Over the past few days, I have become disgusted by Senator Clinton.
Not just her campaign, not just her fringe bigoted supporters, but HER. Through this primary season, Senator Clinton has shown her true self: A power-hungry machine who believes she is deserving of the nomination and will stop at nothing, regardless of morality, to achieve this end.
Her teleological defenses (judging her actions based on their consequences; the ends justify the means) are not representative of my morals or the values I would hope a president would uphold. This is the line of reasoning that the Bush administration has consistently followed in making their unpopular and unethical decisions in order to reach ends beneficial to them and their richest 1% associates.
Her use of fear tactics out of desperation were the last straw for me. Her "3am" ad was derived straight from the Republican/Rovian playbook. Her ambiguous response to Senator Obama's religion was also a carefully worded tactic for her to bring doubt into the minds of many citizens.
Her newspeak of "automatic delegates" should scare us all by the way she aims to control the election and the conversations and facts surrounding it.
And now this: Senator Clinton essentially endorses Senator McCain over Obama. This is disgusting; worse than Lieberman, as far as I am concerned.
She has come out of the closet as an adamant opponent to the progressive movement. While Obama would build a strong progressive majority across the nation, Clinton wants none of that. She wants to continue the Clintonian power machine stranglehold over Washington. She doesn't mind if the Democrats lose the House and Senate. She doesn't even realize that her health care plan will never come to fruition without building a coalition and uniting the nation.
She is a divider of the worst kind. She has taken this primary to a level I would have never thought possible several months ago. My respect for Senator Clinton has been eradicated in the last few weeks, and I look forward to seeing her lose this nomination in the coming days/weeks/months.
It worries me when a candidate cares so much about "winning" the presidency that she would resort to such underhanded and despicable attacks and methods.
I desire a president who won't sacrifice his/her values in exchange for power. There's simply no excuse for it.
If Senator Clinton wants the presidency this bad, she must have strong motivations... And, as a Democrat and an American citizen, I honestly do not feel as though her reason for becoming president is simply so that she can help me. Or us. Or America. There's more to it. I fear that she wants to help herself, help the moderate DNC elitists, and help sustain her domination over the Democratic Party establishment.
More selfish motivations.
And that's not what I want anymore. 7 years is enough.
Alternatively, Senator Obama has not shown himself to be power-hungry. He is in this race because he has been winning it, not because he refuses to give up. Had he lost 11 straight contests, he would have gracefully bowed out. Senator Clinton refuses to accept that she is behind (rather significantly in delegate numbers) and insists on continuing this election until: A) She wins, which won't mathematically happen, barring any major unforeseen events OR B) She handicaps Obama and tears apart the Democratic party enough that he loses the general election and she can return in 2012 with the nomination.
That is abuse of power. That screams a hunger for more power.
That is not what I want from my President.
Senator Obama has not resorted to fear tactics like Hillary's 3am ad.
Senator Obama has not used newspeak like "automatic delegates" to control the conversations in the media and in the populace.
Senator Obama is, quite simply, not a divider. He wants us all to be a part of the political system. He uses the word "us" in a way that I personally have not seen used by someone in his position before. He would help build a progressive majority and he believes in progressive values, especially transparency in the government. His motivations are very clear; his intentions are not shadowy or vague. Senator Obama yearns for people-powered politics to return to Washington.
Now let's donate, let's phone, let's knock on doors, let's organize locally, let's get this done. We are the change we have waited for.
Yes, we can change the direction this nation and this government have been heading. I contend that Senator Barack Obama can lead us there, but we all play a part in making it happen.