Today’s the big day. Just as everyone else, I can’t wait to see what happens with Super Tuesday. By now, especially since Edwards has dropped out, most people have picked between Obama and Hillary. I have too–I’m all in for Obama.
But, ironically, among a race involving members of two underrepresented groups, I find myself missing the white guy, Edwards. No, I’m not experiencing an Uncle Ruckus moment, so please don’t send me emails telling me about some latent self-hate I possess. This has everything to do with my discomfort about the relationship between the narrowing of the political field and the narrowing of the discussion of important political issues. It was the same issue when the field got narrowed to Bush and Kerry in 2004. And the fact that Nader never was able to get in the mix represented an even more fundamental problem.
Like Nader in 2000 and 2004 (okay, maybe not 2004 since everyone was just pissed that he ran), Edwards forced a kind of discussion about poverty, corporate control of government, and health care that would not have happened at such a level were it not for his presence. Since the race for the Democratic candidacy is predicted to go through March or April, prepare for more news stories about where the Hispanic vote will go, how women will vote, whether having a black or woman president would be a better thing, whether Obama has proven his blackness, whether Hillary has shown enough humanity…
Ultimately, among all the candidates, I believe Obama would have the greatest impact on the country if he becomes the Democratic candidate and elected president. But he will do much more good if he had Edwards in his camp. Last night, I heard a commentator say that Obama makes Hillary a better politician through having to respond to the issues he addresses and the manner in which he does it. In much the same way, Edwards makes Obama stronger.
Obama/Edwards–that’s the ticket.
2 responses so far ↓
1
Sheldon Rosner
// Feb 5, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I too, am sad that Edwards is out of the race but believe that Obama will build a strong coalition that transcends party partisanship. I began as a Kucinich supporter and he still needs support to win his now heavily contested seat. I think these remaining men will do as much as possible to bring power to the people and pull it away from the corporations. Hillary would not do that and Obama would also likely decriminalize marijuana, which Hillary would not. So, for many people it should be apparent; Hillary is the past and Obama is the future.
2
SL
// Feb 5, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I agree. Edwards’ presence forced the front-runners to deal with the policy issues that most of us care about. I regret that his voice got lost because of the media attention given to Clinton and Obama. I for one think that he has a lot to offer. I’ve been an Obama supporter throughout but, after a few debates, I began to lean towards Edwards. I must admit that his absence from the race makes my decision much easier. It will be interesting to see now who gets Edwards’ endorsement. I hope it will be Obama. Actually, I hope it will be an Obama-Edwards ticket. That would just be great.
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