Political Rant

I generally shy away from blogging here about politics and current events, but it isn't for lack of thoughts and opinions on the matter. As the presidential caucuses and primaries are just around the corner now, I feel compelled to write about a few things. Beware, there might be some soap-boxing ahead.

I have never thought of myself as a particularly political person. I mean, I would not classify myself as an a-political person either by any means, but I have never been very passionate about the political scene. But this year's presidential cycle is different. Never before have I been so interested in or opinionated about the presidential campaign so early on. In past election cycles I would probably not even start to pay much attention until springtime when the contenders had weeded themselves out through the primaries and the parties had made their nominations. This is partly because at this point in the process no one contender usually seems particular better than any of the other contenders, and living in CO the nominations are pretty much already sealed by the time we have a primary anyway. But this time around I have been watching for several months now with more passion and interest than ever before. I already have a strong favorite who I have even donated money to, twice (and I'm pretty stingy, so that's saying something).

Before I say who my favorite-by-a-long-shot is, I should say that I would probably be satisfied with any of the Democratic candidates, and I am also pretty happy to see the Republican field in such disarray. I'm pulling for Barack Obama. Sure, Hillary has more experience than Obama and sure, John Edwards might be... actually I can't think of how John Edwards is better than Obama (better health-care plan? more middle-america down-to-earth-y?), but I'm sure Edwards would be very competent as well, nonetheless, I think that Obama is a different sort of animal and I feel pretty strongly that we need him at the helm now.

Aside from how ridiculously good-looking he is (although John Edwards is also fairly attractive), I think that he is also smart, honest and forthright, pragmatic, bold, and has a lot of integrity. I like that he was against the invasion of Iraq back when that was not a politically popular stance to have. I think it is unfortunate that Iraq is and will be such a big issue in this campaign as I think that there are bigger issues than Iraq (Energy policy, climate change, health care, education, international geopolitical policy in general of which Iraq is just one aspect, etc), but I think that his early opposition is important because it shows his ability to stand up for what he knows is right even if it is not popular (though I guess the same argument can be made for Bush, the difference being that when Obama thinks he is right, he probably actually IS right). On the Iraq note, though, I am actually of the admittedly unpopular opinion that immediate troop withdraw is not the right course of action at this point (oh no, does that make me a republican? Feel free to send me nasty emails telling me why I am wrong. I can take it) and so, that is one point of contention for me not just with Obama but with all of the Democratic candidates.

I also think that Obama is the most honest and forthright of the presidential contenders. For one thing, he has written and spoken openly about his past drug use. I think I like the idea of a president who has some splotches on the record but isn't afraid to show them. Also, virtually all of his campaign contributions have come from individual donors like me (percentage-wise, Edwards has actually done better with individual donations, but Edwards has raised far less money overall. Hillary has accepted significantly more money than Obama from business and lobbies. Check out the link). I also just get the feeling, a vibe perhaps, that Obama is just a more sincere and real person than Edwards and Clinton. I feel like what we see is really what we get with Obama.

I like that he is fresh. I hate to discount Hillary simply because of her last name, but I really do think that we need to break the dynastic cycle and Obama is even better for this than Edwards. Both Obama and Edwards are relatively young senators who come from humble beginnings, but Obama's more diverse and international upbringing definitely earns points with me and seems like a bigger break from the Kennedy-Bush-Clinton dynastic machines.

I could keep going, but I think I've made my point. I'm pulling for Obama more than I've pulled for any other presidential hopeful ever before. Of course the election is still a little over 10 months away and a lot of things can happen in 10 months to tip the scales. Iraq could somehow turn into a success story (doubtful). Osama Bin Laden could be captured and paraded around just in time to influence wish-washy voters. Or perhaps one of the Republicans (Mike Huckabee? I hope not...) could miraculously come from behind to take the race... It's impossible to know, but I think that it will definitely be the Democrats' (and particularly Obama's) race to lose.

I was also going to write about how the primary/caucus system disenfranchises voters because people in states like Iowa and New Hampshire have SO much power over who even makes it on the ballot and how the Electoral College disenfranchises voters by creating disincentives to vote because minority votes in "safe" states (blue votes in "red states, for example) don't really carry any weight. But, I've already ranted enough and I think that those arguments are well-worn, so I'll just leave it at that.

I'll leave off with this video. It is a little heavy-handed, and perhaps a bit subversive, but it is kind of how I feel about Hillary (but if she gets the nomination, I'll support her).