Barack, I Hardly Know Ye

Update: Check this out. Very helpful tool to compare the candidates.

Argh. I'm so confused. Six days ago I posted that I was going to support Hillary for the nomination and gave what I felt were pretty solid reasons why. I don't particularly like her (not the way I liked Bill) but thought she was the best candidate to actually do what we need done in this country and who had a chance to get elected.

Since then, in the past six days, she has really turned me off. And my boy Bill is getting a little loopy I think. It also offends my feminist sensibilities for him to be her front man in the campaign. I'd rather see her do it without him (unrealistic, I know).

In the meantime, I've read plenty about Obama, mostly from people I admire greatly. My cousin Mary and today, Caroline Kennedy's Op Ed piece in the NY Times. I totally get the inspirational aspect of him, and when he first arrived on the scene I was very excited that he might be a dynamic solution for our country. I get a good sense of him as a person, I think he's smart and classy and honorable. But about a month ago I saw him on Russert and instead of being riveted by him, I was bored. I kept waiting for something, anything, to make me want to support him... and it just wasn't there. As I've said before, words like "hope" and "promise" worry me. I sort of equate them with "prayer". In my world, praying and hoping doesn't make anything happen. Action does.

Barack, I want to jump on your bandwagon. I want to be able to pull for someone who will make an historical difference for this country that so desperately needs leadership. And leadership that won't embarrass us as a nation like what we've had for the past eight years.

I still have a gnawing fear that the red states will not vote for either a woman or a black man. Regardless of what people would like to think, both racism and sexism are very much alive and well. One poll I saw this morning said that 54% of Americans are ready for neither a woman or black man to lead the country. That is both sad and frightening.

I have to vote in the NY Primary next week and I honestly don't know what the heck I'm going to do. Between now and then I'm going to read. A lot. I'm going to try and look past the likeability factor and figure out whom I really think can beat the pants off the Republicans (or heck, beat them by one vote if necessary).

Unfortunately the candidate that I really like the most, John Edwards, probably doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting the nom. But maybe whomever does get it will take him as a running mate.



Obama supporters: Convince me. Please.