Letters to the Editor
Mickey Kovars
Published Letters: 101 Editor's Choice: 3
-
Obama's Wright Problem Is Not Hillary's Fault -- It's Obama's
[Read the article: Breaking the Democratic deadlock]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The number of accusations on these pages and elsewhere that Hillary is running a racist campaign displays unbelievable hypocrisy. Wright is not Hillary's invention. Wright would be a problem for Obama if Hillary did not exist.
No, Obamiacs, it is you and your candidate that are the problem. Obama has shown dishonesty, vacillation and incompetence in dealing with this mess of his own creation. You can call Hillary and her supporters racists all you want -- it is not only a flat-out lie, but it will lose Obama the election, even if he somehow gets the nomination.
I say again: the best thing would be for Obama to pull out now and run again another time when his ducks are in a row. His candidacy this time is going nowhere good.
-
Whatever Happens Today, Obama Will Go Down
[Read the article: A pivotal day for the Democrats?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have no idea how the primaries today will turn out, but I know this -- Obama will begin the process of losing the nomination, or he will be well on his way to winning the nomination only to lose the election.
Obama might be a nice guy, but his friends don't seem to be very nice, nor do many of his supporters on these pages and elsewhere. Many of them seem convinced that because I support Hillary, I must be an embittered blue-collar type, a Republican, a person taking orders from Rush Limbaugh, and above all, a racist. Actually, none of the above.
I simply think two things: first, Hillary would be the better candidate against McCain, and second, she would be the better president. That's all there is to it.
More than anything, I just want a Democrat to win, and I don't think Obama can do it. Before Wright, maybe. Now, never -- that issue will ebb and flow, but it is going to plague him until the end. Why? Because it is a real issue for a lot of people, raising serious questions about the honesty, character and judgement of the man who would be president. Questions that Obama has been forced to discuss but has never answered satisfactorily.
-
Limbaugh Thinks Obama Is the Weaker Candidate
[Read the article: Clinton loses Limbaugh endorsement]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not much to be gained trying to figure out what's on Limbaugh's mind, other than he hates Democrats. But don't you think that encouraging Republicans and Independents to vote for Hillary in IN and NC -- all highly publicized of course -- would cause lots of other voters to get out of bed and vote for Obama? I suspect he has thought Obama's the weaker candidate all along and wants him to be nominated -- I think he said as much on his show today.
Problem is, he is probably right. Obama's ability to get "crossover" contituencies is not encouraging. I may change my mind, but right now I don't think Obama has much chance of winning in November.
-
So What?
[Read the article: Clinton backer McGovern now wants her to drop out]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why on earth is it news what George McGovern thinks? He's not exactly an expert on how Democrats should campaign for the presidency and win.
Truth is, the experts are the Clintons. Bill Clinton is the only Democrat to win the presidency since LBJ except Carter, who got elected on a fluke, was a disaster and got defeated on reelection. The Clintons know how to take it to the Republicans and beat them.
As went McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis, and Kerry, so will go Obama? (Out of fairness I won't include Gore since he really won, although he should have won by a lot more and avoided that horrible outcome.)
-
So Who Wants It?
[Read the article: Obama Veepstakes]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A big issue may be who is willing to run for VP. Some of these people may not, if they think (as some probably do) that Obama doesn't have a particularly good chance of winning. Also, Sen. Webb, while good on paper, has a major personality problem and should be rejected out of hand. Sebelius, being female, might not give an adequate appearance of the necessary "toughness," although she seems good otherwise. Richardson is too mealy-mouthed and also has a "toughness" problem. Clark would probably be a good choice despite some personality deficits, but I think there's some question whether he'd be willing to do it.
-
Moot Issue
[Read the article: Clinton Veepstakes]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For fun's sake -- since a ticket headed by Clinton looks as likely as a balanced budget, a housing price recovery, or an end to the Iraq war -- the dream ticket would be Clinton-Obama. It could and probably would win. A ticket headed by Obama, no matter who is second, will have a much harder time and probably won't make it.
-
The Real Tragedy
[Read the article: "There's a pattern emerging here"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obama had a chance to transcend the ethnic divide but the Jeremiah Wright business probably ended that for good -- black voters rally to Obama, white voters rally against him. Unless Obama can bridge that gap again -- a tall order, although nothing is impossible -- he will be defeated. Right now, neither he nor Hillary has enough of the parts of the old Dem coalition to win.
Unless, of course, McCain defeats himself, which is entirely possible. Besides his Bush baggage, he is extremely bellicose in his own right and talks as if he is looking for a war with Iran. I don't think the public really wants to hear any more neocon warmongering crap. Obama has to find a way to seem tough enough while taking apart McCain's irresponsible foreign policy views.