Super Tuesday Editorial: Why Utsav Believes in Obama
The following editorial is from former Chattahoochee debater and current Duke student. He wrote this January 27 [pre-Rudy withdrawal.]
Rejoice, friends, for in a year, we will be better off as a country. George Bush will be gone, never to dumb down a political office again. (I’m assuming Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani- the only guys that might be worse than Bush- won’t win.)
The Democratic presidential nomination will be either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. (Sorry, Mike Gravel.) I don’t like Hillary Clinton. I think she’s a tool and a liar with a very shady past. She will continue the politics of deceit and secrecy that we’ve grown accustomed to over the past eight years. I’m not naive enough to think that Obama isn’t an opportunist and a politician, but over the past few weeks, I think it’s grown clear that he’s much less of one.
THAT said, I’m supporting Barack Obama in the Democratic race, for a few reasons. I’ll stay away from policy, since they’re extremely similar.
1. Soft power. For you non-debaters, soft power is described as “…the ability of a political body, such as a state, to indirectly influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies through cultural or ideological means.” (Thanks, Wikipedia.) Who would instantly restore our credibility abroad and signal that America is done with its arrogance and ready to restore friendly ties? I can’t see anybody answering that question, “Hillary.”
2. Bipartisanship. I’m tired of the 50+1 strategy Washington currently employs. To quote the senator himself, “We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America” (http://tinyurl.com/28ty38). Obama is an absolutely electrifying speaker; Hillary is a polarizing one. Obama reminds everyone of what this nation used to be, and what it can be, while Hillary reminds us of what it has become (http://tinyurl.com/32mgcs).
Caroline Kennedy, JFK’s daughter, has just supported Obama for this reason (http://tinyurl.com/2dpc8n), saying,
“I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.
I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president - not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”
Shocking, powerful, and amazing words when they come from Caroline Kennedy herself. (Ted Kennedy, JFK’s younger brother, has also endorsed Obama: http://tinyurl.com/2lfqpq.)
We’ve already seen it starting. Barack can inspire anybody. Don’t let the Clintons convince you that what Obama did- annihilate his opponents in a Republican, conservative, southern state- isn’t impressive. They’re trying to (http://tinyurl.com/2aqsyg). But 48% of South Carolina voters were white, and Obama still had more support than Clinton, 2 to 1 (!). He got one-fourth of all white women. He got as much support from white men as Hillary did. And he got more votes than
John McCain and Mike Huckabee did- combined. Maybe the southern states are in play for the Democrats after all. (Side note: If Huckabee gets the nomination, I think I’ll write a note a day describing why he would be awful as president.)
3. ELECTABILITY. Yes, everyone hates Bush, but don’t underestimate the Republicans, who have years of practice smearing the Clintons.
If John McCain, who is probably the Republican frontrunner at this point, gets the GOP nomination, Hillary cannot beat him (http://tinyurl.com/2msdku). She does not get the Independent vote out like Obama does. No other person would bring out the fury of the GOP electorate, many of whom would otherwise stay home this November because of the weak field. She has campaigned on “experience,” but as Frank Rich put it in the article above, “The moment she attempts it, Mr. McCain will run an ad about how he was being tested when those 35 years began, in 1973. It was that spring when he emerged from five-plus years of incarceration at the Hanoi Hilton while Billary was still bivouacked at Yale Law School.”
They’ll have no idea how to campaign against Obama, the first black man with a legitimate shot of winning this thing. Look how much the Clinton machine is struggling to do it.
4. Hillary lies. Again, I’m not naïve enough to think that Obama isn’t a politician who will dance around questions when he needs to. But the number of blatant lies Hillary has told over the past few months is just sickening:
A) The Reagan Debacle. An example of her hypocrisy (http://tinyurl.com/2f9zw7), unwillingness to be open-minded (http://tinyurl.com/2eyhuj), and readiness to twist words to hurt her opponents (http://tinyurl.com/yq6t3z).
B) Overstating Obama’s connection to Rezko (http://tinyurl.com/2yx5et). (By the way, Obama donated the $40,000 he got from Rezko to charity.) And it’s just more hypocrisy: http://tinyurl.com/2fqsmm (must-read).
C) Her work at Wal-Mart (http://tinyurl.com/3×84o4).
D) Her pledge not to campaign in Florida or Michigan (http://tinyurl.com/2k6p8e).
The list goes on and on. And frankly, I’m tired of being lied to by our president (http://tinyurl.com/ys6mz8 —SIDE NOTE: HOW ARE THEY STILL IN OFFICE???). Falling for it is what got us into this mess.
5. Experience is overrated. See my previous note, but Nicholas Kristof puts it better: http://tinyurl.com/27bt4u. As does Susan Rice: http://tinyurl.com/2fag26. And frankly, some things matter more than experience. Like having the foresight to know exactly what would happen if we invaded Iraq: http://tinyurl.com/2yst9e (around 1:45).
6. Bill isn’t a unique advantage to Hillary. Come on, the man is one of the most arrogant presidents in history. Do you really think that if Obama approached him and said, “Bill, we need you to help negotiate a new trade deal with Uzbekistan” or “Will you come with me to meet with China and the EU?” that he would actually turn it down because Obama beat his wife in the primary??? No. He will be an asset to an Obama presidency. If he helped Bush, he’ll help anyone.
7. Obama understands the danger of religious zealotry and the significance of the separation of church and state better than any politician I’ve ever seen (http://tinyurl.com/2u3p8f —watch this, it’s long, but incredible). Which is definitely something to keep in mind this November (http://tinyurl.com/2esfoe). I’m tired of the slow death of the First Amendment. In the words of Thomas Jefferson (who, by the way, was 33! years old when he penned the Declaration of Independence),
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”
(I beg of you, Conservative brothers and sisters- just remember the last time you voted for “faith and values.”)
None of these candidates is perfect. Neither Barack nor Hillary will end the hold the military-industrial complex has on our nation, or slow down spending before our inevitable and rapidly approaching bankruptcy. But only one Democrat (remaining) can move us furthest away from the corruption and militarism that has plagued our great nation for decades while uniting the nation and the world to combat the multitude of problems we face, and that is Barack Obama.
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