I woke up this morning ready to cast my candidate to the curb. I thought ...screw it. I need to embrace the possibility of something new and fresh. When I ran into Gina at the gym later in the afternoon (Obama maniac, that one), I dropped the possibility that I might switch my allegiance from Hillary at the last minute.
I have always loved the Clinton's for their toughness in battling their foes. Their foes were my foes! . I loved that they would enter a room armed with facts, always ready to meet their detractors head on . After a lifetime of fairly weak and ineffectual party leaders--McGovern, Carter, Mondale, Dukakkis--it has been refreshing to be led by the Clinton's. They set an agenda into motion, fend off its attackers, and make it happen. Only recently have I begun to devalue this approach.
Recently I have begun to wonder if the take-no-prisoners approach is really for me. The first stirrings of change began during the South Carolina debate last month. Watching Barack get clobbered by Hillary was unsettling to say the least. It occurred to me that this guy is not our enemy, he is on our side. She was taking a brother down and in the process she was diminishing her own luster. It was reminiscent of an unprovoked air strike on an unsuspecting and ill equipped territory. Except the territory was one of our own.
Then more stirrings came last week as Ted and Caroline Kennedy anointed Obama the heir to JFK's legacy, ushering in a new era of Camelot. Their speeches were heartfelt and their message compelling--"don't lose this moment"!. Then Teddy assured America, fists flailing, that Barack would be ready to serve on day one! Just as Hillary teared up in that New Hampshire coffee shop--so did I.
As I said, I woke up this morning ready to jump on to the lifeboat, the feel good express. But here's the thing... all this talk of JFK and possibilities led me to delve into the reality behind the mystique of that Presidency. The reality is that not much was accomplished. In three years almost none of JFK's domestic plan passed through congress. Lyndon Johnson, the consummate Washington insider and bully, brought most of JFK's dreams to fruition. It was Johnson who made it happen. From the creation of Medicaid and Medicare, to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he passed more legislation than any other President before or since.
Suddenly fighting fair isn't such a priority. I am sticking with Hillary!
16 comments:
Make no mistake about it, Hillary and Bill are brilliant politicians - and are very much "the machine". This is exactly why I have a love/hate relationship with them right now; I love that they so piss off many conservatives and have vast amounts of power and influence. At the same time, I'm so tired of all the crap, and really just want a fresh face with energy and ideas. I feel that Hillary's inability to admit she made a mistake with her Iraq war vote signals issues with her leadership - I am tired of leaders who can't admit their mistakes. I REALLY, REALLY was VERY disappointed that Hillary did not oppose Bush more forcefully - and I think she did was was politically favorable at the time. All that said, if she wins the nomination, I'll vigorously support her - and any of the dems will kick McCain ass.
phew! glad you are sticking with hillary dean. i am for
her all the way.
going to vote now.
I like that you are staying true to the candidate you originally picked. Loyalty is important.
I'm not %100 sure who to vote for yet, but I'm not going to vote for them because of race, sex, political party, or any other reason. I am going to vote for someone based on their views and how well they agree with mine.
I was a little disappointed in your final decision. I decided this weekend to go with Barack--I too was feeling the Clinton's were a little too entrenched in the status quo of politics.
Nice piece though!
I have many many problems with Billary.
But I voted for her today. Truth is, the bitch will get the job done. And we need someone right now, MORE THAN EVER, to get us out of a lot of shit that Bush has trapped us in.
fl vote is over and she held ny....your preach'n to the choir....HILLARY ALL THE WAY
hey dean, just decided last night after taking an online "candidate calender". It told me to vote for OBAMA. So i did.
Disney was fun btw
Laina-
Can't believe you voted for Obama after I gave you that beautiful Hillary T shirt for Christmas.
Edgie-
I have total respect for your "process". Keep it simple sister.
Dean, I think I'm turning into a Mormon.
Romney best typifies my views, (I don't know how much he really embraces them), however; I think that McCain is the only republican that can win in November.
He will get a lot of the moderate vote. Unless the democrats bring in a moderate as VP.
That was a perfectly written post friend. Couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I'm gonna forward it to friends.
I hear ya,
and this is the thing. Will the country fight Hillary, even if she has
terrific ideas, just because they love to hate her and the Clintons.
That's the thing. Why didn't anything get done when JFK was pres. Was
it because ...... I actually don't know the answer. So my thing is,
whoever is going to facilitate the healing that really needs to go on
in this country, both practically and spiritually. That's one I don't
have the answer for. I still haven't decided but my children forced me
(really, not really) to vote for them, since they can't, so I figured,
what's the harm in voting for Obama, even if it's just feel-good,
because Hillary has NY. The other thing is that sometimes magic
happens when people have faith and believe in something. It might be
that the opposite of what we expect would happen will happen with
Hillary in charge. Maybe she will unite, just as George Bush, who we
knew was a divider in spite of his words, divides. I just can't see
the future so we might make the same mistakes with different players.
I talked to a friend the other day. She's die-hard Hillary. I can't even
talk about it with her. Anyway, anybody but a white man, no offense.
Love you,
Melissa
It's true Mel, we don't know who will do what or how. I never thought a dolt like "W" would ever turn out to be such a dangerous monster. A little lack luster maybe, perhaps turn the clock back a little, but nothing like what was to come.
I love your sentiments.
Oh, Dean. No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to bring back the golden years of the 90s. Hillary is clearly a war hawk, and Bill is responsible for leading us into this Bush debacle. You make an interesting analogy, but it stretches thin and doesn't hold water: LBJ's presidency was a disaster. And take a good look at bloated old Bill; he's cranky and tired. It's time for a change- this country doesn't need those clowns in office again.
it's great, love it, GO HILLARY, all the way back to the White House!
Mark
It's good that you don't sway easily. I'm an Obama girl but admire people who knows what they want and doesn't let people persuade them into changing their minds. I'm like that, and have been my whole life. I don't care what people with degrees say, my lawyers, my elders, my employer, my relatives. I stick to my guns.
Darn Catwoman, your sarcasm is shitty but you are unknowingly, VERY correct. Sticking to your guns or first choice, is often the correct choice (like on Multiple Choice TESTS/QUIZES, I'm in college...LOL). Obama always struck me as unelectable and we now know in April, HE REALLY IS UNELECTABLE (yet the media is still vigorously selling him to us). Think its cause they profit more with Republican policies for Big Business? I know Wall Street is praying Hillary doesn't get the nomination because she will surely win. They should be doing the opposite, praying she does win. Sometimes what momma does hurts us and looks bad at first, yet is the BEST thing that could have happened when its "said and done."
This is the case here. CNN, MSNBC, etc etc just want the tax cuts for the rich/corporations to become permanent. Now McCain is for those tax cuts that he voted against originally as "tax cuts for the wealthy." He flip-flopped? Yes. Big surprise? No. 2000 was a media hack job, they sold us Bush and he gave away 2 TRILLION dollars. Now we borrow money from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis.
~GOD BLESS AMERICA~
Hillary 08'
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