Hi Ken. I actually think she'd make a decent president and I'd certainly support her versus any of the Republicans currently in the mix. Having said that, she's my third choice for the Dems nominee.
I think the upside of Obama is so high that he's worth the downside risk of his relative lack of national experience and national connections. He's an idealist, he's sincere and he's a capable thinker with a big picture view. Those are all big but perhaps his biggest attribute is that he can relate to the rest of the world as representing what's best about America; i.e., a melting pot where the poor son of an African Muslim can become the most powerful man in the nation, and without using a gun.
If winning the "hearts and minds" of the populations of the world is critical to moderating terrorism and undermining the many economic and political alliances that are forming to counter our "dangerous" power, and I think it is, then Obama should be the kind, reasonable, multi racial face of America.
My second choice would be Biden. He's not very articulate and he blunders with words at times but his mind works well and he knows how Washington and the world work. He's been right on many issues, including the necessary partition of Iraq, and he's had the courage to speak out along with the judgement to moderate his views when the country wasn't ready to hear him. I think he'd bring what Hillary would bring and I feel like I understand his positions more clearly.
With respect to Hillary Clinton, contrary to popular opinion I suspect that although she would be a polarizing candidate she would not be a polarizing president. She's shown the ability to compromise and charm her opponents in the senate and if she weren't so hated by the Republican base I suspect that a lot of Republican senators would speak well of her.
As I said earlier, however, I think she's more of a hawk than a dove and I worry that she might feel the need to prove that she's not a wimp when it comes to the use of military power.
I don't see a lot of outside the box thinking from her and we need an inventor and not an engineer to lead this nation out of the big money, petty politics rut we've fallen into. In addition, she doesn't bring a "new face" to the White House and the overarching presence of Bill Clinton will certainly complicate the power structure of the White House.
So, I'd have preferred today's Hillary over last election's Kerry or the previous election's Gore but the quality of Obama and Biden drop her to my third choice. Ed |
