Presidential Debating

It’s been a bad week for my presidential picks… first Kucinich and now Edwards, and I, like many others, am trying to decide who will get my vote on Super Tuesday.  To be honest I’m not truly passionate for either Obama or Clinton, but I know that I do want a Democrat in the White House on January 20, 2009 (my 40th birthday!).  I loved Bill Clinton in the ’90’s.  I think that with all his faults (and who doesn’t have faults?) he was a reasonably good leader and he left the country in better shape than when he took office.  I can’t say the same for George W.  But can my love of Bill transcend into love of Hillary?  I wish it could.  I wanted to like her.  In fact, I wanted to love her.  But I don’t.

It isn’t that I don’t think she could be a decent leader.  I know that she would be enormously better than the cretin we currently have running our country.  It isn’t that I don’t think she’s smart.  I think she’s a brilliant politician and an intelligent woman.  It isn’t that I don’t think a woman can be president.  Hell, I grew up being told that even *I* could be president and I’m definitely female.  I believe that women can definitely be president, and SHOULD be president. 

What I do think is that if Hillary gets the nomination she cannot win the presidency.  Why?  Because while she is smart and politically savvy, she is also widely disliked by people on both sides of the political aisle.  And while I don’t believe that the democrats who hate Hillary would cross sides and vote Republican (though it COULD happen), I do fear that many Democrats would simply stay home and not vote at all, thus giving the election to the Republicans who will have come out in force to oppose Hillary. 

Do I love Obama?  No.  Do I hate Hillary?  No.  Do I want a Democrat for my 40th Birthday?  Hell yes.  Who do I think that Democrat will be?  I think it will be Barack Obama.  So, for now, my vote and my support will go to him.