I am suppporting Barack Obama because of the BIGGER picture.

[kentuck]

First of all, I think Hillary would be an excellent President. It would be historic for her to be the first woman President. It would make all our daughters and mothers and sisters feel good about themselves. I have no doubt but that Hillary would do a great job. But it is BIGGER than that.

It is about more than just us. It is about humankind. It is about the conditions that we now face in this world. It is about war and peace. It is about saving the world for our daughters and mothers and sisters.

We are on a precipice that calls for the very best leadership we can find. We have antagonized the world. We have created a paranoia amongst some nations, we now call enemies, that have caused them to look for nuclear defense capabilities. We are living in a very dangerous time.

I do not know if Barack Obama can do the job better than Hillary. I can only go with my heart. We need to rebuild our nation and heal our soul. I believe Barack Obama is the best person to help our nation and to create a more peaceful world. That is more important at this time than whether or not we elect the first woman President. This is just my opinion but it is the way I feel.

[SeaLyons]

1. For all those reasons...

I am supporting Hillary.

Hillary for President.

[flor de jasmim]

2. Just out of curiousity

What is your perspective on the Bosnia sniper-fire thing?
The lack of prompt bill-paying?
Penn?

I'm honestly not trying to inflame you--just wondering what a Hillary supporter says to him/herself in light of these and other issues.

[kentuck]

3. I was hoping this thread would not turn into one of "those"

:-(

[JimGinPA]

5. Sorry, Too Many HRC Supporters Are So Bitter That She Is Losing...

They are shitting on every thread about Obama or his supporters, regardless of how positive it is.

K&R

[flor de jasmim]

7. Let me rephrase: if Hillary wins the nomination, what should I need to be

able to say to myself that makes her more acceptable?

Is that better? As I said, I am not trying to pick a fight--just to understand how to come together--how to understand your perspective, which I respect.

[SeaLyons]

11. ....

None of the points you mentioned have anything to do with what sort of President Hillary will be. The same could be asked of you with concerns I consider truly alarming about Obama, but I'm sure you would answer in the same way I have answered you.

You support Obama, I support Hillary. It's just that simple.

Peace.

[ClayZ]

25. I hope when he is our nominee, the Clinton folks

will support him! I am thankful that the majority of our party sees things the way I do!


Yes We Can!


Edit: kick

[bain_sidhe]

27. That picture gives me blurry screen virus, every time

Even before I decided that Obama was the likeliest candidate to win the G.E. That pic is just so iconic.

(we now return to your regularly scheduled thread)

EEEK... I mean, edit for punctuation!

[liberaldem4ever]

4. I support Obama with all my heart

But I will be voting for the Democratic candidate. I think and hope that it will be Obama, but no matter what I will support the Democratic candidate because I love our country more than I will ever love any candidate. I will never do anything to put another Republican in office who wants to start preemptive wars and send troops to die for a lie. That is what I think is really important.

[knixphan]

19. absolutely.

[watercolors]

6. I applaud you post, thank you!

We have switched our thinking about Hillary, it was difficult, but I have a great feeling about Obama. I feel a great calmness come over me and a feeling of hope. We need hope for some peace and sanity, past few years have been so stressful!

[kentuck]

9. Thank you.

I do believe that we need to look deeper. It's not just about whether Hillary is a woman or Obama is a black man. It is about how we can become a better nation and a more peaceful world. It is about how we stop wars - not start wars.

[ginnyinWI]

8. I'm supporting Obama because I have confidence in him.

He's consistently shown intelligence, good analytical skills, fairness, empathy, leadership ability, and great communication skills. He sees many sides of an issue and considers which is the smartest, most effective response to it.

He has said of his executive skills, "Watch how I run my campaign." And I see the above qualities in the way he's responded to the Rev. Wright dust-up. And also to various other attacks; he's stayed on message and responded the way I want the next President to respond: thoughtfully, wisely, and with confidence.

[liberaldem4ever]

10. That was well said ginnyinWI

That is how I feel about him. He is going to make a great president. I don't think that she would be a bad president-I just think that he is more electable and that he is a better choice.

[uponit7771]

12. True in regards to the executive skills, I'd hire him in a second...he's shown leadership

[WhiteTara]

30. his military adviser is Colin Powell

[kentuck]

13. kick

For the BIGGER picture.

[Beacool]

14. I won't spoil your post,

but I think that Hillary has those leadership abilities that you see in Obama. Many of us do, or we wouldn't have worked and continue to work, so hard helping her campaign. I have given plenty of my time, and I'm still doing it by going to PA every weekend, because I deeply believe that she would be a better president than Obama. I think that she's ready and he's not, maybe in a few years, but not now. I do think that actual experience at the national level counts for something.

No flames here, just an honest opinion.

[kentuck]

15. And some believe that Hillary is tied to the status quo...

and that is why she voted for the Iraq War Resolution and why she voted to declare Iranian Revolutionary Guard a "terrorist" organization. To some folks, that shows that she does not have the independent judgement to lead our country at this time. I understand that most of her supporters disagree with that opinion.

However, I do not believe it would be good for our country to go thru 8 more years of a Clinton Presidency, even though the economy was very good during those years. In my opinion, the country cannot take 8 more years of the division we have seen for the last 16 years. Although Hillary will get my vote if she is the nominee, I do not think she is capable of uniting our country or changing the status quo to any large degree. To be fair, I do not know if Obama will change the status quo or will unite the country, but I feel that he has a better chance. For me, this is more important than whether we nominate a woman or a black person to the office.

[Beacool]

18. To me , Obama has not proven to be a uniter.

If anything, Hillary is the one who crossed party lines over and over to work with the Republicans whenever possible. She is one of the most sought after senators to co-sponsor bills. She has earned the respect of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle the old fashion way: by working hard.

I see the party deeply divided and I don't think that it will be united by November. There are too many hard feelings on both sides.

[kentuck]

21. Although most polls show Hillary to be the most divisive candidate...

by a wide margin, she has crossed lines to work with some Republicans. Several times, in fact. The division attributed to Obama is not from the Republican side - it is from the Democratic side - primarily from Hillary supporters. Estimates are that more Republican voters will support Obama than Hillary in the election.

We can argue about which side is most divisive but usually, Hillary has higher negatives than either McCain or Obama in the polls. Maybe she is not deserving of those perceptions but she has them.

[marions ghost]

16. yes

I have to agree.

I'm not going to laboriously list all the reasons why--it's all been said by now. While many of their positions are similar, these two candidate's priorities are somewhat different. That's now apparent.

I think that Hillary should remain in the Senate and use her formidable lawyerly skills for the benefit of the country. Barack has the kind of big picture vision we need and is a leader who can inspire people beyond their dreams. He has demonstrated that recently on the campaign trail if not before. Right now, we need to heal --and SALVAGE -- this country. Of the 3, he is the one best equipped for the horrendous job of following the disastrous Bush/Neocon era.

:thumbsup:

[Scurrilous]

17. Great post.

K & R :thumbsup:

[knixphan]

20. rebuilding and soul-healing

yes and yes!

[Awsi Dooger]

22. It's a bigger picture in terms of our voting base in future decades

I support Hillary but I'm well aware Obama brings the youth vote in waves. And young voters tend to stick to the party of initial loyalty.

Look at it this way: Bush has repulsed 8 years of young voters. That block will be majority Democratic for life. Now if Obama manages a successful presidency, you step ladder another 8 year block of first time voters who tilt Democratic. That has devastating impact down the road. Just imagine 2028 when voters in their 40s and 50s are Democratic-leaning by perhaps 54-46%. Extremely tough for the GOP to overcome.

I believe Hillary would make the superior president, but no doubt she would be closer to 50/50 in youth appeal and alignment.

[cooolandrew]

23. Yep electing Barack would show to the world America has clearly changed.in a good sense.

[bcoylepa]

24. just wrote

the same sentiments to my local papers before the PA primary
this feminist wants to change the way things are done - not just the gender of the person at the top
YES WE CAN!

[eridani]

26. The bigger picture may require someone who can do the FDR thing

Obama and Clinton are both triangulating centrists, but I think Obama has an edge in thinking outside the box. We'll need that, given the economic/ecological shitstorm we'll be facing.

[GrandmaJones7]

28. Maybe - but

-don't you think HRC has the edge in experiance? Really, only SHE can beat McCain - don't you agree?

[eridani]

32. No. Every time she uses rethug frames, she kills her own chances as well as Obama's

Campaigning on fear is a rethug game that we are guaranteed to lose. We need a president who is only secondarily a 'commander in chief.' Every time she says that, she loses the Dems several hundred thousand votes. No candidate as clueless about the Internet as she is can possibly win. She continued to lie about Tuzla days after the contradicting YouTube video had a record number of hits.

Besides which, we are headed for a very serious economic/ecological shitstorm, in which experience is no help at all.

[WhiteTara]

29. Colin Powell is Obama's military adviser

so, no I don't think he'll do a better job than Hillary. Electing a woman would be historic. And it would be incredible for women leaders to get together because somehow I think that we would see different solutions than the ones we get from men. And frankly, I think we need a little different thinking. As they say, doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is another definition of insanity.

edited for spelling

[loyalsister]

31. I'm with you

My first exposure to him was the 2004 convention, and I said right then that I thought he could be president. I based it on my perception of the way he thinks based on that speech. Listening to more and reading more, I am ever more convinced.

I am reading "The Audacity of Hope" right now, and I have never come across anyone who can think so broadly and openly and clearly. I think that he has a way of understanding real situations from all points of view in a way that is truly in the form of a peacemaker.

His investment in foreign policy is so personal that his potential to help us heal is underestimated.

I think that a large part of the electorate knows what some deny.
We would be crazy not to elect a man who has an internalized sense of foreign policy that demands that we heal this nation. He is recently genetically invested in other continents.
I think this gives him a sense of the world that few Americans, let alone policy makers can begin to consider.