An odd year.
What a year. What an odd place we are in. 10 months ago I liked Obama and thought he was the future of the Democratic Party and had gotten ahead of himself. I liked Hillary and knew she was smart enough and tough enough to be a solid Democratic President. I was queasy about McCain. Having liked him years ago but by 2007 felt he'd faded in the Bush years. I did not know who Sarah Palin was.
Fast forward 10 months.
I am now loyal to Hillary Clinton in a way I never was to her husband. (But no, this does not mean I'll vote for Obama. I respect Clinton's necessary endorsement. But I own my vote. ) I love Hillary Clinton now. She changed the world forever with her campaign.
I now find Obama unbearable. Aloof, effete, and untrustworthy.
I am experiencing a grudging reemergence of my previous grudging admiration of John McCain. The guy's story this year is something. Washed up last Fall now, he's his party's nominee.
And I like this Sarah Palin person. I have disagreements with her, no doubt. But she is a breath of fresh air. So far she is brass knuckle fighter. This is a trait I love. In 92 Clinton had me when he established his "rapid response team". After Dukakis and Mondale, this was a galvanizing moment in his campaign. Bill Clinton had a war room. He fought. Palin appears to be willing to call it likes she sees it. On Tuesday she was the personification what Ms. Huffington wrote about a while back: FEARLESS. "Presidential" is an odd adjective. I don't know that it fits her yet. But every day she becomes more and more trustworthy to me.
A friend told me something smart recently. Since he felt he could no longer trust his party - the Democrats - he found himself able and willing, for the first time in years, to listen to what the GOP had to say.
I am too.
My reactions are the same as ever on some GOP talking points. Not good. The ratatatat on big government is utterly ineffective on me. But they seem to love it. The scare tactics on healthcare annoys me no end. Then again, the only candidate who believed in Universal Healthcare will not be my ballot. As for Roe V Wade: it's time to have the fight we've been avoiding for a generation. It it went away today nothing would change. Abortions would be available in the same states as they are now. And nearly impossible to get in the states they are now. Real liberals would then have to get ready, get down, and have the fight. State by state. Pro Choicers are the majority. We can win the fight. We ought to have it. We ought to stop hiding behind a 3 decade old, poorly decided, court case. NARAL and Emily's list has grown lazy.
I saw integrity on display in St. Paul. Not so in Denver. The person who won the most votes was treated like an annoying dog. Her supporters were treated as badly as she was. That team may win - but not with my vote. I won't co-sign that B.S. check - no matter how limited the choice.
So my vote will be either for a party (Green) or for 2 people (McCain/Palin). I like the Greens and am glad they are on the scene. If polls indicate a close race in California I will - with eyes wide open- vote for the GOP ticket. Contradiction? No. Understanding. A President McCain will need to be checked. He will be. McCain has a real record of reaching across the aisle, not a mirage record based on misdirection and lies. A President Obama will not be checked for the first two years. Obama unchecked is a recipe for bitterly dividing the nation. He's done too much damage already. Without the protective cloak of the media he is a very divisive figure. The cloak will come off if he wins. An Obama honeymoon would be sweet and short. His underpinnings are already rattling loudly.
The second to last hope for the Democratic Party, where I once found a home, is the utter and complete defeat in 2008 of the faux Democrats currently in the diver's seat.
The final hope for the resurrecting a middle/left party will be the Democratic Party's destruction in 2010 should the faux Democrats win in 2008. So we have a short range plan and a longer range plan.
The biggest surprise of all: My choices aren't that bad. Disappointing, but not bad.
PS - with PBS's numbers added in - Palin's Tuesday speech was the highest rated of both conventions. She had more viewers than the Oscars.
Not bad for a "light weight."
Fast forward 10 months.
I am now loyal to Hillary Clinton in a way I never was to her husband. (But no, this does not mean I'll vote for Obama. I respect Clinton's necessary endorsement. But I own my vote. ) I love Hillary Clinton now. She changed the world forever with her campaign.
I now find Obama unbearable. Aloof, effete, and untrustworthy.
I am experiencing a grudging reemergence of my previous grudging admiration of John McCain. The guy's story this year is something. Washed up last Fall now, he's his party's nominee.
And I like this Sarah Palin person. I have disagreements with her, no doubt. But she is a breath of fresh air. So far she is brass knuckle fighter. This is a trait I love. In 92 Clinton had me when he established his "rapid response team". After Dukakis and Mondale, this was a galvanizing moment in his campaign. Bill Clinton had a war room. He fought. Palin appears to be willing to call it likes she sees it. On Tuesday she was the personification what Ms. Huffington wrote about a while back: FEARLESS. "Presidential" is an odd adjective. I don't know that it fits her yet. But every day she becomes more and more trustworthy to me.
A friend told me something smart recently. Since he felt he could no longer trust his party - the Democrats - he found himself able and willing, for the first time in years, to listen to what the GOP had to say.
I am too.
My reactions are the same as ever on some GOP talking points. Not good. The ratatatat on big government is utterly ineffective on me. But they seem to love it. The scare tactics on healthcare annoys me no end. Then again, the only candidate who believed in Universal Healthcare will not be my ballot. As for Roe V Wade: it's time to have the fight we've been avoiding for a generation. It it went away today nothing would change. Abortions would be available in the same states as they are now. And nearly impossible to get in the states they are now. Real liberals would then have to get ready, get down, and have the fight. State by state. Pro Choicers are the majority. We can win the fight. We ought to have it. We ought to stop hiding behind a 3 decade old, poorly decided, court case. NARAL and Emily's list has grown lazy.
I saw integrity on display in St. Paul. Not so in Denver. The person who won the most votes was treated like an annoying dog. Her supporters were treated as badly as she was. That team may win - but not with my vote. I won't co-sign that B.S. check - no matter how limited the choice.
So my vote will be either for a party (Green) or for 2 people (McCain/Palin). I like the Greens and am glad they are on the scene. If polls indicate a close race in California I will - with eyes wide open- vote for the GOP ticket. Contradiction? No. Understanding. A President McCain will need to be checked. He will be. McCain has a real record of reaching across the aisle, not a mirage record based on misdirection and lies. A President Obama will not be checked for the first two years. Obama unchecked is a recipe for bitterly dividing the nation. He's done too much damage already. Without the protective cloak of the media he is a very divisive figure. The cloak will come off if he wins. An Obama honeymoon would be sweet and short. His underpinnings are already rattling loudly.
The second to last hope for the Democratic Party, where I once found a home, is the utter and complete defeat in 2008 of the faux Democrats currently in the diver's seat.
The final hope for the resurrecting a middle/left party will be the Democratic Party's destruction in 2010 should the faux Democrats win in 2008. So we have a short range plan and a longer range plan.
The biggest surprise of all: My choices aren't that bad. Disappointing, but not bad.
PS - with PBS's numbers added in - Palin's Tuesday speech was the highest rated of both conventions. She had more viewers than the Oscars.
Not bad for a "light weight."
posted by J -SOM at
Friday, September 05, 2008
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