It now seems pretty likely that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee. If that's so, I guess I'll have to support him -- however grudgingly.
Obama seems to have many admirable qualities; he would certainly be an improvement over the current president. He'll be readily embraced by the rest of the world, especially after the eight-year-long, two-fingered salute delivered by Bush and company. So why am I so ambivalent?
In part it's his lack of experience relative to Hillary Clinton. To a small extent it's the Reverend Wright issue -- not so much what Wright has said as Obama's equivocation; we know what Wright believes, but what does Obama believe?
But mostly it's the way so many of Obama's supporters turned so viciously on Hillary Clinton, vilifying her to an extent that made her former right-wing Republican antagonists seem like lovebirds. These Obama supporters, full of blind zeal -- and who presumably at one point would have gladly supported Clinton as their nominee -- instead turned on her and painted her as a virtual anti-Christ.
And Barack Obama, with his high-minded ideals and his message of change, nevertheless tolerated this and benefited from it. At best, he remained silent while many of his supporters turned on the woman who wanted to lead their party to victory in November. At worst his campaign participated in painting a picture of Hillary Clinton that encouraged and stimulated this venomous outpouring against her.
Why should he not have? He undoubtedly stood to benefit; he is a politician and he is trying to win. But that's the point -- Barack Obama has proven to be a politician no different from any other. The ideals, the messages of hope and unity, were not borne out in practice. He sent his rhetoric soaring to the heavens, yet encouraged his supporters to get down and sling the mud. Given the success of his campaign compared with Clinton's, he is arguably a better politician than she.
If Barack Obama is no different than any other politician, I'd rather elect a politician with some experience. That would be Hillary Clinton. But it seems that this is not to be.
I'm angry at Barack Obama for playing this game. It's been cynical and disingenuous. But if Hillary Clinton might manage to look past it, and perhaps throw her support to Obama, I guess I might too.
Because after all, that's politics.
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