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I have been an Obama critic, but now it is time for me to start hoping that he wins decisively

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Bjorn Against Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 10:52 PM
Original message
I have been an Obama critic, but now it is time for me to start hoping that he wins decisively
No one would mistake me for an Obama supporter. Anyone who reads my journal is sure to find a couple posts that are highly critical of Obama in fact, and I still stand by all the criticisms I made of him. Yes, there were candidates whom I think would have made much better Presidents than Obama will, but they have now dropped out of the race and the American people seem to clearly be moving into Obama's corner.

There are now only two candidates left in the race, and Obama's recent string of victories seem to have proven beyond any doubt that he is the candidate that the majority of people prefer. It is time that people realize that whether he was their candidate of choice or not it is in the best interests of our country to accept the will of the people and unite to defeat John McCain.

Yes, it may be possible that Hillary could secure enough delegates in Texas and Ohio to drag this thing out until the convention, but lets be real. Even if she could pull this thing off it could only happen through the votes of super delegates, and the American people would be furious if their votes were overruled by a bunch of party insiders. For Hillary to even consider achieving victory by getting a bunch of her friends to overrule the choice of the tens of millions of people who came out to vote in the primaries would show that she valued her own personal ambitions more than she valued our country. A nomination by super delegates would result in a fractured party and an angry electorate, and it could very likely result in the Presidency being handed to John McCain. Our country already will have a big enough challenge repairing the damage done over the eight years of Bush rule, if we had to endure another four years under Bush's good friend John McCain it is hard to know if we could ever recover.

I have been critical of Obama in the past and I will continue to be critical of him in the future, but I will also make it clear that he would be far superior to McCain. We can at least work with Obama, but there is no way we will be able to work with McCain. McCain wants to keep the massacre in Iraq going for an indefinite period of time, he wants to continue the Republican pillaging of our economy, he wants to continue Bush's illegal wiretapping programs, and he wants to keep America firmly in the hands of the rich and powerful. Obama may not be proposing as big of changes as we need to see in this country, but he has at least shown a certain level of acceptance of progressive ideals. While I am bothered by his willingness to reach out to Republicans and the so-called "ex-gay" movement, the truth is that he needs progressives more than we need him so we can work to move him in our direction. McCain on the other hand? He could care less what progressives think because no true progressive would even consider voting for him anyways.

For everyone reading this who has not cast a vote in the primaries yet, please realize the situation we are in right now. Whether Obama is your favorite candidate or not, he is currently the only candidate that has the ability to win this thing in a way that will not tear the party apart. No, I don't buy the argument that he has some super abilities to bring people together. I do however buy the argument that no candidate who is chosen by super delegates can bring us anything resembling unity. People need to know that their vote in the primaries meant something, we can not allow party insiders to overturn the will the people as doing so would damage the progressive movement for years to come. Obama needs to win a decisive victory in the primaries, we can not allow this thing to get carried out all the way to the convention unless we want to see defeat in November.

Obama may not be my favorite candidate, but my favorite candidate has already dropped out. It is possible that your favorite candidate is still in the race, but even if she is I hope you can come to the realization that she is too far behind right now to win the popular vote. We need to accept the will of the people, and we need to stop John McCain. You don't need to love Obama, but lets realize he has now become the last hope we have of stopping another four years of Republican rule.
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scheming daemons Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 10:53 PM
Response to Original message
1. Welcome aboard....
....
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IndianaGreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 10:55 PM
Response to Original message
2. K&R
A good sensible post. No need to prolong the agony in Hillaryland. Let's pull the plug on this rain dead patient.
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MadMaddie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 10:57 PM
Response to Original message
3. Nicely said. I am coming to the same consclusion.
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meow mix Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 10:59 PM
Response to Original message
4. i think they choose mccain over obama... judging by thier gleeful acceptance of the swiftboating
nice try though.
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Bjorn Against Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:39 PM
Response to Reply #4
11. A few maybe, but I think most would be willing to accept an Obama nomination
Yes, I have no doubt that there are a few Hillary supporters who will vote for McCain. If the situation were reversed however and Obama were to lose the nomination I can guarantee a few of his supporters would move to McCain as well. The truth is that not everyone is a straight party line voter, but we don't need to worry about them if we can motivate our people to get out to vote. Most Hillary supporters will go to Obama, and if the situation were reversed most Obama supporters would go to Hillary. There are usually major rivalries in primary season, but in the end the majority are united despite the small percentage that will bolt to the Republicans if their candidate doesn't win.
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Scurrilous Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:03 PM
Response to Original message
5. K & R
:thumbsup:
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BlackVelvet04 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:06 PM
Response to Original message
6. If she doesn't get the nomination I'll write her name in. n/t
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Double T Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:11 PM
Response to Original message
7. I refuse to contribute to the FURTHER delinquency of this nation.
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:40 PM
Response to Reply #7
12. Good bye.
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ORDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:11 PM
Response to Original message
8. K & R - thanks for the reality check. n/t
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Yael Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:31 PM
Response to Original message
9. Constructive criticism is a GOOD thing.
Welcome to the team. :hi:
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NastyRiffraff Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:37 PM
Response to Original message
10. If Obama wins the nomination, and it looks like he will...
I'll certainly vote for him, but I intend to hold his feet to the fire. Not about uniting the world...I know he can't do that...but about being a DEMOCRAT. Part of my uneasiness about him is that in his zeal to "unite" he may well give in to Republicans when he shouldn't. And the Republicans voting for him and supporting him now will want a payback.
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Bjorn Against Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:44 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. And I will hold his feet to the fire as well, as I would anyone else who wanted to be President
Politicians need to be held to account and face criticism no matter which party they are from, but while you hold Obama's feet to the fire don't forget about another candidate who needs to have his feet held even closer to the fire; his name is John McCain.
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NastyRiffraff Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:43 AM
Response to Reply #13
22. Definitely I'd do the same and more to McCain...
But I hope I won't have to do that after November! If Obama wins the presidency his feet will still be somewhat scorched!
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BenDavid Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-20-08 11:45 PM
Response to Original message
14. The racecard players are back. When Cindy McCain answered
back to what Michelle Obama said yesterday that she (Cindy) was always proud of our country...Well, the reply from the obama racers are " I guess Cindy was proud of Jim Crow laws"....I guess Cindy was proud of segregation"......See it is always about race when an obama supporter replies back to anything said about obama.....

If I see an obama supporter start this race card crap in here again against McCain I will respond in like kind. It does not bother me in the least in doing the right thing and respond to hate speech no matter what party the person belongs too....

Shalom
Ben David
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Bjorn Against Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:00 AM
Response to Reply #14
15. That is just not true.
Yes, I have heard some people talk about race but the vast majority of them do not make it an issue at all. And while you may be able to claim there are a relatively small number of them that play the "race card", please remember something. A white candidate doesn't need to play the race card, because the race card has already been played for them. Minority groups have historically been denied power in our electoral system, we have lived in a racist society for centuries and white politicians automatically have had an advantage on the basis of their skin color. Before you get too upset about the race card being played please think about the reasons why white candidates have not had to have race come up in their campaigns and how they have been able to avoid playing this "race card". Instead of getting upset about Obama supporters lets work to change things so that we can make more progress towards a society in which skin color truly is no longer an issue because we unfortunately we still have a long ways to go if we are going to recover from centuries of racist policies and propaganda.
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Beausoir Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:19 AM
Response to Reply #14
21. With you on that. So many here at DU cheapen the discourse of race by casually tossing the term
"racist" around like it's a pinata at a birthday party.

Racism is real and vile and it is NOT to be used to score cheap personal points on an internet message board.
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bigwillq Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:02 AM
Response to Original message
16. Nice post.
I just started a thread very similar to yours. Cheers. :hi:
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Beausoir Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:04 AM
Response to Original message
17. Eerily reminiscent of the Bush/Gore meme by the media. "It has to end!"
God forbid that ALL the people get to have their say!

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Bjorn Against Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:14 AM
Response to Reply #17
19. It is very different than Gore vs. Bush
Edited on Thu Feb-21-08 12:17 AM by MN Against Bush
In Gore vs. Bush Gore won but was denied the Presidency because they denied people the right to vote and refused to hold a fair and accurate count of those who did vote. There is nothing of that sort happening in this situation. I don't like the way the primary calender is set up, but the way it is the last states have never had any impact after one candidate has carried a big enough of a lead, and after Obama's numerous wins his lead is substantial. I just don't see any chance of Hillary winning, if people want to vote for her I am not denying them that vote like they did in Bush vs. Gore, they can still vote for her but let's be realistic. She is not going to win. I voted for Kucinich knowing he was not going to win, and Hillary supporters have every right to vote for her but I think it is important we all consider the damage that would be done if super delegates were to choose our nominee. I sure know I was not too happy when the "super delegates" on the Supreme Court chose Bush in 2000.
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nomorewhopper Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:07 AM
Response to Original message
18. thank you for the excellent post
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Coexist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-21-08 12:15 AM
Response to Reply #18
20. seconded.
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