I have a confession to make. I [deep breath] am a twenty-something, educated person who is pro-Hillary. I know, I’m breaking with so many demographic studies in this admission, but I don’t care. I really like Hillary. I’m really uneasy about Barack.
Now, some might be wondering how I could possibly be uneasy about Barack. “He is such an amazing public speaker,” you say. “His message of change is SOOOoooo inspiring.” First of all, I don’t care. I don’t need a president to give me goose bumps, I need a president to give me real policies. Public speaking is a useful skill. I, as my mother so frequently reminds me (at least a couple of times a year), have been known to bring tears to my listeners’ eyes. Does that mean I should be president? I would think not. For one, that’s not even legal, due to my young age. Second, public speaking just means you can work a crowd. We have a president who can work a crowd and I don’t like him. He’s been awful.
As for the message of hope, here’s why it doesn’t work on me. The system is in place. It has been for 200 years. Yes, there are things about it that I’m not fond of. There are flaws. But a good portion of those flaws and things that annoy me (minus things this administration has done, which can’t be blamed on the system but only on their assedness) are flaws within the Congressional system. How is he going to change those? He’s in an entirely different system (executive versus legislative, for those of you who don’t remember social studies well). He can try, but I don’t think it’ll work, and really, his energy should be elsewhere.
Then there is the dearth of experience. Foreign experience is hugely important to me right now. The world hates us. I’d like to change that. Navigating the treacherous waters of foreign politics is hard and takes practice and knowledge. He listed living abroad as part of his foreign experience (I mean, seriously. Another reason I should be president. I too have lived abroad. Twice. TWICE.)
Add to all this that I genuinely like Hillary, and it’s not surprising I hope she overcomes the numerical odds and gets the nomination. She makes me feel safe. She’s experienced. She’s tough. She’s proven herself willing to take on challenges, willing to try hard even when failing is likely. And for the argument of how divisive she is and how Congress won’t work with her. She has managed to get a remarkable number of bills through for a junior senator. Conservatives in New York love her. And she has worked her butt off for her constituents. What more do we need? Change? Hah. Call me bitter, but you can’t change the system. We vote on a message of change and we will be disappointed.
Of course, according to the History Channel, the world is ending in 2012, so I guess it doesn’t hugely matter anyways.
10 comments:
That's why you should support Ron Paul :)
I actually did go see him speak. He's got some interesting ideas. I'm not sure I buy into ALL of them, but...
I saw a quote from your post in the Express this morning and I came to read the whole thing. I have to say that I completely agree with you, and I'm very happy to hear someone else express the same things I've been thinking.
Greta: Thank you. It gets depressing with the media coverage of Barack being SO freaking positive. It's nice to know I'm not alone...
Did you read my mind before posting this? Seriously, well said. The first thing about Barack that left me feeling cold was his constant reminders that he was the only candidate who did not support the war in Iraq from the beginning. Every time he said that in a speech, in a debate, etc. I wanted to pick up something heavy and throw it at him. I don't care what you thought then (back when most of the country believed this administration's lies, back when you were not even in politics and couldn't vote in the Senate) but I do care what you're going to do about it now. Anyway, I'm not as angry about it all as I sound here but I am rooting for Hil right now, so bravo.
Becca,
This is the first time I�ve ever seen anyone imply that George W Bush is a good public speaker! Of the past several presidents, I think Bill Clinton is generally thought of as the best public speaker.
I agree that a president needs to do more than inspire confidence. However, I also think that right now people want a president who can unify the country. Hillary is someone people either love or hate and I can�t see her creating any unity.
Emily K.
Leah: Yeah, I mean it was SO long ago. The intelligence was skewed, you weren't in Congress, just get over it and stop talking about it.
Emily: I don't think that Bush is a great public speaker. But he knows how to work a crowd and make people like him. How many times did we hear, "Oh, I'd like to go to a barbeque with him." in the last election. Bill was definitely better with that. And I think she could be more of a unifier than people think, once she gets into office and starts proving herself. Like I said, she won over conservatives in New York, and they are hardcore conservatives up there.
Agreed, 100% agreed. I can't place it completely but I just don't like something about Barack, he reminds me of that smooth talking guy in school. You know the one that always knew the right thing to say, problem was he was he had no depth beyond the surface layer.
Hillary has experience, I was happy with where her husband took the country, and I agree with most of her opinions. I tend to be skeptical about things that seem to good to be true and Barack falls square in that area. I KNOW what Hillary's downfalls are, but these claims of Obama being perfect, give me a break nothing is that perfect. No politician really gives a damn about you, they all have agendas the question is can you tell what that agenda is?
Government isn't suppose to always be something you agree with, its not suppose to coddle you or make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. But thats the joy of democracy, we have a say, EVERYONE of us has a say. But most of the issues right now with government (beyond the Bush specific ones) are at the legislative level. Not exactly something a president has very much say in. That's why I pay more attention to local and congressional elections then presidential ones.
Thank you, its nice to see someone else putting this so eloquently into words. Trust me you're not alone, we're just not as fervent as the Obama-ites.
Ransim: Exactly what I think on the "warm and fuzzy" thing. And it seems as though all the politicians who run on the message of change wind up in corruption investigations. Call me bitter, call me unhopeful, but that doesn't make me think too much of "change" politicians.
Ditto previous posters and kudos to you for not being blinded by the constant echo of CHANGE like your peers. I'm frustrated with his constant harping on Hillary's war record and the endless cries for change (beginning to truly hate that word, by the way) but offering nothing but charisma in return. And you bring up a good point- the executive and legislative systems aren't the same and his experience (such as it is) probably won't translate.
If Obama gets the nom, I'm not sure what I'll do, to be honest.
Post a Comment