Here we have a candidate who is, in my judgment, the best person to lead the country going forward and restore America’s standing in the world who just happens to be a Black man. It is incredible given the history of this country that a sizable number of Blacks are looking for reasons not to support him. I hear he is not experienced enough. Hillary Clinton had never been elected to any public office when the good citizens of New York elected her to the Senate. Arnold Schwarzeneger, Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono’s wife elected to Congress and the list goes on and on. No mentioned of experience then. I heard one Black woman on TV say she loved Obama but would not vote for him because she did not want him to get shot. God help us. Obama has common sense, good judgment and intelligence and that has always been my criteria for any position of leadership.
It sickens me to see Black members of Congress who are jumping on Clinton’s bandwagon because they don’t believe Obama can win and they don’t want to be left out in the cold when they believe Clinton wins the Presidency. Old ways of thinking (just surviving) are hard to change. Look at Katrina and the Jena six. This country has a long way to go. Obama can go a long way to making the American lie closer to the truth.
Consider that a few weeks ago Clinton was 23 points ahead of Obama in the national polls. Now she is only 3 points ahead of Obama. White folks can see the promise of an Obama Presidency and believe in Obama even if a sizable number of African-Americans don’t.
Alex and friends: I have spent most of my life voting against people, or choosing the lesser of two lousy candidates. Yesterday I voted freely and happily for Barack Obama. Having attended Obama events with close friends among black clergy in Chicago, I have heard both Obama and Michelle speak to their people directly, honestly, critically: ‘we must confront in our own communities: homophobia. anti-semitism, fear of immigration, greed, and a lack of real caring for each other.’ This kind of truth-telling and not pandering to your own constituency is healthy, courageous, and suggests that Barack is a candidate for all people. I am not happy with his current health care position, but all issues are up for grabs with a new adminstration, a new Congress, and a new configuration. And with the Iraq war still raging in January, 2009, as Alex has reminded us, I want Obama in the White House leading us out of that quagmire. I also think Dr. King would be damned proud of this moment in history. We would not be here without him. We can elect Barack. YES WE CAN!
Peace to you all.
Martin
Hi – I’m late weighing in because I don’t check my email very often. But I say Yeahhhhh Barak! I am excited to vote for Barak and see him him do well like I have never been excited about a politician in my life. I really don’t care to weigh the if’s and’s or but’s – I’m just so excited to see a man like Barak – a community organizer – an articulate and passionate speaker – gathering support – youth support! and making real hope for the future a possibility…..YEAHHHHHHH BARAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m late weighing in because Alex just recently asked me to weigh in. I’m glad, though certainly not surprised, to see a great discussion going on.
I wrote about this topic on my own blog on Super Tuesday, so Ill simply refer folks to that if they’re interested. Warning: deeply ingrained cynicism lies ahead (with a dash of hope).
http://www.peacerant.org/peace_rant/2008/02/vote-early-vote.html
I voted for Obama. I can’t recall the last time I even voted in a Democratic Party primary. And yet, for this one, I changed my registration from Green to Demo. Here’s the “closing argument” from Super Tuesday entry:
“I have no hope that the next President will initiate a wave of progressive legislation nor substantively change the elite-consensus foreign policy of this country. But I do think a certain new President could at least bring a little fresh air to the stale backrooms of this country’s power centers — shake things up a little bit, change the focus, change the channel. That would be a step forward.
“Barack Obama.
“And then it’s back into the streets. There’s a war on.”
————-
[I'll take this opportunity to not only plug my blog, Peace Rant -- please stop by, read, comment -- but to also invite one and all to check out the video blog I'm involved in, Orwell Was An Optimist: http://orwellwasanoptimist.blip.tv ]
The primary in North Carolina is scheduled for May, so I have not yet voted. But right now my sympathies are with Obama.
The decision has not been an easy one . . . I take issue with the premise behind his campaign, namely that voting for him will bring about change. Since when has an elected official brought about substantive change in this country? Elected officials often respond to grassroots activism. So why vote for him?
There is something different about Obama. And it’s not just that he is black. I do think he has managed to cast the experiences of black people into a different context. Now that feels fresh to me. Usually black officials cast the African American experience as different from other ethnic groups. Barack is charting some new territory here. He is not advocating assimilation; instead he seems to be using differences to make connections. On the grand scale, it’s a small gesture to be sure. And yet it feels huge–perhaps a reflection of how blindfolded we all are. I also recognize that such an initiative, while fresh, will not dismantle racism. It may, however, shift how we talk about race.
These differences matter. Yet I also realize that voting for Obama entails a commitment to opposing him at every step a long the way.
Obama has my vote because of his demonstrated leadership which in my view is that capacity to inspire people. To this extent he stands apart from all the other candidates. Clinton has an impressive knowledge of the policy issues, but she is not at all inspiring.
One of our most serious weaknesses is lack of political involvment. If Obama can draw people out, motivate them to become politically engaged, to initiate genuine community discourse on the issues of the day, then he would have accomplished a great deal.
Obama has the possibilty to make history, not only in becoming the first African American President, but also in being the first ‘honest’ president, and not being led by the richest of the taxpayers and businesses. Clintons already in the bag, and I think having yet another royal family, directly after Bush, is disgusting. I’m broke, and unemployed right now, and still managed to send some money towards Obama’s campaign. I hear that he’s the popular vote amongst young people. I think I know why. No one has inspired us like he has , he’s going the extra mile to educate young voters. Campaigning via social media networks, facebook, myspace, youtube, even text messaging through cell phones, emailing, and blogging. The only issue I don’t align with him on is the Gay marriage, and to be honest, he’s entitled to his opinion, but I am glad to see that he’s saying its the states’ decision, rather than the Presidents, and he is for better same sex benifits and civil unions. I think the main difference, without researching it further, between Clinton and Obama, is the fact that she’s had her chance, we don’t need another repeat, we need a change. She’s just not ‘likeable’ in my eyes. Where as Obama seems to demand attention and respect, and his speeches are moving, and enabling.
I wrote a piece published on Huffington Post about why I and many other feminists are supporting Obama. Here’s the link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-bravo/why-so-many-feminists-are_b_84482.html
I went to the Democratic caucuses tonight in Hawaii. In my state rep district (app. 50 or so on Oahu) it was 590-122 Obama over Clinton. This app. 4:1 split carried over all 6 precincts. And this recent news report says he carried the state about 3:1
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a7kM95WnTWeM&refer=home
Turnout probably would have been higher if people hadn’t been turned away by long times and limited parking.
A totally subjective and untested “analysis” (which can’t be any worse than what some lame experts are saying): People seem relieved, as if a vote for Clinton at one time was somehow mandatory for good Democrats, but now they’re free to move on to someone else. It’s like after being told for years, Remember the wonderful days of the Clinton presidency!, they are now free to think, No, actually, I never did consider it that wonderful…
You know all I hear is what a great orator Obama is, everything he says is stolen from someone else. “Hope” Keep Hope Alive — Jesse Jackson, “Yes We Can” –César Chávez, “Change” — Bill Clinton” and other phrases.
I am voting for Hillary and supporting her because she understands what we need to bring our country together, correcting some of Bill’s errors and blunders: Nafta, don’t ask don’t tell, etc. Also, a lot of people hate her for standing up when Bill had his fling with Monica, she didn’t divorce him, angry yes, dissapointed yes, but she stayed and saved her marriage. How many of us can say we have not been put in that position by an unfateful spouce and stayed to resolve our problems?
What has Obama done since he has been in the Senate? He promised Illinois he would complete his first term “did he” that is the first of many untruths, how has he voted, how has he made any changes? He has voted each time to fund the War and keep Bush’s HOPE ALIVE. I, too, remember the 1960’s how we as women had to fight for our rights, abortion, wages fair employment, Bullying in the work place. The young women today think we have always had these rights.
Young people let me tell you: we don’t need CHANGE we need to correct the changes we have made and get our 1st and 4th amendments back, we need to be sure of the justices we put on the supreme court so we can have “Justice For All.”
I do believe Hillary will work for our rights, we need a new Congress that will work together like in the 60’s for the country not the party. I say this because if we put Obama in as our nominee, then in November we will have John McCain as our president. Remeber Tom Bradley here in California? When we get in the voting booth we ‘remember.”
You probably haven’t heard this on the news, but Rhode Island is also voting on March 4!
I will cast my vote for Obama because he is changing the political scene in America and will bring new respect to the office of President as he assumes this leadership role that influences many nations. With this unique candidate we are finally moving away from the lobbyists, corporations, and wealthy kingpins choosing our leaders.
Obama expresses the voice of the common people. Whoever makes it-Mc Cain, Hillary or Obama, I see some independence, light, and optimism after years of corrupt authoritarian control of our nation!
Thanks for asking, A and C!
Truth is: I am in South Korea, registered in Oregon, but not there to vote in there in the primary. I would have voted for Clinton.
I KNOW she’s the best Republican running–quote from friend at the San Jose, CA Friday evening demonstration. I KNOW Cynthia was prophetic to jump into the process. I KNOW Michele Obama is rightly embarrassed by America’s rap. I KNOW John Edwards would have been a wonderful president and am really sad that he couldn’t get enough media to make that message heard.
Now, if I were able to vote, I might consider voting for Obama.
I just learned that Cornell West is one of the people who are advising Obama. I admire West very much. If he is not scared that Obama will be seduced, I’ll buy that.
Still think Obama should rethink his policy about Israel/Palestine and support single payer medical coverage.
I saw a cartoon that pointed out that if you’re for Barack you could be accused of being sexist, and that if you’re for Hillary, you could be accused of being racist. I basically agree and find it unfortunate that such a fine candidate as Barack Obama would be running so successfully the same year as Hillary. Either way, I deeply hope either one of them wins!
I truly believe that we are living in a dangerous world. My first choice was Rudy Guiliani but now my candidate is John McCain. I do not subscribe to the “Blame America First Crowd”. This nation is a good and strong provider to most of the world. We must protect ourselves from those evil forces that fanatically want to distroy us. The so called Great Satan does not live on this side of the ocean.
They say all eyes are on Pennsylvania now and I was hoping they were on me and my never ending quest to end Maternal Profiling here. That being said, I have written to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton requesting a meeting while they are in this state to discuss their views of women and mothers rights and if they will suppport legislation to end legal discrimination against women in job interviews. THEN I will decide who to vote for. Till then…………………..
Alex you were really one of the “good guys” thirty years ago, when we knew each other in Virginia. You have always hung on passionately to your ideals, so it makes sense that you would be setting up a site like this.
As to the voting, I have enjoyed my dual citizenship, and feel very obliged to vote both in the States as well as Finland. I see vast differences between the two countries’ voting systems, but perhaps the most interesting is that here in Finland there are many many political parties – so the Parliament is like a small UN. Big corporations do influence the government here, but presidential campaigns are not at all like those in the States.
Our current President here in Finland, her second term, has been described by many as “Moomie Mamma”, a children’s story character. She was elected while living with her now-legally-married husband, and part of her history includes being chairperson for an organization that supports Rainbow alternative lifestyles.
I voted for Barack Obama.
Mary Gregory
Oulu, Finland
I WAS ON THE BUS A FEW WEEKS AGO AND A VERY OLD MAN GOT ON THE BUS..I COULD NOT HELP BUT LOOK AT HIS T -SHIRT, AND IT WAS A NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SHIRT.. OF COURSE I ASKED IF HE ATTENDED THE SCHOOL AND HE DID..IN 1932.IN FACT HE WAS OVER 93 YEARS OLD AT THIS TIME..
WE CONTINUED TO TALK AND COME TO FIND OUT HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT BODY AT THE TIME AND LED THE CHARGE AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATION FOR HOSTING MUSSOLINI AT THE CAMPUS.HE CALLED THE PRESIDENT OF NYU AT THE TIME AN ASS…IT WAS A REMARKABLE EXCHANGE FOR THE MOMENTS WE HAD TOGETHER..BUT I ADMIRED HIS COURAGE AND FORSIGHT AND WISDOM NOT TO SUPPORT A THUG LIKE MUSSOLINI TO SPEAK ON THE CAMPUS AND NOT BE SWAYED BY THE CLOAK OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION..AS WE DEPARTED I THOUGHT HOW WELL READ THESE STUDENTS WERE AT THAT TIME AND THE MORE IMPORTANT THEY COULD SEE THE DANGER COMING YEARS BEFORE IT HAPPENED..
THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OUR ELECTION.. WE ARE NOT WELL READ AS A PEOPLE.MOST PEOPLE THAT I KNOW (YOUNG FOLK) VOTE ONLY ON WHAT THEY LIKE AND DISLIKE..VERY LITTLE OR NO DISCOURSE ABOUT THE ISSUES..COMBINE THAT WITH THE PRESS BEING EITHER EXTREME LEFT OR RIGHT, WE NOW HAVE AN ELECTORATE THAT IS NOT ‘ACTIVIST DRIVEN”,LIKE THE STUDENTS IN 1932 AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY..WE ARE SWAYED BY SYMBOLS, CONTROLLED BY MEDIA SPINS; AND NOT REALLY GETTING TO THE CORE OF ISSUES THAT WILL AFFECT OUR COUNTRY FOR YEARS TO COME..
WE ARE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN AND WE ARE BEING TREATED BY CANDIDATES AS SUCH.. THE ANSWERS TO OUR PROBLEMS ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMPLEX WE HAVE FACED IN 40 YEARS..
I AM HOPING FROM SO MUCH NONSENSE THAT AN AGE OF REASON EMERGES, WHERE FACTS ARE EMBRACED AND CRITICAL THINKING IS THE NORM..
I AM VOTING FOR OBAMA NOT BECAUSE HE IS A MAN OF COLOR OR BECAUSE I AM A DEMOCRAT OR ANY OF THOSE THINGS;BUT BECAUSE WE NEED A FRESH LOOK AT OUR ISSUES. WE MUST BEGIN TO REINVENT OURSELVES OR WE WILL CONTINUE PROLONG OUR ISSUES..
AS TOM PETERS SAID YEARS AGO FROM HIS BOOK ” IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE”..
“…YOU CAN BE ON THE RIGHT TRACK; BUT IF YOU STAY THERE LONG ENOUGH, YOU WILL GET RUN OVER!…”
Howdy from Texas.
While not actually talking about who I voted for, I will say that this has indeed been an interesting political season and one wonders what it will lead to once the two conventions have finally been held. What I find interesting is to listen to the conversations going on around us because on stage we have an African American, a Caucasian woman and a Caucasian man. Two of this group are considered minorities and yet there is fur flying over what is happening if you aren’t voting racial or sexist lines. Seems the very things that we have been hoping to erase have come to the top. I hear women who felt pressured to vote for Clinton, not because they agree with her views, but that if they didn’t they were letting down their own. Ditto for voting for Obama. When the spotlight was on TX, I have to say that I have never experienced as much pressure on who to vote for in any other election–and our gubernatorial race this last fall was interesting enough. But maybe the thing that is most interesting is to know that maybe we are more alike in thinking than ever before in that once again there is no clear winner. It makes us have to think a little more for ourselves–or at least we ought to–because even though there is pressure, there is a greater show of how important each vote is. Think about it–Clinton got the popular vote here and Obama won the caucus. That seems to speak volumes.
Anyway, it is all very interesting–and we haven’t seen the end yet…
I voted for Barack. If Hillary wins the nomination I will have no problem voting for her. While I am not a huge fan of her politics, I think she is right when she says she never would have led us into this war. The dramatic difference between a mainstream Democrat and a mainstream Republican cannot be overstated. While Barack & Hillary are no Cynthia McKinney, it will either be one of them or John McCain who ends up in the White House. McCain’s 100 year war says it all.
Great to hear from you guys Alex & Cathy.
As a registered Green, I voted for Cynthia McKinney but I’m with the feminists like Ellen Bravo who are for Obama. I would love to support a woman candidate but Hillary does not exemplify feminist values. Billary are doing everything they can to sabotage Obama’s candidacy; this is despicable behavior and I deplore it.
Hello from Denver Colorado. Think of me this August when we’ll be in the Democratic epicenter of the Country. This truly is an exciting time.
I’m a life long Democrat. On February 6 for the first time in my life I participated in a presidential primary caucus. My precinct caucus was combined with several others and held at a local high school. They had several precincts meeting in the cafeteria. In years past there were only 3-6 people with any one precinct so they thought that even if it was doubled they would have room. Not the case. There were several hundred of us crammed together with each precinct huddled as best they could, with folks standing on tables and chairs to try and hear each other. They finally moved some groups out to the hallway. It was an amazing experience. My precinct was split evenly between Obama and Clinton.
I voted for Obama in the primary, on this blog and look forward to voting for him in the general election. We do need change. We need intelligence. We need discourse and dialogue and not sound bites. The Clintons have made their contributions but it’s time to move beyond the Bush-Clinton-Bush years. God speed to us all.
I don’t say it without trepidation that I am making the wrong decision but I have to say I GO FOR HILLARY!
Now be prepared as I rant my rant…
First of all, my big problem with Obama is obama-mania. This country has such a Hollywood publicity centered attitude of “who’s hot/who’s not?” “who’s likable?” “who’s hip?” to such a degree that people replace likability/”feeling” with substantive (forgive spelling errors, v. tired tonight)
discussion of how a candidate will do their job. After liberals decried the stupidity of “ignorant right-wing fundis” who chose W Bush based on his manner and appeal rather than focus on his political agenca, we now have a mass of liberals who are choosing Obama for the same reason, rarely do I hear discourse about his policy instead I hear the following (paraphrased from an NPR morning news show I heard in March)
So what we have is a bunch of people just not willing to lower themselves into American politics until this person comes along with very little real experience in American politics who makes them feel warm and fuzzy inside and all of the sudden everyone is such an expert on the entire continuum of the American political system that they know when to ignore it for 15 years, that inspirational Obama (whom Oprah- the woman who already conveniently breaks down the entriety of literature to bring us James Frey- is telling us to vote for) is the reason to get involved in politics again.
I hear basically NO DISCUSSION of Obama’s policies. In contrast I hear Hillary give quite well-thought answers about her policies. I hear how he doesn’t like what Washington has been doing for the past 20 years. This is VERY SCARY to me. The Washington insiders who have been badly running this country for years are probably not too eager to work with someone who has built his whole campaign how they suck. Carter’s election was a victory for liberal Americans, his ineffective presidency ended up back-firing us into the Reagan years. I fear the backlash Obama’s victory will bring once he moves into the White House.
After growing up in the Bible Belt and going to UC Santa Cruz (which was an excellent school overall) I have seen both ultra-conservative and ultra-liberal values thrown at me without critical thought. My friend at Santa Cruz who was an ABD grad student in the History of Consciousness program (his undergrad was Yale) said that Santa Cruz often filled the students with new theories without giving them the historical background behind these theories. As a result, half-baked cultural theories were being thrown around like pizza dough in Little Italy. In the same way that people in the Bible Belt threw around religion. I see young people getting behind Obama with a ferocity that is exceptional. Perhaps if they took some of that ferocity and spent it looking at some of the enlightened moves the Clintons (such as passing the horrible welfare reform act to keep the Republican hate machine at bay during the first term and then quietly using executive power to take out all the worst parts of it after Bill was reelected) and even Reagan (admittedly only one I can think of and that is when he was governor) made during their long careers that happened so long ago that even “Who’s the Boss” and “The Love Boat” were still on TV.
This gets to another thing that bothers me about Obama, people in small towns are “bitter” and “clinging to guns and religion”, yet supporters who send death threats to the woman who brings to light his comments made at a private dinner are “clinging” to Obama. Many problems of American culture are shared just as much by elightened liberals on the Coasts as the Fundis and when Obama says “angry” and “clinging” instead of “trying their best,” He unifies little and seperates greatly.
Now his wife Michelle has made the wise comment (paraphrase) that no president can bring change to America. However, this intelligent, well-educated woman who is both spiritually and materially rich saying that this election is “the first time she is proud to be an American” is a comment that is laughable and lametable in so many ways that I hope that people can see why I would feel that way without expanding on it.
Getting back to history is why I support Clinton, despite her obvious flaws. Actually, part of why I support Clinton are her obvious flaws, she fucks up and takes on her fuck-ups in an active way and yet gets up and still fights every day. It’s easy to be smooth when everyone has decided you are the winner. Which I would go into Obama’s struggles but But as women well know, it’s hard to overcome old as time gender stereotypes. Hillary has a long history of activism and doing great things. While Obama gets to live in the vibrant city of Chicago (Hillary’s hometown) in the early 70’s Hillary left the vibrant world of Yale and married a man who grew up poor (the once first Black president) and wanted to move back to Arkansas, where many of the lifestyle past times she enjoyed were far away (though Little Rock is an exceptionally charming city I must admit) and threw herself into a culture that is by all fair standards the quintessence of Redneck-dom. Hillary (who was then Hillary Rodham-Clinton) was a bespeckled woman who read novels as her husband cheered on the Razorbacks at football games.
Let’s assume she had an uphill battle socially. While in Arkansas, she worked as a child advocacy lawyer at the Rose Law firm and while she made money she also did some really great work. This was a woman who got up RIGHT AFTER the Reagan-Bush era and spoke up for National Health Care.
The point Hillary keeps trying to make as she acts like a “monster” (in the words of a prominent Obama staffer) is that Bush politics are the MOST dangerous thing and while we indulge without concern the anger of Obama supporters, perhaps we should make sure that the country is making sure the rural working poor people who feel disenfranchised and angry are being considered in this election so that the divide between urban and rural in this country can stop killing the democratic party and for acknowledging what her constiuency is and that the Democratic party needs their votes, albeit in a very stupid way, she is a racist. If we’re assuming Obama knows that rural America is capable of great things and just misspoke,
let’s give Hillary a touch of credit, I think she knows Black people work hard too.
These are my blowhard opinions, please feel free to be outraged and help me learn by giving me facts and feelings.
Hi Alex! Hi Cathy!
I predicted merely a black man would be president “soon.” The logic of what I meant is borne out in recent history, the great desire of a large part of the white population of the U.S. to elect a black president. I didn’t count on a woman candidate opposing that black man! That skews the chances of an Obama victory! That is a piece of bad news. Many older women will simply NEVER vote for the man who deprived them of Hillary (or any woman). It won’t happen if it depends on them. And not just women either, older men who liked Hillary. These are the honest resenters, not those who harbor resistance on racial grounds.
So now we’re in tough times. As a conservative, I love Obama because he is the most conservative candidate (why else). He may raise already astronomical taxes another notch (who cares for whom? It always comes out of MY pocket and ruins MY life! Selfish of me!). He may favor other things I might not like, and some of them may happen despite steely resistance on the part of members of Congress.
But the consequences of Obama’s election are wonderfully conservative: the repair of the black-white guilt trip, turning it into something else. That’s Number One. Of course, many blacks (like Jackson and Sharpton) will say “Obama is a betrayer, he’s not black, he’s not one of us, he doesn’t count!” As time goes on through an Obama presidency, that refrain will be heard far and wide, but no one will believe it. Number Two: No more conservative Likudniks running the foreign policy of the United States. No more AIPAC imperialism. No more international murder in the name of “freedom.” Not a small benefit from Obama, and an entirely conservative one. (I don’t regard neocons as anything but socialist-imperialists, not conservative at all.)
Number Three: He will bring style to the life of the country. It’s not just the fact that he can hit a 30 foot jump shot or knows the music of Lenny Kravitz and Bob Dylan. It is all the things that make him superior to Bill Clinton as well as the George Bushes. He will NOT be a legislator any more, but he will be a president.
Obama will do these things just be being elected! No matter what his other plans and policies.
He can’t disappoint me if he becomes president, because that’s all I want him to do. He is the man I want to lead this country. How he does it is partly my business, sure. But later, when we have gotten to that point. Not now! Promises now are only indicative of personality, not any real state of affairs.
McCain had Obama’s beliefs, I wouldn’t want him. But Obama he had many of McCain’s beliefs I would still want him. At a certain point, beliefs determine character, of course.
But I don’t want Obama’s positions, beliefs, policies, or promises. I want Obama.
Jim Devlin