Of Nightmares becoming Realities

Clinton did beat Barack in the NH Primary. It was an amazing upset. In my nightmare, it was because all of the independents voted for McCain. I do not believe that is the main reason why she won (although it may have had some effect). She won because initially, she was only supposed to get 2% more votes from women than Obama. Instead, she ended up hoarding 14% more votes from women than Barack was able to muster.

Why was there a massive shift from women? Hillary's emotional breakdown comes to mind. Perhaps women felt sorry for her. I for one did not. I have zero sympathy for the emotions of any person running for a public office, let alone the President of the United States. She knew what she was getting into when her ambitions drove her to run for president. She shouldn't be in the race if she can't handle the heat.

Meanwhile, her husband may have also played some role in Obama's defeat. Bill let loose a scathing attack on Obama, where he calls Barack's anti-war record the biggest fairy tale ever. Well let me tell you what. Bill Clinton is absolutely full of shit. The Clintonian record on Iraq is wrong, and has been wrong since the end of the 1st Gulf War. I remember distinctly around 1998, when I woke up one day and Bill Clinton had bombed Iraq, because Saddam wasn't cooperating with inspectors. Coincidentally, and perhaps too conveniently, this was precisely around the time that the Monica Lewinsky scandal had broke.

Meanwhile, if you want to see Obama's record on the Iraq war, look no further than this interview in 2002. Here are a few choice quotes from Obama in that interview:

(Obama) "The debate will be about, what is our long-term commitment there (Iraq). How much is it going to cost. What does it mean for us to rebuild Iraq. How do we ensure the country doesn't splinter into factions between the Shias, Kurds, and Sunnis."

(Interviewer) "How would you have voted on the Iraq war powers resolution? Would you have voted yay or nay if you could have voted?"
(Obama) "I would have voted nay."

There it is: Barack Obama, on the record, saying that he would have voted against the Iraq war when it was extremely politically risky to do so. Meanwhile, in a short two minute interview he brought up four questions that were almost prophetic about our future struggles in Iraq. Barack Obama in 2002 had an understanding of the complications of the Iraq war that I have yet to see matched by ANYONE. No politician, nor pundit, including self professed middle eastern "experts" like Juan Cole (who assumed the invasion would ultimately be worth it). While proving himself to be far more informed than Clinton, Obama showed he had the courage to follow his convictions, despite the political consequences.

Hillary Clinton never polarized me like she did other people. I didn't buy into all of the hype or condemnation; she is a politician and I placed her in that category with the rest of them. However, with each passing day I am coming to despise Clinton more. It is a combination of fear of the power that her name wields, disgust at her inclination to pursue any means necessary to gain power, and anger that she is standing in the way of a true leader, Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton has the entire Democratic political establishment at her back, while Barack has only the people. He is going to need our help in the next few weeks. I implore all to do their fullest to help him defeat the Clinton Machine.

My one consolation is that McCain won the New Hampshire primary among republicans. It seems likely now that he will get the GOP nomination. At least if Hillary does win the democratic nomination, I'll get to watch McCain trounce her in the general election. The 2008 election is going to be an ugly thing with Hillary Clinton in the running, that is for sure.