Response { Why I don't support Hillary
I don't think Hillary is sitting around grappling with her vote decision. I do think that the cartoon suffers from an artist's laziness. But of course political cartoons are all about caricature - Hillary = poll watcher, Bush = dumb/ignorant, Gore = boring, Obama = Jesus. I did some background reading and found her statements about her vote in Iraq. Basically it boils down to, the intelligence provided by the administration (which we now know to be cherry picked) indicated immediate action was necessary. The Iraq war resolution, because of alleged WMDs, did give Bush the authority to use military force but with the understanding that he was going to do it to uphold UN sanctions. And, during a time which the country (Congress included) turned to its president for honorable leadership, Bush showed his true colors as an a-hole (not waiting for the UN inspectors to finish) and basically did what he wanted. Hillary is now defending her vote pretty consistently. If anything, I think her resoluteness on this issue goes against the popular idea of her as a poll chaser. The decision to go to war is complicated so is the explanation, and I think that's what is tripping Hillary. Saying I'm sorry simply ignores that life is full of nuance and comes off as placating if not a bit pandering. I'd also like to point out one more quote from the NYT,
Though Mr. Obama is framing his candidacy to appeal to Democrats who have long opposed the war, until recently he was not among his party’s most outspoken voices against it. He campaigned strongly against the war in his bid for the Senate in 2004, but when he arrived in Washington he waited 11 months to deliver a major speech on Iraq.
Obama is fortunate because he wasn't around in the senate for the vote. He does appear pure, but if that is the criteria for support then I think one should support people like Dennis Kucinich who was brave enough to vote against the Iraq War Resolution. I am cynical enough to say beware of those whose true colors are yet to be revealed.
Some disclosure, I don't really like Hillary or Obama. I also will admit, again, in the general election I will vote for whomever the Democrats tart up for the general election. As of now, I don't really care about the primaries, though Kucinich may be liberal enough to get me motivated. Wait, check that, his thoughts on abortion and gay marriage are liberal enough to make me read more... will report later...
A content appropriate video...
5 comments:
For me, the question is also "Can a woman be elected president without being a strong hawk?" I know it is belittling the complexity of political motivations, but can the American people get past the assumption that a peace-loving woman candidate isn't just going to get us all killed by weakness? Despite the fact that a more nuanced worldview might be an asset, or even safer, I suspect that a male candidate who appears on the side of peace first and war at last resort would get a pass, where I'm not so sure any woman candidate would get such a pass. A double standard for sure but likely the way the electorate thinks.
I guess what I'm saying is that the American voter reacts emotionally more than thinks, and that is not a good thing.
Also, if the Democrats run Hillary, who I admit is quite strong, it will be a disaster. She has so much baggage that Americans will crawl across broken glass to elect her, no matter how much money she'll throw at the election.
I don't look at candidates in terms of race or gender. But I agree her baggage is great. But so far everyone stepping forward on the Republican side have as much if not more baggage.
I hate having all this baggage.
I'm also such a nerd...the band seems to be riding in a Clan Omni-mech, Nova class, that doesn't have arms...
shout out to all Battletech nerds!
I should say that was crawl across broken glass to vote against her...
Baggage = experience
Granted, experience as a politician doesn't mean you have learned anything. But I struggle to think of a politician who has served the public for many years and does not have baggage. With Obama and Al Franken, I have a problem with their lack of experience. While our politicians are much derided and often suggested monkeys could do a better job, I think for most people to do their job, any job well, experience is necessary. Look at Brownie and Katrina. Or John Bolton and the UN - they ran diplomatic circles around him - not just because he's an idiot but also because he had no idea how such things worked.
I'm not supporting Hillary before she's the nominee (still TBD), I'm more pointing out my unease with people who politically appear out of no where.
It's also a sad commentary on the state of our government when a person with very modest political experience has moved millions of Americans into supporting his bid for the presidency.
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