http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021902336.html

The Obama Delusion by Robert J. Samuelson. It’s really reminiscent of your work, with a little Washington Post push with it. ;)

Completely agree with your article. But what the Samuelson article touched on that I think is also relevant is wondering what change will Obama really enact. He talks big and eloquent, but where’s his practicality and his experience? What makes him different from Hillary other than he is pushing far more platforms that are improbable? How can platforms for “change” be meaningful if they’re the same as what Hillary is putting out and, in reality, just maintaining the status quo, such as in social security? He says he’s different, but he’s not. He just lies more convincingly.

My favorite quote from the Samuelson article:

“By Obama’s own moral standards, Obama fails. Americans ‘are tired of hearing promises made and 10-point plans proposed in the heat of a campaign only to have nothing change,’ he recently said. Shortly thereafter he outlined an economic plan of at least 12 points[[.]”

I am ambivalent about Hillary, but I do find it ridiculous how so many people hate her for little to no reason (if you have reasons to back it up, you’re cool, but hating her just because is far more commonplace, from what I’ve heard).

Bravo for writing this article. It needed to be said.

On your comments, I agree. I hate Hillary-bashing as much as anyone. It’s baseless, often times sexist, and represents the most idiotic kind of group-think. However, in my view, most of that is coming from the Republicans (I saw a piece on the news the other night about how much money Republicans are making selling anti-Hillary ware, tshirts, mugs, etc.). I can’t say that no Obama supporter is guilty of bashing Senator Clinton, but I will say that these occasions are not as frequent as many Hillary supporters would have everyone believe. In my experience (and I have been around a lot of Obama supporters, volunteering, in discussions, etc.), they are very positive people with a bright vision for America’s future and a fairly progressive agenda. Hate doesn’t come up much.

Overall, I would have to agree the words of Deval Patrick (governor of Massachusetts) and now Barack Obama when he (they) asked “Just words?” Underestimating the power and importance of language to inspire and move the country would be the real mistake. Hope is not trite. Change is not cliche. As you said, Obama has the policy to back those words up. And after 8 years of disasterous foreign policy, hope for change is all we have left.

Carter and JFK were the same way. Did either of them fundamentally change the country? (I know JFK was assassinated, but if he hadn’t been he probably wouldn’t have changed the country either.)

Clinton is the right candidate.

The way I see it, there are two big differences that separate Hillary supporters from Obama supporters. The first is the role of policy. Hillary supporters generally seem to think that we should only focus on the policy issues rather than issues of character, which I find to be understandable, but ultimately flawed. You said yourself, the two candidates have nearly identical policy records, so we must judge them on some other aspect. Which brings me to the second differentiation.

Hillary supporters tend to be pessimists/realists. Truth be told though, I don’t want a realist for president. I think your cynical attitude that “homophobes are homophobic” and that’s the way things have to stay is exactly what’s wrong with America. I understand that the Senate is never going to link arms and sing “Kumbaya,” but things can be a hell of a lot better than they are now. I won’t resign myself to believing that our political system can get no better than it is now. Rather than voting, Republicans congressmen stood up and walked out of the House last week. You’re right that both sides will never see eye-to-eye on every issue, and I wouldn’t want them to, but I do believe that enough positive change can be made to at least get them to start looking at each other.

I don’t want somebody who just accepts a broken system, who says “this is the way things are, and I’ll just have to work with it.” I want somebody who believes that things not only can be better, but need to be better. Judging by the response we’ve been seeing for a first-term black senator with a “funny name,” I don’t think I’m alone. I don’t think anybody realistically believes that Obama is going to walk into the White House and things will magically get better. He won’t change Washington single-handily as the savior of our political system. However, I do believe that he can take a step in the right direction, which is something I’m willing to support.

And, no, I don’t believe Hillary would make that step. Sure, I love her policies, like you said, they’re basically the same as Barack’s. The difference is in the approach. The Clinton name is one of the most divisive in politics. Even if Obama couldn’t unite the country like he says he can (and I do think he’ll do a pretty go job at it), Hillary would be a continuation for the bitterly partisan politics of the past 8 years. This doesn’t work. This isn’t how progress is created. Sure, she might pass the bills and policy changes that she supports, but is that really progress? What’s going to happen if a Democrat wins this November? Iraq War? Over. No Child Left Behind? Gone. Patriot Act? Severely modified. Habeas Corpus? Back. Tax cuts for the wealthy? Gone. Most of the “progress” made over the past 8 years will be taken away. So after 8 years of Hillary pushing the country to the far left, what do you think we happen? A Republican will probably get nominated, he’ll wipe out Hillary’s policy, and no progress will be made again.

So, I don’t believe Hillary’s “Democrat no matter what/fuck Republicans” attitude is going to get us the progress we need. Obama may have the same policies, but he also realizes that it takes both parties to create lasting change.

Finally, I can see why Dems would prefer McCain over Hillary. He does seem more honest and less politically calculating than Hillary (although, he probably is just as calculating). However, I think many people think that if we vote Hillary, we’ll have 8 years of a President we don’t like, followed by 8 years of a Republican president we don’t like. If we vote for McCain, we’ll have another shot to get Obama (or someone else we like) in 4 years because McCain will be old, and most likely unpopular.

Personally, I’d vote for her simply because I don’t want McCain making Supreme Court justice nominations, but I can understand why people are wary of a potential 28 years of Bushs and Clintons in the White House.

All I really wanted to say is that I don’t find your representation of Obama supporters as naive cattle that blindly following pretty words without reason to be accurate. As I’ve stated, I think there are plenty of legitimate reasons to not like Hillary Clinton, even if you like her policies. Maybe some of the people you talk to can’t give you the same answers when you put them on the spot and ask, but I’d be surprised if the didn’t feel similarly.

P.S. I think Hillary would get beat by McCain in the general election, but that’s another topic entirely.