Over at a discussion about canvassing in Pittsburgh, FishOutOfWater posted a comment suggesting that a diary about a Hillary-turned-Obama supporter might be timely. I was leery of writing about this because I heard about the vehement reaction to (and subsequent self-imposed exiles of) Hillary supporters during the primary. I think I had a good reason for doing so. Hopefully, the time of reconciliation has come and past, and people will take the chance to read this without submitting to an instinctual reaction.
I am from Pittsburgh. I grew up in one of two precincts in all of PA that voted for Obama in the primaries. I voted for Hillary, as did my parents and pretty much everyone their age I know. Most of my friends were Obama supporters and voted for him, though the one Hillary rally I went to was certainly not all aged. I visited my local polling place in between classes one Tuesday in April, and while in front of the easily hacked touchscreen voting machine, I pressed the button for Hillary. I know what you are all thinking right now:
In the name of Sweet Jesus, WHY?!
A good question I suppose. Why did I vote for Hillary? I suppose that warrants a digression. Frankly, I have always liked Obama more than Clinton. Up until about mid-February, I was going to vote for him. Why change? Am I a flip-flopper? My mother was (is?) an ardent Hillary supporter. She badgered me over and over about how silly an Obama candidacy would be. She really wanted me to vote for Hillary, and I ended up doing it.
But not for the reason she me wanted to.
I voted for Hillary because I wanted to prolong the Democrat primary season. My dream last Spring was that nobody would clinch and the DNC would be a dramatic affair. Why? Free advertising. By mid-February, it was clear that there was no frontrunner. And the media devoted an obnoxious amount of energy highlighting this. As a result, the Democrats in America have been energized for this election since the Spring. I cast my vote for Hillary to prolong this free media bonanza. That is always a good thing.
There was also another reason. Let me be clear here. There was little difference in the policies of Barack and Hillary. What the primary election came down to was, literally, a popularity contest. A lot of people (still) don't like Hillary; a lot of people didn't think Barack was ready. I think the candidates know this. I hope that everyone else realizes this, too. I think that is why Hillary has been able to be so emphatic in her endorsement for Obama. The Democrats had little choice in the primaries because the candidates wanted the same thing.
My mother, and many of her friends, were not convinced that Obama was experienced enough, and also unsure that he had the political impact needed to push through the changes he is promising. I think that this viewpoint has been soundly refuted by now, but it was a common thought in the Spring. Hillary also played hardball and gave Obama good practice for the crap that the McCain campaign has pulled. It got the Rev. Wright debacle out of the way; it showed America that Obama was ready for the big time and his primary performance (I think along with his choice of Biden for Veep) have allayed a lot of those fears.
I think that by dragging the primary season into an epic saga, two things were achieved: free publicity and Spring Training. The free publicity has raised awareness of the Democratic ticket and Barack Obama in a way that no number of half-hour specials on CBS ever could. We have a hardened candidate who is quite possibly the most ferocious campaigner thanks in no small part to the commitment he had to make to win the primaries.
I think that these elements of the primaries should be repeated in all subsequent primaries. The primaries are supposed to pick the most viable candidate. They should also prepare the most viable candidate. And, heck, why not generate media buzz and literally millions of dollars in free press?
So, am I a flip-flopper? No, I took a principled stand in the voting booth last Spring. I stand by my vote for Hillary. I also stand by my support for Obama.