Alright, friends, I have been mostly silent to this point. But something happened yesterday that causes me to speak, finally. I was minding my own business late afternoon, when the talking caller ID on my home phone announced a number I didn’t recognize. Intrigued and in the mood to spar with a telemarketer, I answered.
“This is the Hillary Clinton Campaign for President,” it said, and it wanted me to participate in a poll.
“If the primary were held today, who would you vote for? Press 1 for Hillary Clinton, press 2 for Barack Obama, press 3 for John Edwards.” Excitedly and still in the mood to spar (you know how I get), I pushed 2 (because it’s true) and waited for the “Why” question, because certainly they'd want to know why I didn't say Hillary, right? Wrong. I got nothing other than a resounding CLICK as the line disconnected. No “thank you for playing”, no “thank you for your time and attention.” Nothing. And after the last 2 weeks of observing the Clinton campaign’s antics, I’m not surprised. But I still felt a bit deflated.
You see, I think Hillary should know that until very recently, I would have been fine with her winning the nomination, despite the fact that I am an Obama supporter, since she’d done a fine job of retooling her image and wiping all the skeletons in her closet that I tended to overlook in the late 90s right out of my memory. But with her contrived tears, purposeful twisting of facts, Bill’s newly acquired inability to act like an adult instead of a raving 14-year old and rumors that they’ve (obviously) hired Karl Rove as a consultant to this campaign, I had to draw the line. If you need to play that way to win, against someone in your own party, you’re not what I think America needs to get over the last 8 years of George W’s Reign of Terror.
We need a uniter, as contrived as it sounds. Someone who can not only bring blacks and whites, men and women, Republicans and Democrats to the table, but also someone who knows the meaning of the word Respect. This person has to be someone we can be proud to tell the rest of the world THIS IS OUR PRESIDENT. Aren’t you fed up with going to Europe and having people laugh at you because you’re stuck under a monkey regime? That your currency has about as much spending power as Monopoly money? That you live in a country in which you can’t trust the Executive Branch to truthfully tell you the time of day? If you are, why would you even think that a return to the Clinton years is a good thing? They are of the same ilk, lying, hiding and owing to so many connections over dozens of years of service, how can they see what is best for this country clearly? Barack may not have years of experience, but honestly, if you look at what “years of experience” has gotten us into lately, is that really a worthy prerequisite anymore?
We were the most powerful and respected country in the world. That reputation has been damaged. And after the last two weeks, I’m not sure that a Clinton Co-Presidency (since it’s obvious that is what it will become) is the answer. Let’s start fresh and see what Respect, Decency and a United States of America can do with it.
Vote Obama on February 5th.
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