Brat, thank you for posting, and for your candid responses. I'm genuinely glad to have you here on EoW. This is a more conservative forum, and I appreciate having you post from a different perspective.
Brat wrote:Many will vote democrat this election solely for the fact that a woman or african american is running. I'm not in that category.
Kudos to you for not being a novelty voter. Voting is tremendously important, and not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, you are correct in your assessment of many voters' reason for casting a vote this election. However, it is a double-edged sword, and there are many who are just bigoted enough to NOT vote for those very same reasons. I trust neither of us is in that category either.
Brat wrote:I was disappointed in Romney's decision to drop out, not because I was a supporter, but because it has taken away the opportunity of further discussion and debate between the two.
That's an astute observation, and I quite agree, that Romney raised the level of the discussion. If you had a chance to hear is "withdrawal speech," it was just exceptional. I wanted to stand up and cheer while at the airport. Now, as for Clinton and Obama:
Brat wrote:I seriously doubt that a Republican will win this election. I've never voted solely on party (except of course in the primaries), but I will definitely not be voting Republican this time around. Many will vote democrat this election solely for the fact that a woman or african american is running. I'm not in that category.
Clinton and Obama have voiced the same views on many issues important to me, although I think Obama has picked up a few of those views from Clinton. I believe Clinton has the knowledge, contacts and experience to hit the ground running, which this Country sorely needs at this point in time. Additionally, I agree with you that Obama is too far to the left. Myself...I'm more in the middle or just left of center so that does matter a great deal to me.
It's still early in the race and I may have to eat my words if Clinton doesn't get the nomination.
I have not seen this much "excitement" about a candidate in my lifetime. I'm forty-six. Now, Reagan did generate a bit of it, but not to the level that I am seeing with Obama. When he was speaking on Super Tuesday, there was a young blonde woman behind him, over his left shoulder, who was looking at him like he was the 2nd coming of the Messiah. I mean she adored this man. She was so enraptured that she could hardly contain it. That's the excitement I'm talking about.
Now, with Hillary, it is the opposite effect. There are people like yourself who respect and admire her. You believe in her abilities. Hillary, however, is a very polarizing woman. If she wins the nomination, there will be people on both sides of the aisle who will come out just to vote against her. Honestly, I support her Democratic nomination for that reason alone. I believe she is the easier candidate to defeat.
However, Obama will be run through the meat grinder for his lack of experience. It is a legitimate point, but I'm not sure how much of an effect the argument will have, particularly with the youth vote. What we are seeing in the Obama young voter turnout is nothing short of a phenomenon. He has the "IT" factor going for him. He looks good and sounds good. He looks presidential.
On the Republican side, there just isn't that sort of excitement. For many of us, particularly the more conservative Rs, the question is not, "Who am I the most excited about," but rather, "who can I stomach?" I hate saying these things, but integrity and honesty are important to me, and I'm not going to pretend to be excited about John McCain as a candidate when I'm not.
I respect John in many ways. I mean, here we have a man who is imprisoned in Asia, and after a couple of years is offered his freedom because his father was a man of importance. And he refuses it!! He stayed in that prison for about four more years while the beat the crap out of him for refusing to leave! Okay, you just have to respect a man like that. But that doesn't necessarily translate into my wanting him to be my President.
Okay, my son wants to go get dinner, so I need to shut down here. But Brat, I really appreciate you sharing your point of view here. Please continue to do so.
Mark Twain wrote:
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on.
Mark Twain
Baron Miller wrote:
Grace ruins the idea that you are fully in charge.
Baron Miller
