Given my demographic, my location, and that I'm even writing in a blog, it's probably no surprise that I sent my mail-in last week with the little line filled in for one Mr. Barack Obama. Strongly so -- never has a mark been filled in as darkly or more completely and clearly!
As glad as I am that we're one of the headliners for Super Tuesday, looking at the polls now I can't help but wish that we had just a little while longer for people here in Cali to size things up and realize just how badly we could screw it up by throwing our many, many delegates behind the esteemed opponent. Of some solace is the proportional delegating system, so any momentum gained in recent days should be realized in the actual delegate count.
But still, I really want to shake people sometimes. There's so little substantive difference between what drives the policies of either candidate that electability becomes a perfectly reasonable thing to consider. And as such, you have to wonder how any Democrat old enough to have a fond memory (as I do) of the Clinton administration could forget just how much the GOP loathes the Clinton brand, particularly how well it endured all their attacks during that era. A rematch-by-proxy with the less popular half of the duo has been a wet dream openly expressed by most conservative pundits in the 24-hour news cycle. (As I said before, I'm watching *a lot* of this -- I can say that confidently.) With a base demoralized by the current presidency and a lethargic candidate pool, revenge could be just the motivation they need to bring out their vote.
Beyond the real enthusiasm that many in the Democratic party feel for Obama's message, one can't help but sense a tinge of exasperation in the flood of endorsements from the party leadership and interest groups this week. It's as if they can barely restrain themselves from screaming at the base, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??? DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE IN FOR IF WE SEND HER UP AGAINST MCCAIN???" Seriously.
I'd actually love to see her run again and win it, but now just doesn't seem to be the right time. With Obama we have a real opportunity to change the tone of politics in the nation and produce an environment in the future that may allow her to run without as much of the baggage of her hubby's admin. As Jon Stewart himself said, an Obama-McCain race would be "such a tonic for this country."
And if you think that's just a parroting of the Obama talking points, here's one thing to ask yourself: Do you think Thursday's CNN debate, by all counts the most substantive, civilized, and even fun presidential debate in the last several election cycles, would have even been possible if it wasn't for Obama and his commitment to taking the high ground through all of the abuse he took from his opponents? Imagine if we could sustain this through the General Election.
UPDATE: I guess it's a statement on just how fricking nuts this election is -- a Zogby poll released minutes ago shows him leading in CA 45%-41%. But, of course we know how good polls are this year...
