Obama for President

Barack'n the Mic, courtesy of barackobamadotcom on Flickr

I saw a sticker on a pick-up truck yesterday with the word Clinton on it. The "C" in Clinton was in the shape of a hammer and sickle, insinuating that Bill Clinton or Hilary or both are closet Soviets, which is just dumb. The Clintons have been the most conservative, business-friendly Democrats to come to power in the last 100 years.

Many republicans have held a vitriolic hatred for Bill Clinton and his presidency that I think is due, in part, to his encroachment on their territory. He's the man who reformed welfare and reduced Federal spending during his tenure.

I can't understand, however, why so many people hate Hillary Clinton. Is it because she bucked the narcotized, smiling First Lady persona so capably reinstated by Laura Bush? Was it the way Hilary tried to orchestrate health care reform in this country, or merely that she got involved at all?

I don't know. I've never been a Hillary hater. I think she would make a capable president. I just don't think she would be elected to the office if given the nomination.

Hillary's electability is not why I'm voting for Barack Obama in tomorrow's caucus. I'm voting for him because he's the first leader I've ever had the chance to vote for.

I started voting in 1988. I voted then for Michael Dukakis, a politician, who lost. In '92, I voted for Bill Clinton, a politician, who won. Over the years, I've voted for politicians for governor, mayor, and so on down to dog catcher. Not one of them, however, inspired me as a leader. I considered records, experience, and political philosophy when voting. I figured that inspiring figures -- people like JFK and FDR -- just didn't exist any more in these days of speech writers and campaign consultants.

And then, one night, I heard Obama speaking to an audience at the University of Washington, broadcast on the local NPR station. This was back in 2006, before he decided to run. I just heard the end of the speech, but listened as he took questions from the audience. The force of his intellect and compassion came ringing through in every spontaneous answer. He provided a stark contrast to our current microphone-shy dummy of a president.

I thought, "I want this man to be our next president."

Sure, Obama has no direct executive experience, but neither does Hilary, unless you give her credit for Bill's eight years in office (by that reasoning, I'd be an expert in animation). Also, intelligence and hope do not always combine for the best presidencies (case in point, Jimmy Carter). But I think Obama has a better chance to unite us as a country than Hillary Clinton or John McCain, for that matter.

I'll vote for him tomorrow. I hope to vote for him in November, too.