I have been a devotee of John Edwards for some time. I supported him during the last presidential primary season and the only reason I was able to get excited about John Kerry's candidacy was when Edwards took the VP spot on the ticket.
Edwards talked about issues that have been ignored in our country since the days of Kennedy. Issues of poverty and race and our moral duty to pay attention to those with less. He talked about the rights of workers and how securing their right to organize is the way to secure a healthy middle class in this country.
His message was a message that I connected with. I'm a liberal and I believe that the government of any people has a duty to help lift its citizens up so that they can aspire to lead productive lives. It's in the best interest of all of us for government to provide the boots for those who have none and to level the playing field so all of us have the same opportunities to take advantage of no matter where we come from.
What I also believed about John Edwards was that if faced with a decision about doing what was in the best interest of 'we the people' or doing what was most politically expedient, that he was more likely to stand on the side of the people rather than on the side of corporations, lobbyists or political machines. I was disappointed that Edwards was pretty much shut out of the primary scene and was sad to see him drop out of the race.
I assumed that the primary race would be over by the time primaries came to Ohio and I'd fall in line and support the nominee for the Democratic Party in November - whoever that turned out to be. I never dreamt Ohio would be a player this late in the game and that I would have to make a choice between two Democrats.
Thanks to Ross Perot, Bill Clinton won the White House with only 44% of the popular vote. The country has been split nearly 50/50 since 1984. Polls show that the majority of the citizens think the country is on the wrong path. The only way to effect real change in this country is for someone to win the White House with at least 65% of the popular vote and to have a majority in congress that supports the agenda of the new president. The only candidate who I think can get a majority of the popular vote is Barack Obama and that's who I will be voting for on Tuesday.
What moved me from the undecided column to the Obama column was the speech he gave in Texas after wining the Potomac primaries. As I watched that speech I had an epiphany - and it became clear to me exactly what Obama is doing in his bid for the White House. Obama isn't just running for president - he's building a movement. A movement not unlike the civil rights movement of the 60's. He's building a movement so that he doesn't need to worry about the entrenched powers in Washington. He intends to move his agenda forward with the power of the people. Just like Martin Luther King moved people to put pressure on those in charge, it's clear to me that Obama is doing the same thing.
The reason he's been so successful is because there is so much anxiety in the country right now due to - the war, gas prices, food prices and the mortgage crisis just to name a few. He has a great chance in succeeding because of the perfect storm that has been created. People are longing for a movement to get behind.
Democrats have been disappointed at the ineffectiveness of the majority we voted into power in 2006 and I for one am not up for another disappointment. Clinton, if she could win - would not win with a majority of the popluar vote. Fairly or not, she's just too polarizing. We'd still be dealing with a divided country. Obama, won't have that problem.
You can feel it - something almost magical is happening across this land. I want to be a part of it and I hope you will too.
No comments:
Post a Comment