Image from AlFranken.com
A long, long time ago, when the contenders for the 2008 Presidential race was winnowed down to just a few on each side, I had to pick between Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama in the Nevada state caucus. I picked John Edwards (not knowing about the whole icky affair thing), but he was not viable. So, as our rules state, I was allowed to "realign."
On one side of the elementary school gym/cafeteria was the Barack Obama contingent, and on the other, Hillary Clinton's warriors. It was nearly a coin toss to me. I really liked Obama. And I'd never had any great like or dislike for Clinton. I was one of those weirdos that never fell into the love or hate camp. But at the caucus, the Clinton camp was unnerving. They were highly organized, all outfitted with T-shirts and signs, and they clearly thought they should be in charge. They were mostly female, mostly middle-aged or older, and mostly. . .I don't know how to put it exactly. . .overbearing. They settled the 50/50 dilemma, and I realigned with Obama.
During the rest of the heated primary, my feelings for Clinton descended further and further, until I could scarcely believe that I'd had any struggle with my decision. The one strike I held most strongly against her, was letting her personal website become a fire-breathing hate site against Obama. She could have told her PUMA supporters to knock it off, but she didn't.
But primaries are tough battles, and many candidates come on too strong. We Americans have a strong capacity for forgiving and forgetting much of this after the primary is over. And I think I may have for Hillary Clinton. I reserve the right to change my mind if Obama wins, and she challenges him in 2012, but we'll wait and see what happens. For now though, she's supporting one of my favorite candidates, Al Franken, who is running for Senate in Minnesota. Because he's good enough, he's. . .oh you know how it goes.
On one side of the elementary school gym/cafeteria was the Barack Obama contingent, and on the other, Hillary Clinton's warriors. It was nearly a coin toss to me. I really liked Obama. And I'd never had any great like or dislike for Clinton. I was one of those weirdos that never fell into the love or hate camp. But at the caucus, the Clinton camp was unnerving. They were highly organized, all outfitted with T-shirts and signs, and they clearly thought they should be in charge. They were mostly female, mostly middle-aged or older, and mostly. . .I don't know how to put it exactly. . .overbearing. They settled the 50/50 dilemma, and I realigned with Obama.
During the rest of the heated primary, my feelings for Clinton descended further and further, until I could scarcely believe that I'd had any struggle with my decision. The one strike I held most strongly against her, was letting her personal website become a fire-breathing hate site against Obama. She could have told her PUMA supporters to knock it off, but she didn't.
But primaries are tough battles, and many candidates come on too strong. We Americans have a strong capacity for forgiving and forgetting much of this after the primary is over. And I think I may have for Hillary Clinton. I reserve the right to change my mind if Obama wins, and she challenges him in 2012, but we'll wait and see what happens. For now though, she's supporting one of my favorite candidates, Al Franken, who is running for Senate in Minnesota. Because he's good enough, he's. . .oh you know how it goes.
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