Obama time
Posted By Carlo on February 23, 2008
I’ve watched a good dozen of the Democratic Party debates and I’m a fan of Bill Clinton’s. But on March 4, if not before, I’ll cast my vote for Barack Obama in the Ohio Democratic primary. The decision has gotten easier.
I know Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, an obviously intelligent and sensitive guy, backs Hillary Clinton, suggesting her grasp of specifics and her detailed plans outweigh Obama’s hope-fueled bid. Hillary would make a good president, too. But Obama’s inclusiveness and his willingness to engage with the world without preconditions appeal to my deeper, less strategic nature.
A colleague at work tells me he plays poker with a gang of East Side Cleveland-area Jews, like both of us, and they won’t vote for Obama because he’s black. It would be naïve to assume racism is dying because of Obama’s campaign, but I hope it is, and his drive would seem to signal its imminent death. I remember picketing Woolworth’s in the early ‘60s in Cambridge, Mass. because it wouldn’t serve blacks. We’ve come a long way since then, for sure. But there’s a long way to go. Electing a man who looks like the rest of the world is the right step.
I’ve always been a politics junkie, and 1992 was the first year I ever volunteered for a presidential campaign: Bill Clnton’s. I’m going to work for Obama this year and do everything I can to put him into the White House. He’s clearly a brilliant politician, he has ambitious, populist plans and he’s calm. He’s also a genetic hybrid, like this country was always meant to be.
Too bad 2008 also is the first year a woman is within striking distance of the White House. Among my most fervent hopes is that Hillary drops out of the race gracefully so she can wield a powerful influence in the Obama administration.
It’s Obama time.
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