It’s Not Too Late to Vote for Hillary, or Another Independent for McCain

Democrats are trying to figure out whether Barak Obama, who has attracted so many independent votes in the primaries, will be able to garner the same support in the general elections. The Washington Post, for example, is running stories with titles like “Obama's Red-State Prospects Unclear; Democrat's Support May Have Limits” and “Could Obama Turn Red States Blue?” That being the case, it might be interesting for WhirledView readers to learn the current thinking of a New Mexico independent who voted for Hillary Clinton. Elizabeth Trickey is an attorney who practices in Santa Fe.

It’s Not Too Late to Vote for Hillary,
or Another Independent for McCain

By Elizabeth Trickey

The conservative pundits on TV have had that ‘cat that just swallowed a canary’ look lately…fat and happy. And why shouldn’t they be? It seems their plan has panned out. First they, and other conservative media representatives, spread the idea that Hillary had “too much baggage” to win. What was the baggage? Bill Clinton, arguably the most popular politician in both the 20th and 21st century. Then, in a Democratic field filled with legitimate, experienced candidates well tempered in the fire of the American political scene, they let it be known that their most feared candidate was Barack Obama.

Barack Obama? A guy with only a three year track record at the federal level, and before that as a state representative? The man known to have the most liberal voting record in the Senate. A man with a catchy slogan, “Yes We Can,” but no evidence of a plan for what that might be. In contrast, Hilary Clinton, has proven to be measured in her responses, extremely well-informed and statesmanlike. She’s in the middle of the road, like the rest of America, and she works well with her colleagues in the Senate. Even many upstate Republicans like her now. So to what can we attribute her latest losses? Perhaps to a media that likes Obama’s sound bites rather than her substance. Or one that fell for the conservatives’ line.

What has her biggest crime been to date? Not divorcing Bill? Could it be that staying married under very difficult circumstances might represent a strong mainstream Christian response, or even true love and forgiveness? Hmmm! Wouldn’t that appeal to the very conservatives so desperately courted by McCain, whose own marital past is a potential minefield of difficulties?

Hillary has been attacked with stated fears that her presidency would simply be a third term for Bill. Sure, a re-elected, successful Senator from New York, top of her class from Wellesley, Yale Law graduate when a very small percentage of that class were women would cede her presidency to her husband!

So what are we seeing here? Perhaps a vast right wing conspiracy to manipulate the Democrats into running what, after the disastrous Bush Administration, is the only Democrat that could lose? Or is it just more evidence of the glass ceiling which prevents women from leaving the pink collar world for the boardrooms? It's said that this election isn’t about gender or race, to which I have to say, “Oh, yeah?” African-Americans are choosing Obama at a rate of something like 80%- 85% range. And who else? White men. And the last group, one that pains me most, is young women. Those too young to know that they will grow up to hit the same ceiling when their turn comes unless they get behind the one candidate with an unimpeachable record, the experience and maturity to lead our great nation in these troubled times. The one that can truly make this nation work for the majority. Now that would be change!

I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton’s presidency would look out for all Americans equally, but her election would change things for women exponentially. Obama’s campaign has proven that race is no longer the obstacle it once was, and that gender remains the greater political problem. In fact, with his highly privileged background as a former Harvard Law Review editor, I view him as indistinguishable from some equally inexperienced white guy. He’s not ready. The Republicans know it, and they will attack him with everything Clinton’s campaign has left unsaid.

The last time we sent a Democrat president to Washington with a proud claim to being a Beltway outsider, Jimmy Carter was nearly ridden out of town on a rail after a one-term, largely ineffective administration.

So where does this leave me? If Hillary is not the Democratic candidate, I’ll be just another independent for McCain. Like me, he’s moderate, so moderate in fact that his name was bruited about as a good candidate for the DEMOCRATIC Vice-Presidency in the last election. Obviously, he plays well with others and would work well with both parties in Congress. Yes, his stance on the war troubles me, but I know he didn’t take it for political gain. It was considered political suicide when he announced it, before the surge in Iraq started to work. His forthright support for campaign finance reform, business reforms and the like make him entirely attractive, and trustworthy. The contrast with Obama could not be clearer. We know who John McCain is, as we do Hillary Clinton.

A choice between McCain and Clinton would be a fight among equals, with the choice coming down to real issues like their plans for Iraq. A choice between McCain and Obama will be a choice between a polished political statesman, and a neophyte. But, it’s not too late, fellow Independents and Democrats. We can make the right choice, an electable candidate who deserves the credit for what she’s done, not blame for her husband’s conduct. Yes we can. Get behind her, and we can make real changes for America.

Comments

[Jinx]

I think Trickey underestimates Obama and overestimates McCain, but I do agree that Hillary Clinton has been hampered by gender bias that is deep and largely not conscious --- and despite that has done remarkably well in this campaign. From the photos of her chosen for publication to the headlines that consistently use negative terms ("Obama charges..." but "Hillary attacks...") to the stereotypes denying her ability to speak inspiringly, much of the media has acted as a campaign force against her. At the beginning of the campaign season I was feeling pretty equally positive about all the Democratic candidates, but as I've seen the venom remaining in gender bias, and Hillary Clinton's ability to cope with that as well as the other challenges of a presidential campaign, she's become my first choice.

[C. Walsh]

I've met both Barack & Hillary (spent six days with her once) and both are smart, capable people. I think the major problem Hillary has always exhibited is her caution and her tendency to go for incremental improvements and to be hemmed in by political considerations. In contrast, Barack's biggest challenge is probably his thin experience on the national and international stage.

So, a look at how they are doing is instructive. Obama has run an incredible campaign, well-managed, fiscally sound and inclusive, dynamic and, on the whole, positive. He has pretty much avoided stepping into minefields and yet has proven adept at counterpunching and deflecting harsh attacks. Hillary has careened between disasters, strategies and focus points, occasionally toughening through a New Hampshire or California but on the whole showing a remarkable lack of long-term foresight, consistency of message, or depth of vision. She has not exactly run a negative campaign but her ploys in Nevada and New Hampshire are war-room tactics that have earned her small but important victories at considerable cost within the larger potential democratic base. Witness the number of her torchbearers in NH who abandoned ship when they realized the nature of what she had done there re the pro-choice issue.

It looks to this observer that HRC is still playing Clinton rules (work for a marginal victory knowing you are fighting the harsh Arkansas winds of Republican dirty tricks, fight for victory above all & assume you can clean up the mess when you eke out your win. In the post-Morning in America league they came up in, that probably made sense. Bill was, after all, elected by minority votes twice and able to make some fairly significant changes while in office.

Obama is more like Lincoln. Unproven on the Washington stage but well seasoned by local politics in Illinois and, above all, comfortable in his person. Whether through the serendipitous circumstances of his upbringing and education, including on the streets of Chicago, or through the generally perceivable quality of his mind, he is a game changer.

Unlike Hillary, Barack is not using his unique identifier, the color of his skin, as either a demand for loyalty or to buttress complaints of ill treatment. He frankly seems too focused on the job at hand, the nomination process. It is interesting, in this context, to compare their Senate records. Check out through the Library of Congress, their respective records on initiating legislation. Hillary has a much longer record but virtually no important legislation. Naming public buildings, memorializing consitituents, that sort of thing. Barack's major accomplishments already include the Coburn-Obama Act which puts all government spending in the hands of the people (game-changer: go to usaspending and check it out yourself) and the bill controlling lobbyist interaction with Congress.

In short, he has vision and makes things happen. She believes she should be President because it is her due. It is time for a woman President, absolutely. And I think there are a number of great possibilities who were not as abused and ill-treated on their way up. Interesting how many of them are for Barack now.

And don't even get me started on ability to defeat the Republican onslaught. Just look at his campaign to date, his talent to inspire and include. And then look at all the polls.

She needs to move back to the Senate and challenge Harry Reid. We need to take back the WH from the idiots who stole it and Obama will.