On April 26, 2007 I wrote my first of many candidate analyses. I ranked the order of the potential candidates in order of who I'd vote for and why. Senator Barack Obama was #7. The order is as follows.
1) Al Gore (D)
2) Hillary Clinton (D)
3) Bill Richardson (D)
4) John Edwards (D)
5) John McCain (R)
6) Mitt Romney (R)
7) Barack Obama (D)
8) Rudy Giuliani (R)
My defense for Senator Obama's low rating was as follows: Obama Who? Where did this guy come from? I'd never heard of him until last year. He is a first term, junior Senator from Illinois. Sure hes a wonderful orator, hes good looking, and very well educated. But what kind of experience does he have that he should be the leader of the free world? I'm 100% in favor of a President who is not a white, middle aged, male. Thats why I have Hillary (female) and Bill Richardson (Hispanic) near the top of my list. Obama, leave this race right now and run again in 8 years. You will have my vote. I promise. But first you need to put on public record where you stand on the issues. And convince me that you are passionate about Israel a little bit more.
When I was on the Fox News Channel's panel for undecided voters I said I considered myself undecided because if my Democratic choice (Senator Clinton) was not the nominee I'd consider voting for the Republican candidate. After all, McCain was two spots ahead of Obama on my list.
I had liked John McCain for a long time. I always thought he was a Moderate Republican. Didn't blindly vote party lines. Instead he voted what he believed was best for America. That was until he chose Sarah Palin. Governor Palin as a running mate is the antithesis of what all moderate voters saw in John McCain. She is just not what I would want to see in a potential running mate. Was Joe Biden ever pranked by a Canadian radio show using a ridiculously fake French President Nicolas Sarkozy accent? And if he was, would he have fallen for it? No. The woman who did fall for the prank, the woman running under a 72-year-old man with a history of health problems, is not ready to be President and frankly never will be. She is unable to make her own decisions without being schooled by instructors. She does not have the intellect to comprehend the complexity of world issues. She does not have my back when it comes to women's rights. She does not have my vote and therefore, neither does the man at the top of the ticket.
Tomorrow, I am voting for the lesser of two evils. I am afraid to vote for the Republican ticket because I am scared of empowering Sarah Palin. I am disappointed in Senator Obama for not choosing Senator Clinton as his running mate. Together the Democrats could have sailed to the Presidency. Now we are looking at a potential 2000, one party winning the Popular vote while the other wins the Electoral count. Its far fetched but its possible. It could happen again. There are other Hillary supporters out there that are hoping for an Obama upset to open a 2012 Hillary run. I want the Dems to win today! Not in four years! I'm not going to be like McCain, picking someone who my advisors decide on. I will choose the man who is best for America. And that my friends is Senator Barack Obama. I hope you all (especially those in the swing states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, listen up, I'm talking to you) agree.
7 comments:
Very well written and thought out.
Agreed with Mottel there.
I am, though, excited at the thought of Hillary Clinton running the health department/system in this country. She will do great, amazing things, and Obama will work with her to make her visions happen!
(I would have thought more about the election had the John McCain of several years ago stuck around, but this John McCain isn't moderate and isn't the same guy he was in the last run around, which is disappointing.)
Very interesting. My take on Obama is the same, if not worse--than yours. Read my post about him, here.
Too much "murk" surrounds him.
About Sarah Palin, I don't think she's ready for the Presidency yet, but might be in a few years. I forced myself to listen to that pranked call, shuddering all the while.
The analysis on NPR was that she has terrible staff: they should have screened & verified the call, but they didn't. She was handed the phone by her screener and thought it was legitimate.
But that notwithstanding, her answers themselves were too gushy and apple-polishy for me. She sounded naive and gullible.
I was embarrassed listening to her (and I so wanted to like her when she was first chosen...!)
Youd rather vote for someone as president who cant make a choise on his own and needs to be schooled over and over on every single thing, rather than vote for Mccain who would be president and palin who would under a very remote possibility ever assume office?
thats just silly.
Wow. Really? Seriously?
Yikes.
Finally! You seriously had me worried, Tanta Susie! Tuvyah says, "Go vote! Let me see that 'Yo Vote' sticker on your shirt! My Abba has one, and I'm proud of him!"
Look, I'm sorry for the feelings that were hurt by those who really believed that Clinton was the better choice. I'm sorry for those who wanted McCain to win (or at least beat Bush) in 2000 and to at least challenge Bush in 2004 (MYSELF INCLUDED!). But the man is not the same man who ran in those years, as evidenced by his pick of Palin as his running mate. He could have won the general election by a landslide if he had picked Lieberman, and he could have slowly overtaken Obama by picking Ridge or Romney. Ok, ok, Ridge or Jindall. Ok, ok, Ridge or Clinton. Ok, ok, well he would have at least had a chance if he had vetted Palin! Instead - it seems, though we won't really know until tonight - that by picking Palin he surged ahead and, ultimately, peaked too early.
Lady-Light, I think Palin will never be ready to BE president - at least not a good president. However, I do think she will be ready in 4 years to mount a serious challenge to Obama (or, G-d forbid, run as a popular semi-incumbent in 4 years should McCain win today and only serve one term). She may be a very competent manager - this is something she seems to have demonstrated, albeit with some hiccups, in Alaska. But there are some episodes in her past that demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of our constitutional structure. It isn't about black and white issues (ie, yes, the 2nd Amendment, according to the Supreme Court's ruling this year, prevents DC from maintaining its ban on semi-automatic weapons; yes, the issue of abortion may still be determined by future Supreme Court cases) - it's about the separation of powers; it's about the power of the states; it's about core fundamental issues that I just don't think she gets and, in all likelihood, she never will.
It's for that reason that I applaud Tanta Susie for making the decision she has made. We need a fundamental shift in policy to get the country working again, and we cannot afford to wait 4 years for the next opportunity.
Watch out for the Democratic Party trying to overreach with a mandate given to them with single-party rule. Be on top of them. Remain actively engaged. Call your Representative's office if you think they are going too far with their agenda on issues that matter to you. But for the moment, we cannot afford to have serious challenges from a bitter, spiteful, Republican minority, preventing the passage of IMPORTANT legislation.
Interesting post. I wasn't impressed by McCain's choice of Palin either.
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