I’m not voting for John Edwards (buyer’s remorse from last time). I’m not voting for a Republican. That leaves Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Hmm.
I guess all other things being equal, I am inclined to vote against a dynasty. But I’m not totally sold on Obama either.
Last chance, Hillary supporters. Why would I be making a mistake if I voted for Obama?
Furious D: Now where am I going to go to beat SEC football fans at their own picks game while hopped up on goofballs?
CJ: I tried to establish a hot dog stand this year and was advised by the Health Dept (Dekalb Cnty) and by a...
Tony: This is a bunch of crap. Where am I supposed to get all my University of Georgia football news now?
Jen: As soon as college football starts, he’ll be back. Book it.
Blue: Say it ain’t so, Russell Tanton? First it was “my pit stop on the information superhighway.”...
Georgia Podcast Network
I know you asked Hillary supporters for reasons it would be a mistake to support Obama, but here’s a reason why you should vote for him instead: he scares the bejeesus out of conservatives. And boy does he give a hell of a speech.
I was going to let this be, give any Clinton supporters their opportunity, but Sara hopped on in … so I’m going to follow.
The “hell of a speech” factor is high. It’s not just that he knows what to say and when to say it, but moreover that he has a powerful understanding of the power of narrative. When people make those comparisons to JFK and MLK, I believe that this similar power is what drives the comparison.
A case in point: Obama at Ebenezer on King Sunday.
And if the narrative angle doesn’t work for you, consider his very vocal stance on Net Neutrality. He was supportive as a Senator in 2006 (on his podcast, of all things) and Net Neutrality remains on his current platform.
Why would I be making a mistake if I voted for Obama?
You wouldn’t.
Thanks for the comments everyone. I acknowledge the question is loaded, so anybody who feels one way or the other about a candidate feel free to answer:
1) Why should I vote for Hillary?
2) Why shouldn’t I vote for Hillary?
3) Why should I vote for Obama?
4) Why shouldn’t I vote for Obama?
5) Why should I vote for Hillary over Obama?
6) Why should I vote for Obama over Hillary?
Or any other related question without as much baggage attached…
Yeah, Obama’s speech Sat. night pretty much kicked the ass of any other speech I’ve ever heard.
I was at first skeptical of Obama. I liked the idea that Hillary would be willing to castrate any GOP nominee if she needed to. I have come over to Obama’s side, at first slowly but with greater commitment over the last few weeks.
This article did much to sway my opinion, although I must admit I am an avid Andrew Sullivan reader (though I don’t always agree with him).
At the end of the day, this piece of Saturday’s speech reminded me of why I am voting for Obama:
He asks us to remember why this country is great, and challenges us to live up to that standard. This is what inspiration looks like. He’s not a saint, and he’s not perfect, but he is the most honest and inspirational politician I can remember.
Also, I am SO not interested in replaying the 90s. We have a chance to move past all that partisan bull, why would we ever willingly choose to serve up four more years of the Clintons’ to the red meat crowd?
Well, I can only answer as to why I won’t vote for Hillary.
She supported the war in Iraq. She can claim that it was because of faulty intelligence, etc. but the fact is that I knew it was a bad idea before we ever went in, as did a sizeable chunk of the population and the numerous Senators who voted against it. So, either she made a political decision that turned out to be a bad one…or she wasn’t smart enough to realize it was a bad idea. But she won’t admit it was a mistake or a bad political gamble, and I’ve had just about enough of that behavior out of the current president.
So, I resolved going into this election that I would not support anyone who voted for the Iraq war. Her vote on the Iran resolution and her insistence on acting hawkish in other ways just sealed the deal for me personally.
There was a time and place for us to be hawkish as hell–in Afghanistan, where we missed a golden opportunity to bring the world together to find and fight terrorism. Instead we threw away that chance in order to go to Iraq and depose and hang the guy who tried to kill Bush’s daddy. And if there is one thing I will never do it’s vote for someone who helped to make that happen.
That’s ultimately what made up my mind to oppose Clinton. As much as I have gotten mocked mercilessly for it by the more cynical of my politically minded friends, what made me decide to support Obama was that I had almost forgotten what it was like to feel truly inspired by a leader, and to believe that a better way of government and a new age might actually be possible. I don’t know that he’ll be successful, but I like that he isn’t resigned to the same old gridlock, the same old 50%+1 divisions of the country, and the same old anything goes political assasination methods.
1: It’s a safe bet. That is, it’s safe in the sense that you know what you’re getting into, whether you like it or not. She and Bill, together, have a lot of experience in both foreign and domestic arenas. They’re smart, and they have a record of getting past ideological differences to implement innovative reforms.
2: It was really Bill who has the record of getting past ideological differences yadda yadda. Hillary really screwed up a good chance to implement meaningful health care reform the first time around. Her divisiveness will prevent her from successfully implementing any meaningful reform. Besides, both the Clintons need to get over themselves, rest on their political laurels, and let their record speak for itself — do your work, then move on.
3: He’s a transformational leader — a powerful orator. He’s also the only viable candidate (that I’m aware of, at least) who has been explicit about building more transit infrastructure. Among all the candidates, Obama appears to be closer than anyone to having a meaningful urban agenda.
4: You can’t be too sure what you’re getting. Unless you’re willing to plow through the “Issues” section of his campaign website, it’s not easy to tell where he really stands on some issues.
5 & 6: I think the “experience” vs. “change” meme says it best.
I know it’s an unfair question for any candidate at this stage, but it would still be interesting to know who would get cabinet positions.
Barack out, with your cock out.
Here’s a thought for you Russell Tanton:
What other reasons are there to vote for Obama besides
“He’s one hell of an amazing speaker.” I mean, its nice to have an articulate chief executive, especially in the age of the 24/7 news cycle. But does that alone qualify him to be president?
After all JFK was a dynamic speaker, but as a president he was mediocre at best (seemed to get weak in the knees when dealing with Congress).
Personally, like you I remain undecided at this point..I just feel like I need more to go on than “He’s an amazing orator”…But this is what we get when one of the main criteria for electability every four years is “which candidate would you rather have a beer with?” Never mind that few among us will ever get the opportunity to meet, let alone dine/drink with a sitting president.
Either Hillary or Barack would be 100% better than our current president and probably much better than any of the Republican contenders (which is setting a very low bar, admittedly). I’ll vote for whichever is ultimately nominated in the general election.
That said, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of a “co-presidency.” I don’t like the idea of Bill Clinton being back in the White House for an unofficial 3rd term, and I’m not really that big of a fan of Hillary Clinton’s record for the time she’s been in the Senate. The Clintons also have a history of stabbing gay people in the back once in office (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell & Defense of Marriage Act being two examples), which makes me distrust them.
Barack Obama doesn’t have the same sleazy record as the Clintons, and I think he’ll be better able to get off to a fresh start with Congress and even with the Republicans if elected. I would hope he’d be able to get some -good- things done if elected. He’s who I’m voting for.
Just because that’s the first thing someone says when you ask them what they like about Obama, it doesn’t mean that’s the only thing they like about Obama. That’s a weird assumption.
Blue,
Funny, Amber and I just watched a special about JFK assassination theories on the History Channel. I’m pretty convinced Oswald acted alone, FWIW.
I somewhat agree with you about JFK. I think history might remember him a lot more fondly for being assassinated than it would have for his actual record as a president had he lived through his term. I mean, Vietnam was his idea (people forget), Bay of Pigs happened under him, etc. Things could have easily gone a lot worse than they did.
Funny how that works. John Wilkes Booth kills Lincoln, and he’s a beloved martyr. He did a great thing at the end of the Civil War in emancipating the slaves, but he might have been remembered as much as the president who suspended habeas corpus as for that had Booth not knocked him off.
That said, given more time, Kennedy might have gotten better with Congress.
I’ve recently joined the Obama side of this debate, partly because of his amazing speaking abilities. I happened to be in California for the New Hampshire primaries and could stay up to see all the speeches. I saw all three leading candidates and Obama’s was light years better than anyone else’s. For my money, he’s the most inspiring speaker of our political generation.
That alone, however, is not enough to sway me. Hillary’s got some strong assets in her experience and connections.
What moved me toward Obama was the following:
* Hillary comes across as too calculating. The divisiveness that Bill engendered during the SC primary was bad news for the Democratic party and it’s emblematic of the Clintons, particularly Hillary. Sometimes, I think Hillary is just Karl Rove in a pant suit.
* Hillary’s arguments against Obama — that she’s more experienced — go out the window if she were to run against McCain, who’s got experience over her in spades. Something to consider when making your decision. This election cannot be about experience alone.
* To me, there’s a sense that Hillary is “the past” and Obama is “the future”. Even though I loved Bill Clinton, I feel the Bush-Clinton-Bush years have been so tainted by ideology and closed-mindedness that I want us to turn in a new direction. I think it may take a president like Obama to make this happen.
I will admit that I’m voting with my heart to some degree. But if Obama can make me comfortable doing that, then he’s the candidate I’m choosing.
Y’all should check out Techcrunch’s endorsements. There’s a pretty compelling case made for Obama.
And now he’s been endorsed by everybody’s favorite little stickman-and-science webcomic, xkcd, for much of the same tech-based reasons as TechCrunch outlines.
As far as his positions on other issues, it’s a little disingenuous to complain about having to “slog” through Obama’s website to get answers. There’s an Issues section, divided up by sub-categories. Yeah, it might take a few minutes to click-and-read … but that time investment is nothing when we consider just how little direct information was available to our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents before they entered the voting booth. For that matter, if you don’t feel like perusing online, there’s a 64-page PDF to download and print.
Have we gotten a little spoiled to the ready availability of information, all broken-down into digestible fact-lets? I think we have.
So to anyone who says they need more information before they decide, I say “Go get it.” It’s there.
(Equal Time: Clinton has a sub-categorized Issues page as well. No PDF, though.)