Seth: A few days ago, I voted for Barack Obama in the Texas Democratic primary, thanks to Randy who hand-carried my ballot across the Pacific.
I voted for Obama because his views are somewhat similar to mine and he has somehow managed to catapult himself into the foray of “electibility” without having kissed a lot of ass in Washington for eons. To me, being in Washington for decades translates to “owing favors to lots of people I don’t like”. Others call that “experience”.
I think a lot of people have the capacity to be a great president. A president has to hire thousands upon thousands of folks to be cabinet members, undersecretaries, ambassadors, trade envoys, etc. These folks are the ones who really run the country. The president just has to be smart enough to trust the right people and brave enough to lead the country in the right direction. So I am not a fan of voting for the most experienced candidate.
Obama seems to speak from his soul. Maybe that’s why people keep flocking to hear him speak. He’s an incredibly gifted orator who can convince cynical people to take a chance on him. As a president, that power of persuasion would be crucial, whether used with Congress, foreign leaders or the American public.
The only time I heard him is when he gave the keynote address at the 2004 DNC. I was floored. And from what I read on the internet about his rallies, I am not the only one.
Clinton, on the other hand, doesn’t seem so convincing. Plenty of people hate her. I’m not sure really why this hatred is so strong, but it doesn’t matter. A despised politician inherently lacks persuasive acumen, and that translates into having a harder time reaching compromises and getting things done.
Right now, our democracy sucks. Normal people feel disenfranchised, so they don’t vote, don’t pester their representatives, don’t form citizen’s committees and are generally not engaged in the political process. The gap is filled by people and corporations with vested interests in specific legislation. They concoct bullshit names for their faux-grassroots efforts like Americans For A Better Way. I just made that up, but it probably is a real group, and they probably advocate something I hate.
I haven’t drunk the Obama Kool-Aid as much as some of y’all. I have strong problems with his vocal support of ethanol, which I truly believe is a crime against humanity. But I will spot him one. If he can motivate unprecedented numbers of Americans to engage in our democracy, than all of us will benefit.
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And as long as I have your attention, vote to re-elect Lupe Valdez. Having a lesbian Latina sheriff of Dallas County for the last four years has helped me defray negative Texas stereotypes held by Texas-haters around the world. Well, mainly in California…
2 responses so far ↓
Atlatl // March 6, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Too bad he thinks Cuba should become more dependent on the US and abandon its policy of setting the “collective good” above the “small chance of personal wealth.”
And is playing the “blame Chavez for Colombia’s war crimes and support Uribe-the-fascist” game.
And has spoken in favor of military action against Pakistan and Iran.
And supports expansion of coal infrastructure.
And is an anti-black-power reactionary who is all about getting mainstream corporate acceptance.
And is a liar who says he wants to renegotiate NAFTA then admits to the Canadians that it’s all talk.
But hey, he’s not any more evil than Clinton or McCain. And his lack of experience means it’s a lot harder to point to specifically evil actions in his past. Fortunately, his public statements make his allegiance to corporate power and US imperialism very clear.
“Right now, our democracy sucks?” All democracy sucks. It’s a political system very cleverly designed to encourage people to abdicate their power to “elected representatives.”
Important questions (“how do we feel about fossil fuels?”) are never going to be on the ballot, and no politician will challenge the basic “death to the planet” direction of this society.
I don’t care who becomes president. What does alarm me is that if Obama wins, the majority of lefty types in the US will spend two years sitting on their asses waiting for change from Washington before realizing that Obama is just another Bill “Plan Colombia/Effective Death Penalty Act/Bomb Iraq and Kosovo” Clinton.
Seth // March 7, 2008 at 11:20 am
I hope you’re wrong.
I think Obama has the capacity to change people from ass-sitters to active participants. If Obama wins, it’ll be because normal people supported him. And if he doesn’t show himself to be an agent of change, the same people who put him in the White House will go after him.
If anyone could inspire “the majority of lefty types in the US” to take to the streets and take the government back, it is/was Bush. But even he couldn’t rouse people from much mass action beyond complaining to like-minded people, with the notable exception of the run-up to the Iraq War.
Having a president who lefty types disagree with strongly wasn’t enough to motivate them to sustain political action. Maybe having a president who is more reliant on the people will keep them more atuned to what’s really going on.