Sunday, February 03, 2008

Do I flip a coin?

I am in such a quandary over the upcoming primary, I don't know what to do. Just when I think I've "decided," some new piece of information comes up, and I'm back in voting limbo yet again.

Could I vote for "Hirack Clinbama," possibly?

My latest preference was for Hillary. GWB has left the country in such disrepair, I thought it was imperative that the next president be able to act, and act quickly, to fix our country. There's just so much "cleaning up" to do, and the Clintons have years of experience cleaning up after Republican-made messes. Barack, on the other hand, has no such experience, and I feared that charisma or no charisma, movement or no movement, he would soon find himself up against some very unpleasant characters in Washington who were immune to his charms, to put it mildly. What then? What happens when your major claim to fame doesn't play in the trenches? And you don't have the option of voting "present"?

Well, that held me for a while. Then I read the endorsements of MoveOn.org, someone in The Nation, and beyond. And one of our neighbors, who, forgive me, I would have pegged as McCain devotees, put a Obama sign up in their yard just this week. In fact, we've seen countless Obama signs in our neighborhood and one Edwards--but none, not one, for Hillary.

And we had dinner with friends last night who derided Clinton as a part of the machine. Which, compared to Obama, she certainly is.

But I don't think she's as much of a "tool" as her husband was; but then, I could be wrong. And Obama certainly offers hope to a lot of people, which is not something one hears about Hillary (except from middle-aged and older women, I should add, but our dreams should not be the basis of such a major decision).

I dunno. If I could only grasp the Obama charm, that might help. But I don't. But then, I don't really look for charm in my candidates. I voted for the "old" Al Gore and John Kerry, for pity's sake.

Ah, heck. Whatever happens, I'll be voting for the Democratic candidate come November. And whoever it is, I hope the quanitifiable, verifiable and Electoral College-agreeable majority of voting Americans follows suit.

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