After Two Tuesdays, Still No Knockout

I haven't seen any traffic here on the outcomes of Super Tuesday and the "Potomac Primary", so I thought I'd ramble a bit on the results and see what people think.

McCain as the almost-certain nominee of the Republican Party surprises me quite a bit.  Most prominent conservatives I read or hear on radio or TV display a very obvious distaste for him.  Combine that with the funding problems his campaign reportedly had and his front-runner status seems almost bizarre.  It does explain why he can't seem to sweep Huckabee away.  If McCain does become the nominee, I think he will face a lot of pressure to choose a reliable conservative as his running mate.  This should create an opening for whoever the Democrats nominate to win the independent vote.

I'm surprised by how well Obama continues to do, especially by his margin of victory in Virginia.  I wonder if the changes in Clinton's campaign team are evidence of a bit of panic.  I expect the scrutiny of Obama to increase now.  I also think it will be good for him.  If he takes the opportunities to prove his detractors wrong on the question of substance, he may yet become the nominee.

Enter the Yellow Dog

I am a "Yellow Dog" Democrat who have always voted regardless . However, I happen to believe experience is more important than inspiration. The tremendous support that Obama has received I think is in part a result of Americas frustration with the Irack's fiasco. I have heard it said " We need a fresh face, not one connected to the past or the present " I think this reasoning is quite simplistic and smacks of hopelessness and desperation.

Betty Lawrence

Politics of seduction

I do want to add thatpolitics is about seduction. Obama has seduced a widevariety of the public into parting with their money tosupport his presidential bid.

A Few things I have [learned] from the Bush presidency:

- with the right people in place you can accomplish many wrong things

-that a powerful president can accomplish anything

Taashi

From inside the machine

What in Obama's past makes [us] thinkhe has the skills to deliver? Its not enough to have the ideas, youhave to actually get things done.

Obama has not revealed in the Senate that hehas the leadership skills to change washington. Also, remember Bush ran on a platform of changing Washington--I believehis slogan was: "I want to be a uniter not a divider." As a part of the machine, what I have realized is that it is much moreimportant to be able to run the machine.

Ken

Risk enables change

I don't believe that there are any of us who believethat either of these candidates are without faults. I've never believed that it is possible to besuccessful politically without some form of lying,cheating or cronyism. I'm not voting for perfection.I'm voting for change. I'm tired of seeing the samepeople, say the same thing and then get into politicsand do nothing that makes a difference in my life.

I think in the world that we areliving in today it's about risk. Whoever you choosewill change the landscape of american politics in someway. When you've got nuclear-happy dictators andsuicide-happy civilians there will always be risk. Isay we need to stop looking toward the status quo tochange the world we live in.

--Taashi

More Candidate Flaws

Fri 01FEB

This last cycle, I worked on my 10th political campaign. I have helped run a state-wide campaign, I helped raise money for the current governor of iowa and I designed and ran a voter protection campaign in a Connecticut congressional race during this last cycle.

I have never met a political candidate who ran for an office for purely selfless reasons. Most people run to put to rest deep seated demons or to assuage feelings of insecurity.

Ken

Wisdom, says the Wise Man

The trouble with Nixon and Rumsfeld is not that they hadtoo much experience. In my view their character flaws (arrogance, paranoia,egotism, etc.) tended to negate their experience. To that I'd add, that thein life in general and certainly in government, one's success depends asmuch on the individual as on the people they choose as counselors andadvisers: "In the multitude of counsel is wisdom," says the Wise Man.

Karl Lawrence

What does the electorate want?

...If the last 8 years of inexperienced leadership are followed with another inexperienced administration—If vision wins over experience—Ill have to adjust my political thinking to accommodate the notion that in the end, vision is all that matters.

Ken

Experience, Potential and Incumbency

Thu, 31JAN

the potential of an individual is not considered often enough whenselecting leaders. This applies
both in the NFL context and the political one. In a league where at least two-thirds of the players are African-American,their percentages in the coaching ranks are quite small. Why? In large partbecause of the idea of experience. This has meant seeing the same faces in thecoaching ranks of different teams, whether they duplicate their originalsuccesses or not.

Human nature being what it is, we act no differently when it comes to ourgovernment. The number of African-American governors in American history? Small. Senators? Also small. The reasons are no different. Incumbency andexperience are the overriding concern. Preferences play here too. This may bepart of the reason Ike Leggett got passed over as a lieutenant governor choicewhen Kathleen Townsend ran for governor here. It may also be part of thereason why the Democratic party backed Cardin over Mfume in the Senate racehere.

We've spoken at length about the problems that our country finds itself in. Itshould not go unremarked that we find ourselves in this place in large partbecause very, very experienced people have put us here. A secretary ofdefense, Donald Rumsfeld who goes back to the Nixon administration. A vicepresident, Dick Cheney, who while not on your list of those most prepared to bepresident, meets or exceeds the qualifications of each and every person on thatlist. These presumably wise and experienced men are the ones who helped leadthis nation into ill-advised war with Iraq, the use of torture, and thedestruction of our civil liberties. The past 7 years tell me that experienceis a two-edged sword.

-Scott

Candidate experience

It's clear you believe that Hillary Clinton is by far the best candidate. Itjust isn't a belief I share. If her husband finds it necessary to compareBarack Obama to Jesse Jackson after a bad loss in South Carolina in an attemptto marginalize him, I have to question whether or not they believe theexperience argument as much as you do.

Scott A. Lawrence

The real choice

I'm under no illusions that the Democratic primary process has served upbattle-tested state governors with true governmental executive experience. Ithas served up senators, none of whom has tested their ideas as an executive andbeen accountable to voters for them. So that isn't the choice.The real choice is for or against another Clinton co-presidency. I amincreasingly sure I will find myself in the "against" camp.

Scott A. Lawrence

Candidate Comparisons

who knows what Obama would have done if he had been in office when hillary was there for that vote.

hillary is not laura bush. She is not Barbara bush or Roslyn carter or even Lady Bird and she is not Jackie-O.

the obvious difference between hillary's and obama's policies is that hillary actually knows the details of her policies and can discuss them with you. Her policies are a product on years of careful consideration and experience. Obama's policies are the product of careful note-taking and disciplined memorization.

Ken

Candidate Style

Tue, 29JAN
As much as we might like to believe that our fellow citizens care about acandidate's experience, the issues the majority of us choose on are far lesssubstantive. Charisma counts for a lot. It probably had as much to do withBill Clinton winning the White House twice as his policy stands or the state ofthe economy.

"All the political spin in the world doesn't change the fact that Hillary Clinton (and those who voted with her) enabled a war that diverted necessary resourcesfrom Afghanistan and validated the ill-conceived strategy of "preemptive" war.

"I'll also note that Obama has been an elected official longer than any currentcandidate left in the field of Democrats. Being the spouse of an electedofficial is one thing, but being accountable to voters for your actions isquite another.

Scott A. Lawrence

Our better angels aside...

One thing we have to keep in mind is that thepress has had a long time to develop a storyline--a negative one I might add--about the Clintons. Reporting therefore tends to be skewed to fit thatstoryline.

my very deep-seated skepticism about anything the U.S. pressreports leads me to wonder if all the hullabaloo about the Clintons' use of"the race card" is not a diversion.

As I said, I like [Obama]. His appeal to our better angels is quitelaudatory, refreshing and inspirational. The realist in me, however, tellsme that the powers-that-be who were instrumental in creating the climatethat made life hell for the Clintons have not gone away. The supposedpolitical calculation for which Hillary is criticized is what one does tosurvive in this climate.

Karl Lawrence

Presidential Qualifications

The other day I said that gore, hillary Clinton and Nixon were the most overqualified candidates for president weve had in the last 40 years. I made a colossal omission. LBJ! Also, I am a dedicated democrat and will support whole heartedly anyone who wins the nomination, but I cant believe people are falling for that amorphous crap Obama is selling.

Ken

Democrat Reflections

Those of us who haven’t had our opportunity to express our opinion (i.e., vote our preference) say to the “talking heads” and self-appointed experts, “wait a minute.” We’ll not be stampeded; after all, with mighty few exceptions, they do a spectacularly lousy job of keeping us informed on issues that really matter.

Today, I am not as adamantly opposed to her as I was back then in part because in any contest involving a qualified female versus a male, I tend to go for the female.

Bottom line: The war’s a reality; the question now is how do we get out? I for one believe that the U.S. has made a mess of the lives of millions of Iraqis and bear a moral obligation to help that poor country back on its feet. The truth of the matter is that Obama will not get us out any sooner than Hillary.

He’s bright, inspirational and appears to have good political and moral instincts. That said, I find his talk about change gauzy, given the depth and scope of the problems the country (and the world for that matter) faces. From the bits and pieces of the debates I’ve seen I’ve been more impressed by Hillary’s command of the issues than by Obama.

Karl Lawrence

On Obama

Mon, 28JAN

He is really making waves. Wow? Can you see an Obama in the White House? I can't see it. I am sure he is bright and probably as capable as some other presidents have been, but will&n bsp;he be accepted, supported, loved, listened to? will he get the cooperation and all that?

VA

An outsider's thoughts

Politics does not interest me much, but since Hillary has decided to place herself on the frontlines I have been looking on with one eye to see what will happen. I am concerned that she is so caught up with what is happening in the country to want to take on such a challenging responsibility. I suppose she is confident that Bill will be right by her side in the event she is chosen. But my deepest hope is that it does not happen.

I am not sure why Obama thinks he can make it. I would be frightened if an Obama reaches the White House. I feel like I would not wa nt to be around. Mind you, it is not because of he is not capable, far from it; he is a Harvard graduate; but I fear what people would do to him!

Mom Anderson

The question of experience

I don't doubt that [Hillary] had some influence on [President Clinton's] decision-making, but Bill Clinton was the commander-in-chief, not her. He wasthe one with the authority to order the launch of nuclear weapons. Cabinetappointments, judicial appointments--all things that Bill Clinton was the finaldecision-maker on. The "president-by-proxy" argument doesn't wash with me.

The implicit assumption in arguments in favor ofexperience is that all experience is good. The past 7-8 years should be enoughproof of the falseness of that idea. All the experience of the current leadersof our foreign policy was from the Cold War. It has consistently provenentirely inapplicable to the Middle East.

Policy matters more than labels, and there's been plentyof bad policy coming out of Washington over the past 7-8 years.

Until next time family,
Scott

Obama Love

Obama's real estate dealings pale in comparison to Whitewater...
Obama's missteps are small, and do not involve personal corruption.

Michelle asks a good question about what candidate already knows about how tomanage these crises. Since none of them has ever been president before, theanswer would be none. This is where the question of good judgment comes in,and whether or not the candidates have exercised it in past circumstances ofgrave importance.

Scott A. Lawrence

Thoughts on the dems

Obama may seem to have less ethical or personal "flaws" than maybe Clinton does... Still, there have been some few ethical things already raised. And again on a somewhat superficial level, Clinton's history does come across as problematic (flawed)... and then w/regard to Rodham Clinton's movements toward the center on certain political/policy positions (military/defense matters comes to mind). I believe the media reporting which says that a substantial segment of the public has reservations about [Rodham Clinton's] integrity... and doubt about her personal ethics, etc.

I welcome information about (ALL) the candidates actual votes and positions...
> obama's chicago voting suggests agreement with far left liberalism [and] we all know clinton's votes are also far left most of the time
> McCain was willing to go along with the "amnesty" plan [and] his statesmanship/ integrity over the years has been compromised
> i don't believe the nation will accept obama as commander-in-chief... heck *I* don't feel that comfortable with him as commander...

what are the most critical issues facing US right now? CRISIS MANAGEMENT: 1) potential natural disasters, and our level of preparedness and ability to respond w/military resources 2) terrorist attacks at home, same concern 3) continuing foreign engagements, terrorism, and crises (Iran? Turkey? Afghanistan?) which also drain our economy at home...

What candidate *ALREADY* knows what to do about this stuff?

michelle anderson cummings

Candidates with less flaws?

I'm guessing Obama doesn't lie as much. And he seems to be more of a uniter than a divider. Also he's black. There I said it.

--Taashi

Candidate flaws

I'm least bothered by Barack Obama'sflaws. If the results in Iowa are duplicated in New Hampshire and elsewhere, it may indicate that his presence in the race is bringing new people to the process who weren't formerly involved. I am encouraged that he won so convincingly in a state where over 90% of the population is white.

Scott A. Lawrence

The seed is planted...

Sun, 06JAN

Personally, I have not spent much time to-date intentionally investigating each candidate in terms of his/her past record, actions, ideas, etc. so I wonder if someone with both time, desire, and a perspective that they could present/explain would be willing to start this off. I know that I would benefit a lot.

Richard Anderson, Durham NC