April 30, 2008 News & Views » The N word

Pin It
Submit to Reddit
Email
Favorite

Crossing the line 

Why I decided not to vote for Hillary

By

It's official. I have decided to vote for Barack Obama. It took a while, and the reason for my switch from Hillary Clinton to Obama is not deep: She got on my damned nerves with her male posturing and heavy borrowing from the Karl Rove handbook of how to win an election at all costs.

I was mortified when she "misremembered" events in Bosnia, but that did not sway me since I truly believe that all politicians massage the truth at best or are outright liars at worst. I reserved judgment and kept my mouth shut, even when being pummeled by my McCain and Obama friends. I said that I would focus on the issues, while they focused on the gaffe.

Now I can no longer divorce the issues from the race. I know that Clinton is a politician and must compete with the same vigor and might as her male opponents, but I have a problem with the way that she is running her campaign. She may as well be a man because there is nothing decidedly different about her approach to politics than any of the other candidates on either side of the aisle. In my naïve mind, I truly am seeking a female candidate who can win by doing something other than what men do. Hillary Clinton seemed to be that candidate initially, but she's obviously not that candidate now.

I do believe that Obama's approach has been more enlightened and different at least in intention. I cannot say the same for her. He has stood steadfast in his refreshing approach to politics, withstanding ridiculous and fabricated attacks.

As for Clinton, I am horrified that she has modeled her campaign after Bush's. Anyone who patterns herself after George W. Bush scares me ... including McCain, who seemed like a desirable candidate until he flipped his script. Now he looks and sounds like a Bushbot, which is how we got into the mess in the first place.

When Clinton teamed up with McCain in an attack on Obama about being elitist, that was the final straw.

I suppose in the same way she forgot about not being under fire in Bosnia, she also forgot her tony lifestyle. She's earned millions, attended the most exclusive women's college in the United States and has served as a two-term first lady and senator. Throwing back shots in a Pennsylvania bar does not make you working-class. None of the candidates are working-class in any way, shape or form. None of the candidates are average people. We do not need average in the White House. We see where the conflation of "average" and "working-class" has gotten us; we ended up with a president who is rich in real life but plays working-class on television.

Hillary Clinton may have won Pennsylvania, but she has lost a lot of female voters behind her questionable tactics. Launching an advertising campaign against Obama featuring 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden that looks almost identical to George W. Bush's ads is frightening. I want the complete opposite of George W. Bush. I certainly do not want a candidate who has aligned herself with the current president. Nor do I want a candidate who seems to be holding hands with McCain, a man who desecrated the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination by making a speech on civil rights about a man he never supported in life or death.

At any rate, Clinton has crossed the line in pursuit of the White House, so I'm crossing the line and voting for Obama. This tortuous primary process has worn me down, and Clinton has worn me out. I will not continue to support her or her Republican tactics. Only the Democrats could manage to destroy a sure thing, by turning two fantastic candidates against each other -- and one of them into a Republican knock-off. So, I'm going for someone who is, thankfully, still wet behind the ears, who speaks from the heart and still believes that there is hope for our country and the political process.

More The N word »

Pin It
Submit to Reddit
Email
Favorite

Latest in The N word

Calendar

More »

Search Events

all events
concerts
restaurants
movie times

Most Popular
Most Shared
Most Commented

© 2019 Womack Digital, LLC
Powered by Foundation