Letters to the Editor
Dmagnificent
Published Letters: 123 Editor's Choice: 6
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Bravo
[Read the article: Obama's support for the FISA "compromise"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I like Obama. I think that the House leaders failed him and put him in a bad political position. I am not sure he has the option to vote against (or not vote on) the bill if it goes forward in the Senate. The Republican distortion/fear ad basically writes itself.
That said, I completely agree with most of this blog. Obama's decision IS a disappointing one. I still firmly support Obama, but I just as firmly disagree with him on this issue. This is the second issue (after his statement backing the misinterpretation of the 2nd Amendment) where Obama has disappointed me, not just as a politician, but as a former professor of Constitutional law.
Obviously, it won't change my vote. McCain is not a viable alternative. I don't tink that anyone can reasonably argue that Clinton would not make the same decision as Obama if she were the nominee. She voted for Kyl-Leiberman, after all. Right now, I am disappointed in Obama, but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He is in a political tough spot and his decision may have been made because he thought that any other position could lead to a President McCain.
I will however, be watching closely to gauge a couple of things. Will he be a vocal voice in the Senate demanding changes in the bill? Is this a unique situation because McCain (bafflingly) out-polls him on terrorism and the public has little patience for or understanding of the issue at hand and are easily duped by "he's soft on terrorism" scare ads? Is this the beginning of a trend.
I urge all Obama suporters to write his campaign expressing their disappointment with his support of this bill. I also urge them to "vote with their wallets" if it appears that Obama is not delivering on what he promised. Just as most politicians are beholden to the special interests, Obama is beholden to the millions of people who have donated to him. We can't afford a President McCain, but 2012 is just around the corner and my support for Obama then is contingent on what his actions are between now and then.
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This article is SEXISM
[Read the article: Why Clinton voters say they won't support Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Let's Break down the list of twelve.
1. and 2. These make perfect sense and point to these holdouts eventually coming around.
3. This is petty, ignorant and yet more proof that it was the Clinton backers who were members of the cult of personality, not the "Obamabots". Governor Sebelius is a much better VP candidate for Obama than Hillary Clinton. The dismissal of her here is just mean-spirited idiocy. There is no reason given, other than her not being Hillary. I happen to find her a very exciting prospect. If the Hillary nuts are so caught up in their fantasy that they are going to bash other potential glass ceiling breakers, they are just pathetic.
4. Most of the even-handed looks at sexism have shown CONCLUSIVELY that it helped Hillary, not hurt her. Racism was JUST as glossed over during the primary.
5. So these women are not going to support Obama because of Olbermann? Brilliant! You have figured out the world's best kept secret: by day he is a mild-mannered politician, but at night, Obama dons a mask and becomes a sexist newsman.
6. Yes, that awful Howard Dean didn't interfere in the primary and let it run its course. ALL the major Dems were fence-sitting, but Dean is evil because his DNC gave Florida and Michigan the EXACT SAME PUNISHMENT that the Republicans women are threatening to support did. What an awful man!
7. Perhaps if Clinton had not run a racist campaign ("jesse Jackson won SC", this marginalizes Obama as the black candidate, "hard working people, white people", Geraldine Ferarro, etc...) then her rep would be unstained.
As for Solis Doyle, the notion that Obama should keep talented people off of his team because Hillary fired them is naive at best. It does send a message. Even if Clinton is the VP choice, Obama is running the show. There is no co-Presidency. Accept it.
8. Then they should have a lot in common with Obama supporters who are outraged that he used his clout in the black community to make racist attacks. Or do they think that Obama somehow controls Bill's dick?
9. Clinton ran a monumentally bad campaign. She expected to be handed the nomination and had no backup plan. Is there a man we can blame?
10. Hillary had no choice. She spent two days on the phone getting her ego torn to shreds by people who had given her every opportunity to bow out gracefully. If she tried to take it to Denver, when there was no ideological imperative to do so, her entire career would be over.
11. Welcome to the world of white men? This is self-pitying bullshit. There were a large number of white, senior women who were voting for Hillary in hopes of seeing a Madam President before they die. The exit polls show Hillary doing excedingly well in states with a large number of this demographic, while simultaneously being viewed as untrustworthly (far more so than Obama) by a sizable majority of them. This group was treated no differently than the "security moms" who backed Bush, despite all logic in 2004. One issue voters deserve to be bashed, whatever the one issue (and in this case it wasn't even an issue, but a chromosome).
12. Welcome to the world of black people? For far too long the Democratic Party has taken black support for granted. That isn't even what is happening here with women. Democrats gave a woman a legitimate shot at the top spot in the party. She fell short. They BENT OVER BACKWARDS to avoid embarassing her when she lost touch with reality and thought she could win. If this race had been a personality contest between two men, the man in Hillary's spot would have been run from the party for not dropping out sooner.
You can revel in your self pity all you want, but whining doesn't exactly make a strong feminist statement.