I've changed my mind...pt2

Okay so I've changed my mind. For the 5 or 6 consistent readers of this blog, you know that very recently I've been posting very pro-Obama blogs. Let me explain.

At the beginning of this Campaign, I liked Obama but I supported Hillary Clinton for several reasons.
1. Hillary made me believe that she would fight tooth and nail for Universal Health Care.
2. Hillary appeared to articulate the issues better than Barack.
3. Hillary had more experience than Barack.
4. Clinton appeared ready to lead the country away from the Bush Agenda.
5. I questioned Barack's "black man experience."
6. I think there was just this sense of doubt that either a Black President was just outrageous and too good to be true...so why support ridiculousness.

But I'm a changed man.

Over the past week, Hillary has proven to me that she will not fight tooth and nail for Universal Healthcare, but in the alternative will fight tooth and nail to be President. She has not stopped at any cost to denigrate Barack, even stooping so low as to play the race card. I hope that no one in their right mind believes that Geraldine Ferraro is that stupid. This woman would not destroy her own legacy by stating, reiterating, and then defending ignorant hate talk. Many political analysts agree that this was a calculated effort by the Clinton campaign to reduce Barack to the "Affirmative Action" candidate. This assertion was further supported by the Clinton Campaign's lack of an apology, and then by the lame excuse of an apology that was later offered.

On the questions of issues and how well each candidate expressed their approach, Clinton appeared well-versed on how to deal with specific foreign policy and economic issues. However, as I studied each candidate a bit closer, I realized that answering a question is not the same as answering a problem. So while Hillary looked well versed at answering questions, Barack didn't look unsure, he looked thoughtful. I'd rather a thoughtful solution than a rehearsed answer.

While studying their pasts I realized something else; Hillary does not have more experience than Barack Obama. As a Senator, their records of attendance, voting, and legislature are comparable. If Hillary counts the years that she was First Lady as experience, then she has to bear the burden of the failing NAFTA, Desert Storm campaigns and aftermath, and the Monica Lewinsky disaster. Also, if Hillary counts the First Lady as experience, then Barack can counter that with his experience as a local politician.

Hillary Clinton does not seem astute enough to lead us away from the Bush Agenda. In 2002, Hillary Clinton voted to lead us into a war based on faulty intelligence, even though she received a report to that effect. Hillary's negligence to fully read the Intelligence Report is inexcusable. Meanwhile, Barack Obama was a vocal critic of the war. This war has helped push the country to the brink of a depression and the Hillary foreign policy view supported it. In a time where the US has alienated itself as superior to most of the world, Hillary has stated that she would not meet with the new government of Cuba unless certain conditions are met, while Barack has stated that he would meet with Cuba with out any conditions. This represents a stark contrast from the Bush Agenda and is evidence of his desire to combine global efforts to positively effect local results.

Barack's speech addressing the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy was amazing. I cannot question his experience as a black man after that speech. It would have been really easy to continue to distance himself from the statements of Jeremiah Wright and continue to play it safe, but Barack took those statements and aligned himself with the thought process behind them. He stated proudly that race is still a very real problem in this country. He acknowledged that the statements were made in error but urged us (and white america) to take a closer look at a man he still respects. He owned those statements and said that he was a product of right thinking, wrong thinking, black racism and white racism. He didnt disown his Pastor, he explained him. (I find it particularly disturbing and interesting that the media isn't covering the aftermath of his speech as much as it covered the Jeremiah Wright controversy to which he responded.)

So Barack Obama is a black man running for President. I was previously afraid to vote for him because I was afraid to hope. But what is life with out hope? Hope is something I haven't possessed regarding politics in a long time. But if he were my President, I would be something that I haven't been in a long time, proud. Proud of the United States and Proud to be an American.