Why I Voted for Obama

Polls closed about twenty minutes ago here in West Virginia, where for the first time in forever we had a relevant presidential primary election (see here for an international report). After some amount of thought, tho' not a lot of deep soul searching, I pulled the lever (virtual lever, as it turned out) for Barack Obama. Obama, in typical JDB-backed candidate fashion, will go down to flaming defeat tonight. Whether or not that will change what appears to be his inevitable march to the Democratic nomination, we'll have to wait and see.

So why did I vote for the Senator from Illinois? Three reasons, I think, in the end.

First, when it comes to issues, Obama and Hillary are really really close on most things. They're both clearly distinct from John McCain, of course. But when it comes down to it there were two issues where I think Obama nudged ahead. One is health care, where I think his game-the-market-without-a-mandate plan is better than Clinton's everybody-must-get-insured plan. Both are far short of the complete overhaul we need in this country, but I think Obama's is more likely to produce results. The other is foreign policy, where I think Hillary is a little too eager to rattle sabers and not explore all diplomatic angles. I don't think she's Duhbya the Second or anything, but I do see a bit of difference between her and Obama.

Second, I think Clinton has run a piss poor campaign (I mean, look at her volunteers!*). To the extent that that reflects on her judgment and leadership skills it negatively reflects on her ability to run the country. I've been particularly frustrated with the Clinton campaign's continued ability to move the goalposts on what it takes to get the nomination, always in a way that favors her, of course. To a certain extent that's just politics, but it seems so craven and blatant that I just can't get behind it.

Finally, I think that, to the extent that any politician can, Obama comes closer to telling the truth about what the country needs to hear rather than just pandering. The whole "bitter" fiasco and his recent position against the proposed gax tax holiday strikes me as a fresh bit of truth (or at least perceived truth) that this country desperately needs. We can continue to convince ourselves that we're the greatest thing since sliced bread and we're "resilient" in the face of adversity, but unless and until we actually acknowledge problems and address them head on, we'll do it while slowly circling the drain. Again, I don't think Obama is beyond politics or anything naive like that, but he seems a little less so than Clinton (or McCain, for that matter).

For what it's worth, I have problems with Obama. Like my mother, I fear a bit that his "unity" schtick will not play with a disciplined GOP that has made minority status in Congress a minor inconvenience. And, no doubt, he's got some demographic issues in the exit polls that will have to be addressed. And at the end of the day, I will happily vote for Hillary if she is the nominee.

Of course, there were state races on the ballot as well. For the Supreme Court I voted for Bob Bastress, an old professor of mine, and Menis Ketchum. I was not completely sold on Ketchum until I recieved not one but two mailings from the local "tort reform" group branding him as one of those evil trial lawyers. Decision made! Also, in the Congressional race, I went with Anne Barth, who is a long time employee of Robert Byrd. I really like that Ritchie Robb switched parties because of Iraq and is in favor of a single-payer health care system, but I don't see him being able to dislodge an incumbent in November. Barth can do that.

UPDATE: All that being said, I think that we're late enough in the game that Hillary will and should, as one MSNBC wag just put it, "go the distance." Which is as much of an excuse for Cake as I need:



* I keed, I keed. :-p