Political Musings

Alllll right folks. After a good sound dinner, some undivided time with my Newsweek, and a blessed end to a difficult midterms week, I am impassioned and ready to go. And I actually do have a lot to say. I'd been so proud of myself back in January when I was this lively and engaged political creature, well read on the latest electoral challenges for the candidates and determined to take an active part in this election cycle. I felt as though I was taking my place inside that miracle of the American democratic process. I lulled myself to sleep with grand visions of attending rallies, organizing voting drives, and basically living an early episode of The West Wing. Then I was hit with inertia. And loads of work. And midterms. The last of which, however, should deeply gratify my professors, so at least a couple people will be happy about it.

I think my fervor for Obama waned a little though February as well. Ever the cynic and the rebel, I found myself starting to rethink his qualifications just as everyone else became sure that he would pick up enough Feb/Mar wins to sail right into the nomination. All the talk of experience and the looming economic recession made me think that the choice between the two couldn't possibly be as cut and dry as it had seemed to me before; there were just too many problems facing the country for the decision to be that easy. But now that I have finally had a little time to slip back into the world of political chaos, I am once again consoled by the conclusion that it can be that easy. When it comes right down to brass tax, I find that I am perfectly content to place my vote on some belief of integrity of character, sense of optimism, and drive to look for the best options even with it means changing a whole lot about the present system.

For all that talk about experience, it struck me forcefully today that Hillary Clinton cannot claim that much more experience than her opponent. Her use of her days as First Lady come like a double edged sword -- if she claims them as examples of deeper experience than she must also claim the mistakes and inconsistencies that go along with them. The scandal over the 11th hour pardons, NAFTA, the shade of secrecy and duplicity left by the Lewinsky mess -- all of it. But the fact remains that she didn't answer any of those 3 a.m. phone calls herself. It was her husband's place, however much he may have sought her guidance. If the call for experience is going to be made, it needs to be experience that has prepared one of the for the top spot, not some kind of domestic attache to the top spot. The presidency of the United States has to be quite unlike any other job on earth, or at least that's what Clinton would like us to believe. This isn't some part-time gig flipping burgers.

And when it comes down to it, I think the tasks and realities of being president are quite beyond what anyone can realistically prepare for. When that point is taken away from her, all my previous concerns about Clinton come back to glare into the harsh light. I don't think I can ever say that I would trust her absolutely. She's got the Washington game down too well; she's been around the Clinton administration of '92-'99 so long, in fact, that she could not help to pick up some of its slickness, its oiliness. I do not dispute her intelligence, or even her qualifications to run for the nomination. But when she stands next to Barack Obama, each of them with policies so like the other, I cannot help but to place my bet with the optimist and the one who has demonstrated that he is willing to go against the political grain when it means standing by his convictions. He was in the midst of a tight IL Senate race when he chose to oppose the war in Iraq, staking not only a possible future reelection, but his very election itself on the fact that he saw the war as illegal and ill-advised policy. Unfortunately for Clinton, she has had enough experience in Washington to show us all that she will be swayed by popular opinion and re-electoral math. And I come back, too, to Obama's foreign policy beliefs, which are well documented in his books and the speeches he's given at various events and commencements. For me, those positions show far more sound political instinct and judgment than any amount of experience can bring. Because the truth is the experience game is hard to play -- it's impossible to get any more of it without someone giving you the opportunity to get some in the first place. And we don't really know how either candidate will act or deal with a job when they actually land what has to be one of the most intricate on the planet. So we are left to look at their history, their character, and the policies they've espoused. Policy-wise, Clinton and Obama are similar enough for the differences not to matter in any material way. And when it comes to character, I think Obama is the clear winner. I think he's far more willing to look at things that are happening, see that the system is clearly not working, and then irregardless of political precedence or past experience, begin to look for entirely new solutions. That's what we need ...

So congrats, Barack Obama. Now that I'm finally paying attention again, you've won back my vote. Now I hope you can do the same in Pennsylvania.
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P.S. It's occurred to me that I may want to reconsider the title of this blog. People seeing "whatever comes to mind comes to blog" might assume that I blog whatever comes to mind at all times, thus leading them to the unfortunate conclusion that not much goes on in my mind. Not the kind of idea I want to promote, least of all in my own writing ...