All Over But The Bitching

Watching the Democratic primary has been like watching two cars trying to cause an accident with each other. In typical fashion, Yahoo has the story about Obama clinching the nomination while simultaneously running the story about how Hillary is not yet bowing out of the race withhout "consultation" from key people. Sweet mother of Dawkins, concede already.

I had nothing against Hillary; really I never cared for her one way or the other. Obama on the other hand really captures the imagination because of his ability to connect voters with what "might be" possible for their country. Is it possible to win on hope? It's been decades since politicians have framed things in positive ways. Far too often the thinly disguised power grab that is negative campaigning gets its way. Obama echoes much of the activist literature I've read and have my classes read--activist writers with diverse backgrounds whose only thing in common was the need to get up and do something about it instead of bitch. That's why I got into nonprofit--I got tired of bitching about problems.

I'm also impressed at the pragmatism that seems to be behind Obama's promises. For example, at a recent rally in Miami with Cuban Americans, Obama said his plan to help democracy come to Cuba involved "looser restrictions on travel to Cuba so Cuban-Americans can visit family members as well as allowing larger money transfers to the island." This is smart politics, because as American relatives are able to send more financial support to Cuban family members, said family members are not as dependent on the government for survival, which will help to loosen entrenched views of the US and the Cuban government. After all, it's not like embargoing their cigars for decades has done a damned bit of good. Right Officer Sanborn????

We voted in the May primary, and as usual I took Dante with me. This primary was the first I've ever voted in. As a registered independent, I don't normally get the chance to participate in a primary, and I appreciated that WV allowed me to do so this time around. I had to tell the poll worker which party I wanted to vote within and away we went. I always take Dante into the booth with me so he gets familiar with how voting machines work and so that he feels like voting is a normal part of life as he gets older. He was pretty juiced up about the election this time around, mainly because he's captivated by Obama, but also because the director of the Boys & Girls Club was running for County Commission, and the kids had been abuzz about that for weeks. Normally, I tell him who I'm voting for and I let him push the button. If there's a referendum on something, I try to explain in simple language what it is. I don't tell him which way I'm voting on it before the explanation, and interestingly we've always ended up agreeing on the vote. All of that must be working, because he asked me two or three times "When are we going to vote??"

When the machine pulled up the instructions, we read them together. The next page was the presidential candidate, and his finger shot out to jam the touch screen like those extra split seconds could make the difference in the winner. I thought he was going to tip the thing over. He sure wanted to make certain that vote went in there. We went through the bigger positions up for grabs locally, and he voted for his club's director, which wasn't really my personal choice but since it isn't a vital spot in this town, I let him have his way. Some of the smaller positions were full of nominees we'd never heard about. So I let him pick whoever he wanted. He mulled over the names as though some magical explanation would tell him who to vote for. It was pretty funny overall. We reviewed our choices and then he locked them in for us.

Later, of course, both his club director and Obama would lose West Virginia. Dante was a bit disappointed, but he understood it was a primary and that we may get to vote for him again in November. I think racism had something to do with it, but I also think that it had to do with the fact that we're heavily unionized in some areas, and she seems to do better with unions. At any rate, the whole experience was nice. Dante likes Obama because he is happy to see a black man competing at the top level of politics, but also because he looks like somebody who can do good things. I'm sure he's basing this on looks alone, which many people are prone to take as a sign of something anyway, but probably also on his tone. He doesn't look up when Hillary Clinton or McCain are talking, but his head snaps up when Obama's voice comes over the radio or on the TV. He stops what he's doing and he watches. And for Dante, that takes a lot.

At this point, I think the Clinton campaign needs to get over itself and cut its losses. There's plenty of talk that she'd love to be his VP, but I don't think that's a smart idea personally. I think he would do better with someone who hasn't been in the limelight for the past months taking a beating, telling silly lies about her experiences, etc. Quit the bitching and pack up already.

-- Virgil