Nasty Little Man

Obama for president

During the early speculation about the presidential race, I was a Russ Feingold guy. The senator from Wisconsin made some appearances around the country that gave the appearance that he was laying the groundwork for a presidential run.

The country needs a candidate like Feingold in the race. The senator is not afraid to tell it like it is, and he is a champ on defending the Constitution and standing up for justice.

But at this point, it does not appear that Feingold is running. We are still almost a year away from the Iowa caucuses, so there is time.

But assuming Feingold is out, Barack Obama is my guy, even though a) PA's primary is so late that it is irrelevant in the nominating process (at least for now) and b) I'm registered "no affiliation" anyway.

Although I will not have a vote, I am fully behind Senator Barack Obama. (And let's face it, all of the candidates are chasing the highly-coveted Nasty Little Man endorsement.) There are two main reasons I'm an Obama supporter.

First, Senator Obama appeals to my better person, to my Buddha nature. The public dialogue is too often corrosive, and I'll admit that I've engaged in that kind of behavior myself. Obama is attempting to go beyond that to a place where you can stand for something and still engage in respectful dialogue with others. This doesn't mean that you stand for nothing. You simply have enough respect for the other person and recognize his/her inherent worth to give his/her ideas a full public airing. (And then crush them with your own brilliant ideas.)

Second, there are few politicians that have the street cred that Obama has. That might sound silly since he gets knocked around for growing up in Hawaii, going to Harvard, etc. But how many politicians have been a community organizer in an urban area like the South Side of Chicago? I appreciate the fact that he has been out there in the neighborhoods and the streets working directly with people.

Some of my friends and acquaintances have been talking up Hillary, but my problem with Hillary is the same problem I had with Bill. She appears to be a political opportunist, and I'm not certain that she stands for anything. I see politics as a means to an end, i.e. achieving some level of justice in our country. Hillary seems to see politics as the end, not a means to an end.

Plus, what state is Hillary going to win that Kerry didn't win?

Barack Obama for President.

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, politics, Russ Feingold

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 10:42 PM