2008: America Decides

So, Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses, and Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary. I watched the results for both races come in, and watched the speeches afterwards. Partly out of civic responsibility, since I've been away for a while but have to vote in this one, and partly because the writer's strike is still going and there's nothing else on TV.

Barack is, indeed, a very inspiring speaker. I had the strong realisation when I watched him that I would be right behind him as a candidate if I was still 22. That's a horrible thing to realise, that you're not 22 any more, but they say the over-30 Democrats are going with Hillary, and I find that so am I. I was trying to support Obama, but just as when I watched the Green Bay Packers play the Denver Broncos I just couldn't make myself be happy when the Packers did well, so I find myself following Hillary's campaign more closely, and feeling pleased at her victories, and swelling with an old feminist pride that a woman could be doing so well. She does look "presidential", just as they say. And isn't it amazing that her key problem going into this vote today is that she's viewed as one of the "old boy's network", part of the Washington establishment. How far we've come already.

And another thing. I don't get this "electability" thing they ask people about in polls, or that other Democrats argue about. In fact, I might even object to the very concept and argue that it's immoral to even talk about it. The point of a representative democracy, right, is that I vote for the candidate who I think best expresses my views on a majority of the issues over which the federal government has purview. Right? So, why should my decision of who to vote for be at all influenced by how I think people might vote who don't agree with my views? How can I in good conscience hesitate to vote for Hillary because I don't think Republicans will vote for her? They will or they won't. Depending on how representative she is of their views. Right? Isn't that how this whole democracy thing is supposed to work?