The Clinton, Obama, Edwards Race in Iowa

My opinion on Hillary Clinton vs. Barak Obama hasn't really changed from the last time I wrote on this topic. Hillary seems ready to lead; Obama has no baggage to hold him down if he does assume higher office. Obama has been described as an agent of change; whereas Clinton is tagged as representing a continuation of the same insider kind of Washington. This is said in spite of the fact Barak has many ex Clinton staffers running and advising his campaign. Since I last wrote, Obama has increased his support and lead in Iowa; Clinton has received an important endorsement from the Newpaper Editors of The Des Moines Register. This endorsement has given new life to Hillary's campaign in Iowa. As for Edwards, he is still a strong contender and may gain from the tough rough ups going between Hillary and Barak, mostly coming from the Hillary camp. Some (Chris Matthews for one) have speculated that the Clintons would rather see an Edwards win in Iowa or even be in second place to Hillary rather than see Barak in first or second place as they think Edwards would be easier to beat in the long run. One poll Matthews quoted shows Edwards the strongest contender against the Republican candidates. I wonder if this represents blue collar voters and Southerners who can identify with Edward's working class roots.


Although it may not be directly attributable to Hillary, mention of Barak's drug using days when he was young and the fact he has a Muslim name and Muslin relatives has been a new constant item in the media. It is not a good move as this kind of attack could come back to haunt the Clinton parties. However, the media has brought up the spectre of Bill "the womanizer"in the White House even if only by quoting a recent poll asking how many out there worry about the Bill factor in the White House. The answer was 15% which seems insignificant which was mentioned by Chris Matthews in a snide way as being an optimistic American type response. Optimistic I guess because that would mean 85% would not worry about Bill having sex (not with his wife) in the White House.

The important thing to me is that a Democrat win and that that Democrat takes the
White House. In the end, I think pragmatism will take over and Hillary will edge out all the other Dems. I am hoping that by then the grassroots will have put enough pressure on Hillary to move her more to the left than she is now. But I suppose that is a pipe dream. My hope is that she will come through with her promised health care plan for every American which Barak is not promising. My hope is that being older herself she will not forget the elderly and their needs.

My hope is Hillary will put an end to the Bush and NeoCon Conquestial attempts to gain more power and oil in the middle east and beyond. The one postion I strongly disagree with her on is her idea of keeping soldiers in Iraq, a U.S. presence in that region, no matter how few, after the major troop personnel have been sent home. I think US troops have been an irritant in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, although I do want US troops and other troops to continue keeping the Taliban forces out of power when and where they can. More effort should be on keeping Afghanistan stable than we are doing now. All the Dems seem to agree with this shift in emphasis from the Bush administration.

By now the message has become loud and clear, Get us out of Iraq. She has not promised to completely vacate soldiers from Iraq but by the time she is elected, the focus on a peaceful solution and how to do it will be clearer. She will I hope act forcefully about helping the environment and not just listen to Al Gore and the global warming experts. Can Obama or an Edwards lead us to these ends more directly than Hillary can? The answer is unclear as both act as though the conservative forces can be sidestepped and ignored in the march toward progress. I think
Hillary needs to ignore more and compromise less if she were to be elected. I think Obama and Edwards have the right instincts. The ignorant and conservative forces need to be ignored when it is possible to do so.

Sometimes I feel my tendency to favor Hillary is a generational choice. I like the fact Hillary is a woman and older. As a participant in the Women's movement all through the seventies, it is hard not to get excited about a woman who is a Democrat running for President. I am not naive enough to think that this alone will make all the difference as a woman who gets that high has already been co-opted by a male world built to serve the interest of males. I also think there is a lot of subtle ageism and lookist negativity directed at Hillary because she looks like she is a late middle aged woman. She doesn't look like a manniquin like some of the Republican candidate wives. I guess what it boils down to is I would be supporting Barak if I really thought he would be better on all the issues than Hillary. I am just not convinced of that and Hillary just seems so damn together. I know she would be good in a crisis. She already is a symbol of someone who has weathered lots of storms. I wonder how many others feel the same way.