Jack and Kev, in non-debate mode -- click to enlarge
If you are a regular reader, you will know that we frequently engage in verbal fisticuffs with reader and frequent participant Kev. We have tilted frequently on the viability of Obama v Hillary. One thing we do agree on (aside from most of our core values) is Mario Cuomo. And we are slowly perhaps coming to agreement on Senator Obama. An exchange from today:
Kevin said...
You've been slogging him pretty hard and long now, Jackie. What do you have against the guy? And don't say it's his supporters cuz you have been steadily negative since right after you called him tougher than dirt and figured his experience to be roughly equivalent to your gal, Hil's. That goes back a year or more. I'd bet a quick review would show you've steadily ragged him since then.
Jack Brummet said...
OK. Are you calling shenanigans?
I was absolutely stunned and humbled by the speech he made at the Democratic convention in 2004. And he was a huck; an Illinois legislator. His keynote address was extremely good. Maybe not quite at the Cuomo level of speechification, but the best I'd heard in years.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate that fall with 70% of the vote. In thr Senate, he co-sponsored bipartisan bills on controlling conventional weapons and on tightening accountability in the expenditure of federal funds (a position you have to admit is not so different from that of Ronald Wilson Reagan). In the current session of Congress--contrary to my frequent claims of near total absenteeism--he sponsored legislation on lobbying, electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and medical and psychiatric care for returning military basket cases.
In ways, I've been fighting against Obama because I don't think it's his time (and boy I know he's tired of hearing that old saw). And I don't want him to waste his shot. Because he does deserve to be President, and in my booklet, solely because he has the love and the strength and the passion to draw this country together. And if we had to wait four or eight or even twelve years for that, that would be OK. If we run him now, you have to guess we only have one shot. But I'm not so sure we have those four or eight or twelve years to sparel
On the other hand, I guess, I am willing to sacrifice Obama now, because I am not at all sure there will be a second chance. I don't want a sacrifice...I want him to win.
Will I fight for Obama? Of course. But I also worked for Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, and Kerry (well, with Kerry my involvement was only through checks). I hope Obama supporters have the stomach for the compromises their candidate will need to make to be elected. Hey guys, it's not the 60's! Ok. Maybe he won't nominate Lieberman, but whoever he does nominate will not likely sit well with his core supporters.
Yeah, I've been very tough on Obama. But he needs that. He has just about shown he can take anything that gets hucked at him.
So, at this late date, I too, am about to join the Obama bandwagon; he is my fourth and final choice.
I started out with John Edwards, and hung with him for a long time, and in the last couple of months, leading up to the first primaries, I settled on Joe Biden--even at that point a hopeless long shot. Then it was straight into Hillary's clutches. So, I come to Obama as my fourth (and final) choice. What spooks me the most is that Mondale, Dukakis, and Kerry were also my fourth choices. But even at this (comparitively early) date, I feel far more positive about the prospects of Barack Obama than I did with any ot those other three disastrous candidates.
Jack Brummet said...
Let me also note that I am all for Obama making the Supreme Court nominations that will surely come his way. There will likely be at least 2,3, or 4 in his first term alone. I'd be fine with Hillary's choices too. However, I also do not think Hillary will get the same kind of honeymoon as Obama. If he really is the uniter, and the vector of change we hope he is, Obama will be able to move mountains. And in my heart, I know that when Hillary tries to move mountains, she encounters the proverbial irresistable force. . .
---o0o---
Jack, great pic, must have been at a wake given the ties and smiles, "yep we're still standing". Anyway, I loved your post about our bouts and Obama's timing. Although, it's beginning to seem that now is his time. I don't see a real clear path for her now that she trails in pledged delegates by 130+. That number is likely to grow next week to about 150. Can she win TX, OH & PA with greater margins than she did CA? Not likely. And it's hard to imagine that he takes the remaining smaller states with less than 55% of the delegates. Question is, how low will she go?
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