An Obama thing

[bobquasit]

I really will go to bed in five minutes. But I wanted to note this:

I don't trust Obama. I think he's too willing to tell people whatever they want to hear. His campaign has done some sleazy things that I don't like. And I fear that if he were to get the Presidency, there's a good chance that he'd be another Jimmy Carter - as in President Carter, the hapless and ineffectual victim, not former President Carter, the near-saint.

But I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton would be our George W. Bush. I think that she will maintain Bush's secrecy, violations of civil liberties, and grotesquely swollen executive power.

I've said it before: I'll vote for Obama if he gets the nomination, but I won't vote for Hillary if she does. I won't be a party to the suicide of the Democratic Party and American democracy. I'll write in a protest vote instead.

I'd like to have more confidence in Obama. And that's why I was interested to see this quote from Bill Richardson:

"I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, 'So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?' But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, 'Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.' But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, 'Katrina. Katrina.' The question was on Katrina! So I said, 'On Katrina, my policy . . .' Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, 'Obama, that was good of you to do that.'"

Perhaps that was just a matter of calculation on Obama's part. But that seems like a stretch. It seems more likely that he simply had a decent impulse to help someone out. It's sad to say, but the thought that a candidate for the Presidency might have a decent impulse and follow through on it actually surprises me - and gives me a little hope.

And with that, I'm off to bed.

Comments

[autobeast.livejournal.com]

I feel that way about both Obama and Clinton: I wish Gravel stood a chance.

[autobeast.livejournal.com]

All that said, I could, like you, stomach a vote for Obama, but I would vote Socialist or Green if its Clinton (and secretly root for McCain, because, at least, he's sort of honest).

[ocean-state.livejournal.com]

And don't forget that James Dobson hates McCain!

"I am convinced Senator McCain is not a conservative, and in fact has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are," James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, said Tuesday in a statement to a conservative talk show host who read it on the air. He said he would not vote for McCain "as a matter of conscience," and described McCain as someone with a "legendary temper" who "often uses foul and obscene language."

See also Dobson Puts his Foot Down: He will not Vote for McCain. I just get all warm and fuzzy inside, reading that. :)

[stairflight.livejournal.com]

Not me. I am voting for Sen. Clinton. She is a true Democrat and walks the walk. Sen. Obama talks too much about reaching across the aisle to shake hands with Republicans and what an inspiration Reagan was to America. In states with open primaries, he was urging Republicans to become Democrats for a *Day* to vote for *him*. Apparently also he has become involved in the politics of Kenya, where there are violent conflicts, not as a diplomat, but taking sides!

I hope Clinton wins the presidency so we can go back to the old national nightmare of peace and prosperity.

[ocean-state.livejournal.com]

If that fucker Romney is the Republican nominee, I will be throwing away my vote -- more so than usual, since the Democrat nominee will carry Rhodielin anyway -- on the Libertarian candidate. Whoever the heck that is.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Well, the good news is that Romney seems to be doing pretty poorly tonight.

[klyfix.livejournal.com]

Well....

The net result is that the Republican who has the best chance of winning is the one who is going to get the nomination. For all the many flaws of John McCain, he's the only Republican of this election cycle's lot who wouldn't have been laughed off the campaign trail in the time before Reagan. Somehow the Republican voters (well, helped by a lot of independents in states where they can vote) have managed to choose their most electable candidate.

On the other hand, there are conservatives who flat out hate McCain and who probably won't vote for him. Well, 'cept for those who hate Hillary more if she gets the nomination.