From today's L.A. Times endorsement:
Democrats preparing to vote in Tuesday's California primary can mark their ballots with confidence, knowing that either candidate would make a strong nominee and, if elected, a groundbreaking leader and capable president. But just because the ballot features two strong candidates does not mean that it is difficult to choose between them. We urge voters to make the most of this historic moment by choosing the Democrat most focused on steering the nation toward constructive change: We strongly endorse Barack Obama.
--snip--
An Obama presidency would present, as a distinctly American face, a man of African descent, born in the nation's youngest state, with a childhood spent partly in Asia, among Muslims. No public relations campaign could do more than Obama's mere presence in the White House to defuse anti-American passion around the world, nor could any political experience surpass Obama's life story in preparing a president to understand the American character. His candidacy offers Democrats the best hope of leading America into the future, and gives Californians the opportunity to cast their most exciting and consequential ballot in a generation.
In the language of metaphor, Clinton is an essay, solid and reasoned; Obama is a poem, lyric and filled with possibility. Clinton would be a valuable and competent executive, but Obama matches her in substance and adds something that the nation has been missing far too long -- a sense of aspiration.
Also of interest is Bob Scheer's brilliant new piece for Truthdig.com: "Obama, Clinton, and the War.
3 comments:
Voting for Obama requires a leap of faith, intellectual and emotional, in the strength of purpose and wisdom of the American people. I have jumped. I hope many others will, too--enough to give us a President of whom we can be proud, who we can remember as our parents remember Roosevelt. Yes, he is that amazing. Vote.
I whole heartedly agree. Either candidate will step a progressive tread upon the very difficult road expanding before our nation. I am embarrassed by the depths to which our current world image has plunged, but I am excited by the potential resurgence we may muster under the leadership of Obama. I believe that Obama is willing and capable of setting in motion a multilateral change in this nations ideology and policy, a much needed change as America struggles to understand its place as an empire of the past.
Margaret: I agree with your comments here as well. Sometimes I do have moments of doubt, however, that Obama is a kind of political Rorshach test for progressives and politically engaged younger voters. But then I look at what he's actually said, at his policy initiatives, his life history, his career--how anyone could not vote for him...well, I simply haven't heard any good reasons to pull the lever for the alternative.
Cam: Thanks for visiting the blog! I received your poem yesterday and I'll get you some comments when I have a break in the schedule here. (Margaret, I've got your's here at the top of the pile. Apologies!)
As far as "Either candidate," I have little to no faith in Clinton. Her cynicism and previous years of combat, those "scars" she keeps mentioning, prove to me that she's not the one for now, or the one who's "ready from the start" for what our country needs.
One more day until Super Tuesday....
With some luck and a lot of turnout, we may see a big win for Obama. But don't despair if it's an even split. And watch out for the media's narrative shifting. Keep on that. Write letters and make phone calls, especially to your local media. That's generally a narrative that individuals can help shape.
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