Let's talk politics!

I'm a political junkie - always have been, always will be. I am one of those people who will stay up all night as they count the election returns, and will not go to sleep until after I've seen who has control of the Senate and House, who won the presidency, which party has the majority of governorships, and who won all the hotly contested elections. Then, I'll usually stay awake an additional few hours to watch the political commentary on the results on each of the major news channels . . . MSNBC, CNN, and sometimes even Fox.

In general, I believe it is a bad idea to talk politics in casual settings. I have been quite careful to keep politics off of this blog, and not start a massive debate about politics. I believe everyone has a right to their perspectives and opinions, and I respect intelligence from every person, even when I fundamentally disagree with their perspective.

In the wake of the momentous announcements of the last 24 hours, however, I feel moved to speak out and express my opinions. I should start by saying that I'm not only a political junkie, I'm a fairly die-hard liberal - an unabashed card-carrying member of the Democratic party. I am an independent thinker, and do not always believe in the Democratic party line on every issue, but I believe firmly in looking at core party principles, and would rather trust tough decision making to leaders who respect and honor the same principles to which I subscribe. As a result, even when I do not love the candidates, I often will look to the broader ideals and how I feel they would decide on issues that are critical to me (disability issues, women's rights, education, family, gay rights, personal freedom, etc.). I have been extremely disappointed by many of the frankly un-American and anti-Constitutional unilateral actions taken by the Administration (and our Supreme Court) over the past eight years, and I am certain these actions reflect the vast differences in core values between our two parties. While many Republicans align more politically with Democratic principles, and vice versa, I do believe party politics are critical in any US election.

The reason I am ranting about core values is I believe this election is about core values. I am not an Obama fan. I try and try, but I just cannot get on the Obama bandwagon. While I am thrilled to see the day that America nominated a black man for President, Obama is not a candidate who impresses me with his wealth of knowledge and experience. I think he is intelligent, I think he is a brilliant speaker most of the time, and I think he believes in the key Democratic values that are important to me. I am also saddened that this was not the election when America, one of the last industrialized countries who has yet to have a woman in the highest office, would finally shatter the glass ceiling and choose a competent, experienced woman with the qualifications to do the job.

As you can tell, I was a Hillary supporter. I did not start out behind Hillary - I frankly thought she would be un-electable. I thought that after years of press vilification, Hillary would never be able to restore her image. Initially, I thought perhaps Edwards would be my candidate. He spoke to the issues, and I liked what he had to say (ironic, since I had such a strong dislike for him 4 years before). But each time I watched and listened to Hillary, I became inspired. I was awed by her intelligence, her ability to persevere in the face of the attacks, her knowledge and understanding of both the problems and the system, and her technique for transforming into a credible and likable candidate in the wake of everything she had endured. Somewhere along the way, I became a believer. In my book, charisma (and even intelligence) alone is not enough. President Carter was largely ineffective because he lacked the political savvy to work the system. My experience with our system has taught me that the ONLY way to effect change in Washington is to use the system and make it work, not disregard it and believe you can supersede the system. The system is Washington is entrenched - it can be worked, it can be manipulated, it can be reformed and improved - but it cannot be bypassed. Anyone who does not understand the system well enough to manage it with its failures cannot comprehend how to fix the parts that broken. Hillary learned this the hard way as First Lady, when she tried to reform our health care system. She did not work the system with the expertise she now possesses, and the system defeated her. I am worried that we do not have time for Obama to learn that same lesson "on the job."

After last night's historic event, and John McCain's congratulatory ad to Obama, I knew he had a trick up his sleeve. I believe that John McCain has brilliant political strategists working for him, and if Obama is smart, he should try and steal them! What a way to steal thunder from an historic event - announcing a female Vice Presidential candidate who is pretty, intelligent, young, known as a maverick reformer, and just plain likable. Don't misunderstand me - I do not agree with Sarah Palin's political views, and for a die-hard politico like me, simply placing a woman on the ticket will not be enough to win my vote. But McCain's strategists, on some level, effectively made this a race between the first black President, and the first woman Vice President. For many women, McCain and Palin reflect a fairly moderate, independent-minded political perspective. They are progressive, they are strong on education and disabilities, and they are respectful of individual rights. BUT, they do hold traditional Republican party views on abortion, the death penalty, and the war. For many people (and women) in the US, this is not a problem. There are feminists throughout this country taking a 2nd look at McCain/Palin, and I think he will win a significant number of those votes. McCain, the man no one thought could possibly win, is running a brilliant campaign - proving once again that political savvy trumps charisma any day.

As for me - I have already said that I'm not an Obama-girl. But, I will be voting for the Obama-Biden ticket on election day. Why?? Core principles. I am scared that George Orwell's 1984 has finally come true after the past 8 years. Our individual rights are being eroded, our country and our economy is suffering, and I'm not sure I believe that America is truly a "super-power" anymore. I am scared by the current Supreme Court, and I believe that a Democrat in the White House, and Democratic control of Congress, will give us the opportunity to reverse some of these terrible things that have happened during the past 8 years. Perhaps we can have new judges appointed who can act as a proper check on governmental abuse. Perhaps we can restore the strength of the dollar, and put an end to deficits and improve our environment. Whoever takes control, there is a huge mess that needs to be cleaned up. Some of the issues will be handled the same, regardless of who takes power. I think McCain will not start new wars unilaterally the way Bush did, and I think his plans to stay in Iraq forever will be curbed by Congress. I think Obama will have to take longer to exit Iraq than he would like, and I think he may have to take military action at some point even if he would prefer not to do so. I think both will address the environmental issues we are facing - we have to do that - but I believe it is a core value of the Democratic party, and it will be addressed with greater immediacy and more aggressively with Obama in office.

So . . . I am an advocate for Democratic principles and rights, and as a result, I will punch my ballot for the party nominee . . . even though I do not believe he is the best choice for this election or the job right now. I am actually scared Obama will lose another "un-loseable" election, and I do fear that many will live with the regret of the "right man, wrong time." I also think Obama made a tactical error by not putting Hillary on the ticket, despite their personal differences. Obviously, I would have voted for a Clinton/Obama ticket with no remorse, and would have believed that in 8 years we would see a President Obama. I would have voted for a Obama/Clinton ticket with greater confidence and belief that Obama could reach the Clinton faithfuls and could have waited for another 8 years to watch Hillary's trajectory into the Presidency. To me, Biden was a strange choice - he is a great guy, with solid principles, and he is quite appealing. At least he knows how to work the system, and he will appeal to the "common folk" out there. But his gaffes will likely hurt more than they will help, and a Hillary-free ticket created an environment for McCain to pick up an advantage by naming a woman as a Vice Presidential candidate. I'm just not sure that Biden on the Obama ticket adds as much as Palin on the McCain ticket. I suppose only time will tell.

I'll be obsessively watching the election over the coming months, and I just hope my read on the pulse of the nation is wrong. While I am throwing my support to Obama and hope to see the Democrats in charge of the White House again, my instinct is that political savvy will win out, and McCain may just triumph over these insurmountable odds. And all I'll think will be "I knew it - I can't believe this happened AGAIN." I will end by saying, this is one of the few times in my life I'd LOVE to be wrong.