DAY TWO: What Are Democrats Thinking??

Hillary is Phenomenal

I will vote for Barack Obama. I will vote for Barack Obama because I believe that this country and the world will be far, far, far better off with a Democrat in the White House. I will vote for Barack Obama because Hillary Clinton insists that I do. She said so last night in no uncertain terms. With conviction. And I will do my best to heed her call.


But listening to Clinton last night also made me feel uneasy. It made me sad. Very sad. Sure, I am sad that we won't have the first woman president yet. And sure I am disappointed that my candidate lost. But it also made me sad because I believe that Democrats have taken a huge risk by nominating Barack Obama over Hillary. I believe that John McCain has an excellent chance of winning.


In this year, where everything is going right for Democrats, what is the Party thinking??! What is the complicit media thinking? Sure Barack Obama is exciting, but these are uncertain and difficult times. Our security, including eocnomic, is at stake. Some say that our democracy is at stake with Bush in the White House and that with McCain it will be in an equally precarious situation. Giving good speeches isn't enough - I am sure Obama has more to offer than just good speeches, but his other skills are not yet refined. I am worried he will lose to McCain. Clinton would have cleaned McCain's clock and we would have had a Democrat in the White House. Short of being the presidential candidate, choosing Hillary would have been genius. Together they would have been indestructible. I cannot fathom why he picked Joe Biden over Hillary Clinton. I am very scared - I am afraid we will lose.


Again.


Look, John Kerry would have made an excellent president. He is a fabulous senator. And a very nice man, but he wasn't the right choice back in 2004 because he was not going to win. He did not have the ability to campaign on par with George Bush. It was clear from the beginning, but the Democratic Party decided to back him anyway. I didn't understand that and I don't understand this.


I've been a Democrat my whole life and when the Clintons came into office, they began to fix all the things I thought were wrong with the old Democratic Party. They modernized, and brilliantly. After leaving office, however, the old Democrats and their ways took power again (well, what little they had) and nothing has gone right since. I'm talking strategy and policy. I mean . . . Democrats talking about drilling more oil in MORE U.S. locations. Uh - what?!

Hillary told us last night, there is a reason many people supported her. We must remind ourselves of those reasons, and vote for Obama.


The problem is - this argument infers that those who supported Hillary, supported her because of her policies. But policy is only part of the reason to vote for Hillary. The other reason is that she is immensely capable. She is the smartest person in the room, always, she has excellent judgement, she understands and has experience in military and international politics, and she is sharp, quick, an excellent interview and a great debater.


What worries me is that last night's speech was great for the true blue Democratic Hillary supporters, but what about all those independents and even Republicans? They will go to McCain because they liked Hillary because she made them feel safe. She made them feel that they and America would be protected. And no message Hillary delivers will make those folks feel that about Obama. They will vote for McCain.