The Politics of Politics

There is just so much going on in our world right now that I feel it is important to address a few of these. Below are my points-of-view regarding some of these hot topics:

Florida and Michigan delegates: Our very essence dictates that every eligible American has the right to vote and that vote must be counted. With this in mind, I have every confidence that the voters of Florida and Michigan will be able to vote in the November election. The fact is, however, that there is no such standard for a party's nomination. By breaking the rules, Florida and Michigan nullified their delegates. While important, they are by no means the same thing as the general election. Attempting to tie the two is a farce.

Political experience: Only one candidate of the three remaining has the "experience" so many have been discussing recently. John McCain is that candidate. Hillary Clinton is not. She has only marginally more experience than her Democratic rival. Yes, she was First Lady. And as the recently released records of her schedules show, there wasn't a whole lot of real experience there. My wife cannot do my job. Nor could I do hers. We know a great deal about each other's careers. That does not qualify us as experienced.

Does experience matter?: John F. Kennedy changed America. So did Theodore Roosevelt. Both great men were younger than Barack Obama when they took the office. Billion dollar companies are being run by GenXers. Am I missing something?

John McCain: John McCain is an American icon. He is a hero. His life defines bravery and service. More of us, myself included, should strive to live our lives like him. In addition, I love to read his work on courage. I place him in my list of top twenty living Americans. And there is not a chance I will vote for him in November. As terrific a human being I believe he is, his views are so vastly different from mine that I cannot in good conscience give him my support for president.

Iraq: Happy Fifth Anniversary! We've been involved in Iraq longer than we were in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and Korea. To be fair, the conquest part ended shortly after it began. We occupied Germany for four years following World War II. We occupied Japan for seven. But we were a heck of a lot farther along in the progress of nation rebuilding then compared with the debacle we're in now.

Recession: This one is a bad one. There is little doubt in my mind that we are in the beginning of a major recession. I believe that most economic downturns are just natural adjustments to the market -- a sort of reality check, if you will. And while it is true that we can find direct cause for each of them, my belief is that they are always inevitible. The current downturn, however, is particularly serious for a number of reasons. We've built up an enormous deficit in recent years while cutting taxes. Like our government, Americans have built up tremendous debt that they cannot pay. All this while the price of our lifeblood -- oil -- has gone through the roof.

Infidelity: Within seventeen hours of taking office, the new governor of New York admitted to having an affair. Why should we care? This is not the same thing as Spitzer. There is no law against cheating on your spouse. Why is this important? It's one thing if a person of authority abuses his or her power for sexual services, or if he or she breaks the law to do so. It's another thing entirely if he or she is unfaithful to his or her spouse. Simply put, it does not matter. It does not mean he or she cannot perform the duties required of the position. Enough. Leave personal lives alone.

Race and gender: Sure enough, the -isms have reared their ugly heads. This one is a racist, that one is a sexist. Voting for Obama means you don't want a woman in the White House. Voting for Clinton means you don't want a black man in the White House. While I am confident there are scores of people who are truly ignorant enough to believe race and/or sex to be factors as to whether or not these candidates can do the job, I am concerned that it's becoming a greater and greater issue. Either candidates' victory is history in the making. Still, I find it difficult to comprehend the notion, proclaimed recently, that racism is an easier obstacle to overcome than sexism. I don't buy the notion that being a white woman in America is a tougher road than being a black man. Nonetheless, it is long overdue that we have either in the White House.

Just not Hillary Clinton.

Friends of Hillary

As we continue to read and learn more how Hillary Clinton plans to steal the Democratic Party nomination -- and ultimately set back the only party available to progressive-minded people for another twenty years -- I'm reminded of all of the associations Mrs. Clinton has made over these years. Let's take a look at some of them, shall we?

Eliot Spitzer: The crimefighter-turned-criminal has shown once again how poorly Hillary judges character. This man had the audacity to go after others for doing the same thing. He ruined lives. Now he's ruined his own. The hypocritical former New York governor is just one of many friends of Hillary who are of questionable morality.

Geraldine Ferraro: Forget for a brief moment her dubious statements of late. Forget that as a vice presidential nominee, she had less experience than her good friend's opponent. Forget that she was selected because she was a woman (Gerald Ferraro would have never been on the ticket). How about how the House Ethics Committee after thatlection officially criticizing her mishandling of campaign finances. Yet she is working on -- you guessed it -- Hillary's campaign finances. And she is in the employ of Fox News Channel.

The McDougals: Hillary Clinton was at least as much a suspect in the Whitewater controversy as her husband. And while neither Clinton had been charged with anything, the McDougals were. As we have seen recently in the Bush Administration, not being charged with a crime is not freedom from guilt.

Vince Foster: After TraveGate -- the Clinton Administration controversy where it was discovered that Hillary Clinton had called for the firing of White House travel office employees so they could hire Clinton cronies in those positions -- Vince Foster was soon suffering from depression. Vince Foster joined the Clinton White House staff after the 1992 election. He committed suicide on July 20, 1993.

Craig Livingstone: As the White House Director of Personnel Security, Mr. Livingstone improperly requested -- and received -- between 400 and 900 files on individuals he had no clearance to see. The files included members of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. The charge was that the order came from the First Lady herself, though again she was miraculously exonerated from any wrongdoing.

Bill Clinton: The second president in our history to have been impeached, and arguably the most controversy-riddled administration not named Nixon, was none other than Hillary Clinton's husband. The great experience she claims she has had comes from an administration that had been bogged down by questionable preactices before they even settled in to the White House.

My father used to tell me this in high school, upon seeing that some of the people with whom I associated were of questionable character, that if someone hangs out with nine losers there are, in fact, ten losers.

Do we really wish to endure another Clinton administration?

Hillary Clinton Is Bad For America

Tuesday's primaries have solidified for me where I stand regarding the remaining candidates. I had stated earlier that I support Barack Obama. My decision is unwaivering. But what happens if he does not get the Democratic Party nomination? What then?

John McCain is a war hero. More than that, he is an American hero. He is someone I both respect and admire. He is someone who I can say to my son, "This is how to be." I cannot in good conscience vote for him, however. His political views are in stark contrast to mine. I believe that, while he is a true American hero, he is wrong on abortion, wrong on the economy and wrong on the war in Iraq. America will survive a McCain presidency, no doubt, but I think he will set the nation back because of his views.

That leaves Hillary Rodham Clinton. She and I share many of the same political views, sort of. She should be my alternate choice for president. Under no circumstances will I ever vote for her. Ever.

Why? Simple, really. Here are but a few reasons.

At three o'clock in the morning, while my child is sleeping, if the phone rings and it is a national crisis, I don't trust her to answer the phone. The polls that have been the deciding factor for both Clintons are not open at three in the morning. She will be unable to make a decision. She follows the prevailing wind. She is unable to stand against it. Her votes for Iraq have proven that.

She claims to have all of this previous experience, and is therefore better qualified. All she has done by saying this is weakened her own party should she not win. "Here, McCain. Here, Republicans. Don't bother to write up your arguments for the White House. I have done them for you. Heck, I've even said my party's other contestant is less qualified than the Republican candidate." She has damaged her won party in doing this (more on that in a bit).

But what of this so called experience? Her two biggest and most important moments were the healthcare reform she worked on and the decision to support Bush's invasion of Iraq. One was a complete failure -- a failure of hers and hers alone. The other was a terrible and thoughtless mistake. I won't question her intelligence -- she is plenty smart -- but I do question her wisdom. Other experiences of hers are mired in controversy -- let us not forget the scandal after scandal that rocked the previous Clinton White House. What makes us think it will be any different should the two Clintons switch roles?

Part of why I support Obama is that he is not part of the dirty old guard of Washington. He hasn't been tainted by dirty tricks. We cannot say the same about Clinton. Her swiftboating of Obama regarding this supposed NAFTA-gate is Bush-esque. It's exactly what America needs to get away from, not be forced to endure more of.

And worse, it was all a lie. Please read this from Talking Points Memo. She, not Obama, was the true culprit in NAFTA-gate.

Hillary Clinton is at her best when she plays the victim. She did it for eight years rather successfully during her husband's tenure. She has done so recently as well, whining that the media has been unfair to her (not to mention those voters who chose her opponent). Hillary Clinton is the perfect victim.

The problem is, our nation cannot move forward with a victim in the White House. We need leadership, not whining. She says, and rightly so, that she is a fighter. Those kinds of politicians are more effective in the legislative branch, in Congress and in the Senate. We don't need a fighter in the White House. We need someone to bring people together. Clinton simply cannot do that.

The tactics of her campaign have proven only one thing. Hillary Clinton will stop at nothing to get into the White House. She desires power and doesn't concern herself with who she tramples along the way. The problem with that is she is trampling on the Democratic Party, the only party with a chance of representing progressive views. Her success is a blow to progressives everywhere.

And, frankly, that is bad for America.

Why The Conservatives Want Hillary

It's not rocket science, people.

Over the last several weeks we have heard the voices of conservatism trump for none other than Hillary Clinton. Anti-progressive pundit Ann Coulter has said she'd vote for Hillary if John McCain won the Republican nomination -- which happened last night when McCain swept primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. Rush Limbaugh urged Republicans to vote for Clinton in the Democratic primaries. Others have also joined in the fray, claiming to support Clinton over the independent-minded McCain.

Could it really be? Is it possible the conservatives in America would rather switch sides than vote for an American war hero?

Of course not, don't be silly.

The reason conservatives want Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination is easy: she cannot win the election in November.

True, conservatives are probably not entirely thrilled with McCain's history of independence. I'm sure they would have preferred Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney representing the GOP. But, seriously, do you honestly believe they'd prefer Clinton?

The fact is conservatives, apparently unlike their liberal counterparts in the Democratic party, can see the writing on the wall. Barack Obama poses a serious threat to them. It is a debate they may not -- and probably cannot -- win. He'll garner more than enough of the independent vote and Republicans will find themselves without a White House, Senate and Congress come 2009.

But if Hillary Clinton wins the nomination...

I can almost see Coulter, Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the others licking their lips. It'd be almost too easy for them. Within minutes of her nomination, the assault on her will begin in earnest. Do you really believe the media has been difficult with her thus far? Just wait until the kitchen sink she just threw at the Obama campaign comes flying back at her -- and with far more zeal.

Nothing will be safe. And, frankly, there is way too much baggage there as it is. Face it, she is the wife of Bill Clinton, a virtual magnet of controversy. And she is far from squeaky clean herself.

It will be far too easy for Republicans to debate her on foreign policy. McCain hasn't wavered in his position on Iraq. Clinton will come across as the Democrats did through most of the Bush presidency -- as wishy-washy and indecisive. The same will hold true for domestic policy. And she isn't safe in the healthcare reform department either. Her failures when she had the chance is already out in the open, waiting for the conservatives to strike.

Of course, they want Hillary.

They want to win.