Who are you gonna vote for?
I honestly don't know. I'm looking at the three basic possibilities: Barack, Hilary, McCain, and I can't quite make it.
Barack has a great way with words, and it would be good to finally silence those who think a Black man cannot be president, but he's so very, very green. Not in the Al gore way, in the short pants kind of way.Hilary is tough, and has a really slick campaign, but I can't get over the notion that hers is a cynical kind of entitlement. She still radiates that Bob Dole kind of vibe; the one that says "Coronate me, now, i have the divine right of kings behind me". On top of that, she's so obviously one of those washington insider types who have no connection to the outside world.
Then, there's McCain.I'd vote for him, I really would, except three things: 1. The guy sold his soul for George W Bush. George W freakin' Bush. No way. 2. I've got a memory. I can remember the name Keating. I can remember savings and loans. 3. The man is very, very old. I don't know that he'll make it.
So, the way I see it, right now, I'm least Screwed with Obama. But, I'm open to suggestions. Anybody got any? I still think Al gore is a better option.
Comments
Check out Obama's website for details on his stand on the issues - www.barackobama.com. Also, go see him if you have the chance. I know he'll be at the Univ of MD on 2/11. I'll ve sure to let you know if there'll be any more events before the MD primary.
I know, I very biased after working on his campaign for almost a year. But I checked him out and think he's the best choice we have.
Just my two cents worth.
Wish I could go on the 11th, but I got work.
You're right that he's got more elected experience than he's given credit for. At the same time, I'm not so much worried about him domestically as I am in terms of how effective he can be against congress, especially in matters of foreign policy. While Mr. Smith goes to Washington is a charming movie, in real life, such characters get the Howard Dean treatment.( I still think that Dean was a genius strategist, and his campaign was structured in a visionary way, and I like that Obama is elaboratingon the Dean model). Now, certainly, I think there's merit to the notion of voting for someone who'll scale back the President's role from the current despotic state, and I'll admit thethought is appealling, I don't want it to be a push back from congress, though. I'd like to see a President who'll work in measured way.
Like I said, I still think my guy is Al Gore, and that reminds me that the choice of running mate could really swing a lot of votes. For example: an Obama Edwards ticket wouldn't do nearly as well as an Obama/ Biden ticket, simply because Biden is seen as a mature, serious, stately kind of guy, these days, and that would counter-balance Obama's "Young Buck' image. I think the political suicide route would be a Obama Clinton ticket (actually, I don't think Clinton stands a chance in the general election. She's far, far too polarizing a figure. Even my own family ( who are pretty solidly democratic) most of them would swing over to McCain if she were the Democratic choice. That's saying something.
And if this were 2000, I might have gone over and voted for McCain, but he's trashed whatever legitimacy I once thought he might have by his ridiculous support for the same Neo-cons who destroyed the republican party.
As it stands, if Obama gets the nomination, i'll be looking very carefully at who his running mate is.Maybe he could even get somebody who'd impress me, like a Howard Dean or an Al Gore, or a Joe Biden.... We'll have to see.
I'm a Democrat through and through, so I will vote for whoever wins the nomination. I'm planning to vote in our primary, but I'm not sure yet who I'm going to vote for.
I could never vote for McCain. I used to feel differently about him, but that was before he was Bush's toadie. Heh.
Yeah, Al really came into his own after office, didn't he? Maybe that's where he'll do the most good, i don't know.
I could never be a "straight ticket" guy for either party. I've been known to vote third party, too. My basic deal is this; I like to vote FOR somebody, not against, or with. So, I'll vote for howard the duck if he's the candidate that I honestly want in office. Sometimes that means i vote in ways that make people think i've thrown out my vote, but I think it's even more of a waste if I don't vote my opinion, but just go with the flow. I guess I'm nuts that way.
I really like Joe Biden. When we saw him here in Manchester, he was personable, very articulate, and knew way more about foreign policy than any of the other candidates (in my opinion).
I think Obama was/is just too big a figure and he has over shadowed everyone else. Not that I would have chosen anyone else, but they never had a chance. Mark and I were speculating last night what it would have been like if the Dem race was between just Clinton and Edwards. Edwards had a huge following here in Iowa because, I think, his message resonated with the angry middle class. Funny that the white guy was the minority candidate this year.
After last night's victory in Wisconsin, I think Hillary may be toast. She keeps changing her message and motto with each loss, unlike Obama who has been consistent throughout the campaign. Funny how she had no strategy after Super Tuesday. Perhaps it was the arrogant idea of her inevitability that has sunk her campaign. (Her manager, Terry McAuliffe, was here in late Summer and told us the campaign would be over by Super Tuesday. That remark fell flat and our response even made the NY Times. Google "Terry McAuliffe and Manchester Iowa".)
But who knows really. I just want to see things change for us middle class worker bees.