THE CASE FOR OBAMA

Ok, let's all take a breather here and look at this a little objectively:

Hillary was the 'shoe-in' candidate last year, but she couldn't connect to the average American. I watched some debates where she was repeatedly referring to Bill's 'accomplishment's' in office. She was rightly criticized for that because that is coat-tailing and disingenous. It just didn't work at all to win over anyone but affirm Clinton loyalists. The country is in much worse shape than it was in 1992 and people are looking for drastic change now.

Obama touched a nerve with people. He was able to connect on many levels. His detailed plans on how to change the status quo are resonating. His hopeful, inspiring message is giving people what they have lost: hope. It's not a pipe dream at all. At a time when we are facing a foreign policy disaster, mortgage crisis, health care crisis, and an economy in trouble, the one thing that can really generate success in turning the disaster around that Bush created is hope! How are you going to get people to roll up their sleeves, pressure congress and support a president who wants to push through legislation without the support of the people?

It's very easy: look what Bush did. He was able to push through all sorts of policies because of massive support by his voters. It was so strong that even Dems caved (that deserves a different discussion). However, IF we get a Democrat as president, he/she will need huge popular support to get anything done. Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton is not only a polarizing figure, but also DESPISED by the republican base who will pressure their representatives to work against anything she proposes regardless of what it is.

That brings us to the GE. We all know that McCain doesn't have the enthusiastic support of republican voters, in fact it's clear their numbers in primaries have been down significantly. He can't energize them or motivate them, but if he runs against Clinton, she will be the one thing that will motivate them to come out to vote in huge numbers. The scenario is different if Obama is the dem nominee: most will just sit it out.

Bottom line: if the dems really want to WIN and get an opportunity by putting a president into office who will reverse the damage done by Bush, they need to nominate Obama. As bad as times are, the country cannot afford to go another 4 years of stalemate. People are dying in Iraq, in America, and are losing homes, jobs, etc. Politics is not about personalities, its about creating a society and world that reflects our values.

I can understand how people can be loyal to the Clintons and that's admirable. It's just that she's too polarizing and frankly, with her attacks on Obama recently, she has turned a lot of democrats and new democrat voters against her, which translates into no support of her if she was president. We simply cannot afford for that to happen.

We do need a democrat president, but we don't need one who simply can't get anything done because of a personality and history that only generates contempt and hate in the populace.