Who Can do the Most?

I’m straying from my usual topic matter today. Please do not take this as another evangelical putting his nose where it doesn’t belong – I’m only expressing some thoughts, not endorsing anyone.

I’m not a big Clinton family fan. It has nothing to do with their agenda or voting records. In fact, I tend to favor the idea of socialized, er, universal healthcare. My problems are with the sort of political games they play. Bill is great public speaker, he has a commanding presence, he’s articulate – virtually everything a strong leader should be. Morally he leaves a lot to be desired – but who doesn’t anymore.

Hilary is much like Bill – strong, articulate, confident, etc. I think she possesses every ounce of ability to be president. Although I, like many in America, she her as rather conniving, willing to do just about anything to get what she wants – an ends justifies means approach to leadership. As a Christian, that bothers me greatly – the ends never justifies the means in my book.

Like many in America (with the exception of the Denver/Dallas brand of evangelicals) I look forward to the day the America will elect a woman as president. I also look forward to the day the America will elect a non-white European president. I think America is ready for a woman in office – and unfortunately, I think America is not completely ready for a non-white president (although I think it would be good for the country).

With all that said, I’ve been watching the democratic primaries with great interest. I voted for Bush last time, but I am incredibly amazed at the lack of common sense he’s been displaying the last 6 years, and I’m generally fed up with the Republican party as a whole. I think they are currently out of touch with America – and that’s a problem.

But with regards to the Democrats, I wonder how many Democratic voters are thinking hard about the affect their votes will have this time around. It’s safe to say that the next president will be a Democrat – fine, so be it. The Democrats control Congress; so far they have done a decent job staying self-controlled, making necessary changes yet not pushing a traditionally “liberal-to-the-bone” agenda. So I throw this question out there: What will happen if Hilary gets the nod? Obama?

I’m not a political analyst, but here’s what I see happening…

If Hilary gets it, I see the nation locking down. The Republican party, and even some Democrats, will launch an all-out attack against anything and everything she even pretends to day-dream about. A Democratic Congress would have to think hard about whether or not they will follow her outright out of fear of voter backlash from a very religiously motivated conservative vote. Even if Guilliani – the bane of many conservative voters – get the Republican nod, he would have a better chance becoming president than Hilary because the “Facus-on-the-Family-types” would unite to vote against Hilary, just to try and keep her out – and there’s a lot of them in this country. The American government would come to a grinding halt just so that we can pat ourselves on the back and congratulate each other for electing the first woman president. In other words, at least four more years of a Bush-like presidency that will involve a lot of deception, a lot of back-stabbing, and a whole lot of nothing being done to improve the ever-sliding reputation of the US on the world scene.

But on the flip side, select Obama, and you potentially have a completely different scenario. A recent poll shows that out of all the Democratic hopefuls, Obama is the most favorable among Republicans. In others words, traditionally Republican voters like myself are much more likely to cross party lines to vote for and support a Democrat. Reality is, Obama and Hilary have near identical voting records – so for Democrats, both candidates will push for very similar things. But when Obama walks into the room, everyone will listen as opposed to half the audience shutting down and playing solitaire for the next hour. Obama lacks experience they say…experience in what? Playing the same ol’ political games Baby Boomers have grown so proud of over the last few years. There’s a political generation gap beginning to form – 20-something (such as myself) want something different. We’re getting sick and tired of the same old political crap.

My choice for president? At this point, Obama. Between both parties, he’s the only one I see as being capable of building some bridges and actually getting something done. I think everyone else will only deliver much of the same…

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