PurplePaganSarah’s Centrist World

Despite what the pundits say, the fight for the Democratic nomination is not a bad thing. Paul Begala, on CNN March 4th, already made the observation that the current discourse within the Democratic Party is less like a brawl and more like a debate, despite the ‘red phone ads’ and the occasional negativity that gets brought into the conversation. It’s not to say that Barack Obama would sleep through a crisis at 3am, but to say that Hillary has more instinctual knowledge of what needs to be done in a time of crisis with a much more developed sense of decisiveness.

Barack Obama inspired me so greatly with his speech at the DNC in my hometown of Boston in 2004 that I knew, even at that much earlier time, that it was a prelude to a presidential run. It’s not rocket science. This was a freshman Senator given a national stage on which to act as a medium for the spirit of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Of course there was a reason.

I still think he’s much too inexperienced and much too young for the Oval Office. So was Kennedy, but then, he’s not Kennedy. He doesn’t have Kennedy’s resources or familial political background. Say what you will, but I’m actually comforted by the idea of having the experience of the Clintons back in the White House, and I wholeheartedly believe that it will be Hillary’s show for the future, not a re-run of the Bill Clinton show of the past.

Regardless of what we Dems do in the coming months, the party will fall in line with the eventual nominee because the alternative is more than likely at least 4 more years of the Bush agenda. I also agree with Paul Begala’s assessment that McCain’s endorsement from Bush coming so early is a boon for him in that he can increase his fundraising base for the time being, only to be allowed more time to distance himself from the administration as we draw closer to November. That’s a smart guy that Paul Begala, even if I’m more of a James Carville fan myself. ‘Cajun style!’

As a moderate, I have to admit that I once admired John McCain for bucking the system. His apparent strategy in his current campaign is to remind us that he USED to do that quite often, which is fine for a Republican primary that didn’t see too much of George W. Bush.

Unfortunately for him, there are many independent voters out there who will see past his ‘image’ and understand that his past conflicts with his own party were most likely staged so that he could set himself apart for the general election. Republicans didn’t vote for him because they think he’s a maverick. They did so because if he can maintain the ‘image’ that he is, he greatly increases his electability in November.

Personally, had I voted in the Republican primary, I would have voted for Mitt Romney. Sure, he’s changed positions too, but from my standpoint, he seems to have done so only once whereas John McCain seems to think he’s all things to all people at all times and that simply isn’t true.

If they can label John Kerry a flip-flopper, and I still don’t think he is to this day, then John McCain runs the whole damn factory, churning out pairs of the comfortable summer footwear at a pace of thousands per hour. Seriously, what the hell does he really stand for? The only way to find out is to elect him… I’ll pass on a social experiment in a time of (undeclared) war and recession, thank you very much!

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