Why not set myself up for a massive foot-in-the-mouth moment? I wrote a couple months ago that Hillarah was a terrible choice for VP. Actually, I said it a few times before then as well--likely more than a few times.
The 3 or 4 people that read this thing thought that I was over the top in my antipathy for Hillarah, and to a point I was, but it was motivated by a frustration with Ds (or at least non-current-day GOPs) to settle for what was 'winnable' vs. what was more bold and far better.
Obama has literally, quite literally, mobilized millions in his campaign effort. The vast majority of these volunteers do very small things such as make a few phone calls, plant signs, drive a couple people to early polling locations--nothing earth shattering. But the obvious brilliant simplicity of it is that it makes the election their election too. They have a personal stake in the outcome and--in a real way--effect the final tally beyond their single vote. It is enpowering. And, at the risk of sounding too Polyannish, it is the modern manifestation of Thomas Paine's dream and hope for the United States.
That is not to say that McCain's campaign doesn't do the same thing for its volunteers or that Hillarah wouldn't have. But can anyone imagine either of them doing it as well? Further, can anyone imagine the slime oozing out of the McCain campaign ads if Hillarah was the VP choice? With that much baggage?
Back to the intended point, this always had the chance to be a generational shift. I've said before that Obama's biggest qualification is that he is not from the Baby-Boomer generation. There are two generations younger than them that need a voice and a new politics. And it is those two generations that are really propelling Obama into the White House, rightly or wrongly. Hillarah represents neither of these two generations. That is not her fault (and it is Obama's luck), but that doesn't change the reality.
While true that Biden is not of Obama's generation, he doesn't obfuscate the platform in the way that Hillarah would have. And he gives the opposition little to oppose other than honest policy disagreements.
Even if, by some miracle, McCain wins this thing, it will be Obama's style, Obama's constituency, and Obama's campaign tactics that will guide the Ds in the presidential races in the future. It will not be Hillarah's. And that, in my humble opinion, is not only a very good thing, but a greater legacy than Hillarah could have ever left.
The 3 or 4 people that read this thing thought that I was over the top in my antipathy for Hillarah, and to a point I was, but it was motivated by a frustration with Ds (or at least non-current-day GOPs) to settle for what was 'winnable' vs. what was more bold and far better.
Obama has literally, quite literally, mobilized millions in his campaign effort. The vast majority of these volunteers do very small things such as make a few phone calls, plant signs, drive a couple people to early polling locations--nothing earth shattering. But the obvious brilliant simplicity of it is that it makes the election their election too. They have a personal stake in the outcome and--in a real way--effect the final tally beyond their single vote. It is enpowering. And, at the risk of sounding too Polyannish, it is the modern manifestation of Thomas Paine's dream and hope for the United States.
That is not to say that McCain's campaign doesn't do the same thing for its volunteers or that Hillarah wouldn't have. But can anyone imagine either of them doing it as well? Further, can anyone imagine the slime oozing out of the McCain campaign ads if Hillarah was the VP choice? With that much baggage?
Back to the intended point, this always had the chance to be a generational shift. I've said before that Obama's biggest qualification is that he is not from the Baby-Boomer generation. There are two generations younger than them that need a voice and a new politics. And it is those two generations that are really propelling Obama into the White House, rightly or wrongly. Hillarah represents neither of these two generations. That is not her fault (and it is Obama's luck), but that doesn't change the reality.
While true that Biden is not of Obama's generation, he doesn't obfuscate the platform in the way that Hillarah would have. And he gives the opposition little to oppose other than honest policy disagreements.
Even if, by some miracle, McCain wins this thing, it will be Obama's style, Obama's constituency, and Obama's campaign tactics that will guide the Ds in the presidential races in the future. It will not be Hillarah's. And that, in my humble opinion, is not only a very good thing, but a greater legacy than Hillarah could have ever left.
