Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Super Tuesday Afterthoughts

Even though the Super Bowl was a good game, the contest that really interests me is the Presidential Primary Race. Instead of the football, though, our countries top politicians get to throw around platitudes and promises.

Anybody who knows me or has read this blog knows my disdain for Bush, Inc. - so voting for any of his band of lackeys on the GOP side who will continue his mindless policies is simply out of the question.

I've been thinking about who I was going to pick for the Dems in their Primary. My first choice would have been John Edwards, but then he left the race... I think Hillary & Obama are both articulate, competent people with alot of life experience and intelligence. Especially after the chaos-causing ignoramus we've been dealing w/ for the past 8 years, either of these candidates are like an oasis of sanity. If they both end up on the final ballot as Prez & VP, in either order, they will crush the Republican ticket.

At first, I was trying to rationalize all of the practical advantages to a Clinton presidency, despite the contempt for her created by right-wing ideologues. However, after watching Barack in the debates and giving speeches on CSPAN & the internet, I changed my mind completely. My individual vote doesn't make any real difference, so I decided not to try to calculate my vote like there was some grand strategy that would unfold as a result. I voted for who I liked the best & Obama ended up winning me over. I think having a woman President would be a great change for this country. The more I hear Obama, though, the more I am really inspired by his ideas & outlook. He's really got alot of momentum behind him in a short amout of time.

So, when I went into the booth, I pressed the lit button next to Barack Obama's name on the mysterious black box. Of course, because our voting system is a scandal in itself, I have no idea whether or not my vote was actually tallied. I could just assume that the little burst of electricity zipping through the circuits added up to some digital tally somewhere. Whatever.

If Hillary Clinton ends up winning the nomination, I'll be fine with that, too. I just think that along with her great advantages, her and ol' Bill also bring along an awful lot of baggage and disadvantages. Ultimately, if it boils down to it, I would prefer relative sanity under a Clinton than more unfettered insanity under a member of the Bush Cabal.

The majority of Dirty Jerseyans went with Clinton. After seeing both candidates giving their speeches Tuesday night, though, I was even more comfortable w/ my decision. Hillary might be a charismatic person, but it doesn't shine through as clearly as in Barack. Although the mantras of "Hope" & "Change" are starting to be mocked as overused generalities, they are still very powerful motivators. This is especially true when delivered with confidence and authenticity.

As much as I like looking at Scarlett Johansson singing over an Obama speech, his words speak fine for themselves:

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