Hillary and Obama

Election Day is just a few months away. Much has been said about Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and even more has been said about the tensions and contentions within the Party because of Hillary’s insistence that she continue her campaign.

In the name of Democracy, Hillary has no intention of giving up and some fear that, unless she concedes to Obama, the ensuing fray will divide the Party. There is concern that, regardless of who is chosen as the nominee at the Democratic National Convention in August, too much damage will have been done and that he/she will be faced with an insurmountable task of winning on the of the General Election on November 4th.

Contrary to that belief, there are reasons to take another viewpoint.

Democrats ardently believe that McCain can be easily defeated and, when push comes to shove, it will be wounds of the nomination process that will bind the Party together. When the process is completed on August 28, one or the other will give full support to the winner. The goals of each candidate are similar to the other. The disagreement centers on whom can best implement those objectives.

The idea of a Dream Team puts the senior Senator at the top of the ticket; she can’t envision it otherwise. The probability of Obama stepping down from his own pedestal is in doubt. In the end,

Hillary’s attitude could label her a Bitch.

Obama’s umbrage might tag him as a Bastard.

There’s a lot to happen between now and June 3rd, when Montana and South Dakota bring an end to the primary elections. The ongoing problem of giving credence to seating Florida and Michigan representative delegates is a variable that may not be resolved any time soon. Blame it on the two states or put it on the back of the DNC or, better yet, place the burden on Howard Dean. Without an acceptable solution, their inability to come to a compromise, American voters will question either of their abilities to lead the Government with bipartisan support.

In the end, respectful consideration of their voters deserves a definitive resolution. Finger pointing serves no purpose and crossing their fingers gives so hope. There will be no satisfaction whatever the outcome, whether it is by mail-in votes or super-delegates. It all comes back to concession.

Rather than center their rhetoric on each other, Hillary and Obama would be wise to limit further debate on each other and make McCain and the Republican Party the main focus of attention.

McCain is more of a politician than he was a soldier.

The McCain campaign ended 2007 with deficit spending. It appears he will carry on the Bush economic policy as an irresponsible spendthrift.

McCain favors reducing corporate tax breaks yet maintaining tax breaks for the 1% of wealthy investors. How do lower class and middleclass citizens feel toward that?

McCain is insistent on maintaining troop levels in Iraq, willing to commit the United States to A Hundred Years War.

McCain touts the effectiveness of the United States’ military surge. And yet, our surge has resulted in another surge: an increase in the number of deaths of Iraqi citizens.

The current figure (as of this writing) of American soldiers killed in action is at 3,986. Sometime soon – much too soon – the number will exceed 4,000 lives. Some believe there are many more that have not been included in the tally. If one or the other of the two Democratic contenders fails to bring this to attention in their campaigns, they will have missed a golden opportunity to further sway voters from giving support to their Republican counterpart.

Between now and the Democratic National Convention from August 25-28, voters may choose to tune out politics altogether, turning their attention to the Olympics and taking pride in America’s athletic elite. The Opening Ceremony is August 3rd, the Closing Ceremony on August 24th. You can expect three weeks of glorious competition followed by three days of in-fighting. If Hillary or Obama can’t put on a happy face and a congratulatory handshake when the party’s over, it will no doubt have a negative impact on the anticipated success of every other Democrat seeking office.

Perhaps Hillary can expand on Bill’s theme twelve years ago:

It’s the economy, stupid.
It’s the war, stupid.
It’s health care, stupid.
It’s a recession, stupid.
And
It’s the Republicans, stupid.

Perhaps Obama could break out in song:

A Change is Gonna Come.
I’m the One That You Want.
Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag.
Good Vibrations.
And
Come Together.

Better yet, it would so cool if they were to gaze in each other’s eyes, singing My Guy / My Girl!!!