The Cleveland Plain Dealer has endorsed Obama for the Democratic Party's Nomination.
Learn more here.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Ohio's Largest Newspaper Endorses Barack Obama
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has endorsed Obama for the Democratic Party's Nomination.
Learn more here.
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Why I Support Hillary Clinton
After eight years of George W. Bush, all Democrats—and most of the American people—agree that we need change.
We agree that we need a President who will put people before the oil, drug, and health insurance companies, who regards Social Security and Medicare as an achievement rather than as a failure waiting to be privatized, who supports and values public education, who will not ignore the science on climate change, who stands with unions rather than CEOs, who respects the Constitution, civil liberties, and the rule of law, and who will not thrust the United States into imprudent and unnecessary wars. We also agree that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama promise to be the President we need.
The problem is that we can’t get the President we need without winning the general election, and while there is growing support for replacing George W. Bush with a Democrat, John McCain and the Republican Party will not go down without a fight.
John McCain is a war hero who has earned a reputation as an independent thinker. He is a reformer who has challenged his own party on campaign finance and tax cuts, and whether you agree with him or not, he has bona fide foreign policy experience. We might not want to admit it, but John McCain holds tremendous appeal to Reagan Democrats. To beat him, we need a candidate that can’t easily be painted as a “liberal” or a “pushover.” To beat him, we need Hillary Clinton.
Look, we know the Republican playbook. We know that they will use fear to win votes. We know that they will try to paint the Democratic candidate as soft on terrorism, invoke the attacks of September 11, and might even conjure up an “Orange Alert.” We know that they will try to paint the Democratic candidate as an arrogant elitist—out of touch with mainstream Americans. We know that they will spend millions investigating every second of the Democratic candidate’s life, and that they will use the full force of the Fox News/Drudge/Talk Radio axis to attack his or her character. It’s happened before—and sadly, it’s worked.
We also know Hillary Clinton. More importantly, America knows Hillary Clinton. There is nothing new for Limbaugh, Hannity, or Ingrahm to exploit. Hillary is Hillary. Yes, she brings back memories of the Clinton years. But were those really so bad? Wasn’t your wallet better off? Wasn’t America more respected in the world community? More importantly, do you remember how most people reacted to impeachment and the endless Republican investigations? The country rejected Ken Starr and his overreaching. The Clintons beat Newt Gingrich, remember? It is true that when you remind people of the Clinton years you remind them of scandal, but you also remind them of economic prosperity and the Republican propensity to go to too far.
Hillary has a record since then, and it’s pretty moderate. She may be too moderate for the far left, but remember, the far left isn’t going to win Ohio or Florida, or keep Michigan and Pennsylvania blue—especially against John McCain. In the general election, Hillary’s moderate Senate record will attract independent and disaffected Republican voters.
Obama is inspiring and fresh—no doubt about it. But fresh doesn’t win elections—and it doesn’t beat the Right-wing hit machine. The attack has already started. Get used to hearing “Barack Hussein Obama.” See how fast the name Tony Rezko starts to roll off Sean Hannity’s lips. Before you know it, the inspiring Senator from Illinois will be turned into a naïve, clueless, elitist, corrupt Chicago politician with a Messiah complex. His supporters will be derided as immature sheep, caught up in his cult-like campaign. And of course, there is the inevitable race-baiting. It won’t be fair, but it will happen. And it will work.
Why will it work? In part, because Obama hasn’t even finished his first term as a United States Senator, and in the time he has been there he has earned the ranking of being the second most liberal Senator. Moreover, Obama has never taken a punch like he’ll get during the campaign. Let’s not forget that he won his seat by beating Alan Keys.
The point is that elections are all about putting ideas into action. The Democratic candidate has to be elected before he or she can bring the change we need. The polls against John McCain don’t matter now; look at fast things changed for Hillary. We need a candidate that will appeal to Reagan Democrats, because they will make or break the election. Don’t think so? Ask Al Gore or John Kerry if it’s a good idea to count on the youth vote. Obama looks good now, but what will he look like after he gets bloodied by the Republicans? We know Hillary can take a punch. We know she can win Reagan Democrats in a contested general election because she did it in New York. And we know, if we’re honest about it, that come Election Day, a lot of Reagan Democrats will pull the lever for the old war hero rather than the new guy. If we want to read that a Democrat was elected to the Oval Office, our best is to nominate Hillary Clinton.
Andrew Konecni (Please hold my name)
You can use my e-mail clearpath@live.com
Please America, don't take your vote lightly. Who you elect is important to all other Western countries. Here in Australia we can put in an ineffectual leader (which we just have) and the worst that can happen is that the country will go bankrupt and we will loose our standing with our near neighbours-but all things must pass. But we rely on America, the world relies on America for protection and assurance. If America is weak, then her adversaries are strong. Such is the balance of power. It's not fair, I know, but Americans cannot afford the luxury of change for change sake. Who you elect is important to many other countries in the world. American voters have a huge responsibility. Yes, Obama is black and it's different, but you cant vote for different. America upholds the values of freedom and democracy. What this actually means to the ordinary person is the freedom to feed and educate your children and to expect justice from the legal system. America is a superpower and has to remain strong. In this election the strength lies with McCain, because he has the good of America and the belief in his convictions on his side. Obama will say and do anything to get elected, and if he does, what then? What then for all of us?
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