A Pilgrim’s Digression

Among family, I’ve made no secret of my support of Barack Obama for President, but today I am officially declaring myself a supporter. Depending on the outcome of the Iowa caucus tomorrow night, I may find myself disappointed in my hope that he takes the prize and the momentum. Today, however, I am hopeful that Democrats have finally found a successful challenger to the Clinton ancien régime.

My support rests not only on Obama as the “un-Clinton” candidate, however. I really like what I’ve heard from him. Specifically, his opposition to the invasion of Iraq is probably the single determining factor in what I like about him. I think it displayed prescience and maturity not to take the easy road of blind, patriotic support (or cold, political calculation) back in 2002, when politicians began lining up in support of President Bush’s war.

In terms of his position on other issues, or his lack of “experience,” I am not so concerned about those as I am about the man’s character, as displayed not only by his position on Iraq, but simply by the way he carries himself on the campaign trail and the way in which he deals with criticism. There is a nobility about him that reminds me a lot of John Kennedy.

Facing Tim Russert this past Sunday over criticism of his statement about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Obama seemed both calm and logical when other candidates might have resorted to wide grins and red herrings in order to not answer the question. In other situations, such as the debates, he has also handled himself with more grace than any of the other candidates. I have never once had the sense that he dodges questions, or worse, makes up an answer that he thinks is politically expedient.

Also, on the subject of his own electability in the face of Hillary Clinton’s over-hyped “experience,” Obama makes a lot of sense. It is sheer suicide for Democrats to choose someone like Hillary as the nominee, someone who starts off with nearly half of all likely voters saying they will never vote for her under any circumstances. She is simply too polarizing. Here’s a comparison for you Democrats to think about: given current divisions within the Republican party, what if Dick Cheney decided to run for President after all, and the media and the party elite anointed him as the nominee? Would that not be as suicidal as the Democrats nominating Hillary? She is not just disliked, she is hated by a significant segment of the population.

This is not the place to debate the validity of the charges against Hillary, but only to suggest that for most people there is nothing to debate. People have made up their minds about Hillary, one way or the other. Obama, however, has plenty of room to expand his support beyond Democrats.

To me, the election this year is about making a genuine break with the past eight years of what I would term a disastrous domination of policy by Republicans who have proven themselves utter incompetents and phonies. Hillary Clinton does not represent the kind of change we need, but rather a return to the past. The nineties may have been prosperous years for America, but there is little indication that the future is going to be similarly peaceful and prosperous. Has Hillary’s “experience” prepared her for the challenges ahead? I don’t think so. We need a fresh mind in the White House unadulterated (no pun intended) by eight years in the White House as a shadow adviser to Bill Clinton.

That said, if we witness an implosion of the Obama campaign tomorrow night, I am prepared to throw my support behind Edwards or whichever other non-Hillary candidate does well enough to move on to the first primary elections. I am fully aware that there is an almost Howard Dean-like bubble of excitement around Obama that could burst tomorrow night. I am not a believer in polls or in Internet presence as indicators of how an election or caucus is going to turn out.  How many times have pollsters been wrong in the past two Presidential election cycles?  They were certainly wrong about Howard Dean.  The key difference between Obama and Dean is in the candidates. One can hardly imagine Obama becoming shrill and angry in defeat.

My hope is that tomorrow we will instead witness the implosion of the Clinton campaign and the rise of something new and exciting in American politics: a politician of true character, whom we can all be proud of regardless of party.

Tomorrow, my intention is to write about the Republican candidates. Perhaps not surprisingly, there is one Republican candidate I would consider supporting, if Hillary Clinton is the Democrat nominee.