James Wolcott: "So spurn me, I voted for Hillary"

[bidenista]

James Wolcott of Vanity Fair perfectly expresses my misgivings about the Obama candidacy:

Super Bluesday

So spurn me, I voted for Hillary.

I have many faults and quirks, but one thing I'm not is a narcissist. My vote isn't about Me. Who I am, how I conceive myself, how my vote positions me in the pulse of the moment. The tab I flip in the voting booth isn't intended as a dramatic gesture to pin in my lapel like a carnation and sniff during intermission, like some Clifton Webb character. I don't accept being lectured or morally browbeaten into voting for one candidate over another in order to prove my virtuous intent and appease Kurt Andersen's peculiar, posturing racial anxieties. Perhaps it's my atheism at work but I found myself increasingly wary of and resistant to the salvational fervor of the Obama campaign, the idealistic zeal divorced from any particular policy or cause and chariot-driven by pure euphoria. I can picture President Hillary in the White House dealing with a recalcitrant Republican faction; I can't picture President Obama in the same role because his summons to history and call to hope seems to transcend legislative maneuvers and horse-trading; his charisma is on a more ethereal plane, and I don't look to politics for transcendence and self-certification. I agree with NYCweboy: "Win or lose, Barack Obama has changed the landscape of American culture and politics - bringing the perspective of mixed race to the table, and finding validity in both white communities and communities of colors. That's huge. It's just not, in itself, a reason to make him President. Voting for Obama, for me would be about picking an idea, not a person, or a set of specific plans... I need more than that. And Hillary Clinton is the person, with the specifics, who offers more." Though I didn't read NYCweboy's post until after voting today (I must have mistimed my visit to the polling station because I missed running into Katrina van den Heuvel, one of the anticipated highlights of election day), that's pretty much the direction my thoughts and sentiments took....

More: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/blogs/wolcott/2008/02/so-spurn-me-i-v.html

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

1. I enjoyed that, but then I am a Wolcott fan

[jillan]

2. excellent!

[Straight Shooter]

3. Wolcott is great.

"Voting for Obama would be about picking an idea, not a person, or a set of specific plans."

Amen. Barack is all about ideas, but ideas don't get things done, do they? While Barack would be dreaming up ideas and lofty rhetoric to express them, Hillary would be already at her desk, tackling the problems, coming up with solutions.

[Lucinda]

4. Thanks!

:kick:

[cooolandrew]

5. One thing is clear pledges as nominees can lead to betrayal if not realised by congress.he's smart.

[incapsulated]

6. Excellent. K&R!

:)

[pnwmom]

7. I've never really understood why so many don't want our Presidents

to be wonks.

There's a lot to be said for having a President who -- instead of relying on charisma -- is oriented toward policy, even in its details.

[farmboxer]

8. Republican owned Mainstream media

hates Hillary to the extreme. They have said she should get out of the race since "before" New Hampshire. What if she had taken their advice? Also, she was supposed to have lost Calif, but did great, although the Republican owned MSM will still claim she has lost. They have always hated her and still do, make no mistake about that. Black Males had the right to vote "before" women period, which never should be forgotten. Hillary tried to give us Universal Healthcare, look what the MSM did to her. Look what the MSM did to President-elect Gore. I hate to see such bias in the media, but there is no way to hide it. Some say that a women should never be President, I disagree. I like Obama, but I think Hillary would do better. I never believe the Republican MSM, I have never forgotten what they did to Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, etc.