Are we ready?
Below is my response to a young friend's excited e-mail about Obama's seemingly impending announcement as Presidential Candidate:
He would make an excellent running-mate for Edwards.
But I think he, like Hillary, would be quite a long-shot for President.
He needs to start lower and work his way up. His press is good, but he truly does not have the experience to run the country. He also has no military background, which in this election, is going to be almost crucial.
Do not get me wrong. I like Obama, the man. I just do not feel he (yet) has the qualifications to run our country. The Democrats are pretty much poised to take the presidency in 2008. The public is disgusted by the Iraq situation and ready for change. Even many Republicans are ready to swing their votes over to the blue side. Even though all looks good for our party peeps, do not be lulled into a false sense of security. The position is still very fragile. Throw in a Clinton (any Clinton - Bill or Hillary) and they have such a polarizing effect on people it would push a lot of those swing votes right back to the republican side.
Hatred for the Clintons ran very deep.
Then there is the whole woman/black man as President thing. Is our country really ready to elect either?
Remember, this is the country that elected the Bushes three times, despite their sordid past. This is also the country that stood for the vote count scandal of2000 when a freakin' Bush was counting the votes! We still have a large Klan population and hate groups have been on the upswing since the 80s. Will America really elect a black man to the highest office in the land?
And frankly, though we laugh at the political pundits' jokes, the name is still a big problem. Not everyone who votes is a one of the sharpest pencils in the cup.
Though he is a black man, Obama is a very "white" black man, with very positive press, no known scandals, and a helluva lot of charisma. I think that could surely get him a great running-mate slot, which would then give him experience and the opportunity to prove his worth, character and abilities to the moderate public.
I am all about an Edwards/Obama or Clinton (or even Henry, which would be an awesome addition that could quite possibly turn our red state blue in 2008.)
But Henry has expressed no aspirations of such, and the Big B and Capital H both aspire higher.
So, for now, we just wait and see how this all plays out...
He would make an excellent running-mate for Edwards.
But I think he, like Hillary, would be quite a long-shot for President.
He needs to start lower and work his way up. His press is good, but he truly does not have the experience to run the country. He also has no military background, which in this election, is going to be almost crucial.
Do not get me wrong. I like Obama, the man. I just do not feel he (yet) has the qualifications to run our country. The Democrats are pretty much poised to take the presidency in 2008. The public is disgusted by the Iraq situation and ready for change. Even many Republicans are ready to swing their votes over to the blue side. Even though all looks good for our party peeps, do not be lulled into a false sense of security. The position is still very fragile. Throw in a Clinton (any Clinton - Bill or Hillary) and they have such a polarizing effect on people it would push a lot of those swing votes right back to the republican side.
Hatred for the Clintons ran very deep.
Then there is the whole woman/black man as President thing. Is our country really ready to elect either?
Remember, this is the country that elected the Bushes three times, despite their sordid past. This is also the country that stood for the vote count scandal of2000 when a freakin' Bush was counting the votes! We still have a large Klan population and hate groups have been on the upswing since the 80s. Will America really elect a black man to the highest office in the land?
And frankly, though we laugh at the political pundits' jokes, the name is still a big problem. Not everyone who votes is a one of the sharpest pencils in the cup.
Though he is a black man, Obama is a very "white" black man, with very positive press, no known scandals, and a helluva lot of charisma. I think that could surely get him a great running-mate slot, which would then give him experience and the opportunity to prove his worth, character and abilities to the moderate public.
I am all about an Edwards/Obama or Clinton (or even Henry, which would be an awesome addition that could quite possibly turn our red state blue in 2008.)
But Henry has expressed no aspirations of such, and the Big B and Capital H both aspire higher.
So, for now, we just wait and see how this all plays out...
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