Beginning of the End for Clinton?

Despite most analysts concluding that Obama's lead is nearly insurmountable, the mainstream media have continued to cover the Democratic contest as if it were too close to call. I wonder if we are finally seeing the beginning of the end for the Clinton campaign. It appears that her campaign donors are fleeing in droves to the Obama campaign.

Tags: Obama, Clinton, politics, campaign, Democratic, media

An Early Anti-McCain Ad

Tags: McCain, John McCain, election 2008, 2008 election

Obama Is No Elitist

Barack Obama is coming under fire, not by Bosnian snipers, but by those who misinterpret his recent comments as elitist. Could Obama be too smart to be electable, and what would this say about America? In examining his recent statement, I see little evidence of elitism. However, I do see the logical misstep his critics are making to claim elitism.

Here is Obama's statement:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them," he said. "And it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he added.

It is fairly clear to me that he is suggesting that years of dire economic conditions spawn bitterness among those who bear the brunt of these conditions. How is this controversial? Anyone with a high school education should have some familiarity with the correlation between dire economic conditions and conservatism. Again and again, we have seen that prolonged periods of economic instability open the door to rampant nationalism, anti-immigration sentiment, militarism, isolationism, and the like.

But what about the "guns or religion" which seems to be the core of this particular manufactured controversy? I believe Obama is associating political neglect and abysmal economic conditions with increased susceptibility to right-wing politics. Guns (both in opposition to sensible gun control and in the larger sense of national militarism), a particular brand of religion, anti-immigrant attitudes, and xenophobia are all components of contemporary Republicanism. have made people increasingly susceptible to Republican manipulation. What he is saying is that economic and political neglect allow the conservatives to persuade people to vote against their self-interest.

Obama's critics are twisting logic to make his statements sound elitist. Quite simply, they are asking us to believe that Obama thinks that people oppose gun control or are religious because they are economically disenfranchised or bitter. This is clearly not what he is saying. Obama would be the first to acknowledge that attitudes toward gun control and religion are shaped by many factors. Just because economic and political neglect can lead these attitudes does not mean that everyone with these attitudes must be unemployed, bitter, and the like.

H/T to Why Don't You Blog?

Tags: Barack Obama, politics, Obama, elitism, elitist, economics, conservatism, nationalism, immigration, militarism, isolationism, gun control, religion, Republicanism

What You Should Know About John McCain

Bligbi has a great post titled "10 things you should know about John McCain." See how many of the facts you knew and how many were new to you. Like Bligbi, I've heard some Democrats threatening to vote for McCain if their preferred Democratic candidate loses the race for the party's nomination. I confess that this same thought once crossed my mind, but I now think it would be a big mistake. America cannot afford a McCain presidency. Too much is at stake.

Tags: John McCain, election 2008, 2008 election, election, politics, Democratic, vote, America, McCain

McCain Enjoys Free Pass

The longer the Democratic nominee remains undecided, the better John McCain's chances look for becoming the next President. It is not so much a question of time to campaign against him because there will still be ample time for an effective campaign after the Democratic convention. Rather, it is a question of the damage done to both Clinton and Obama during their contest and what appears to be a widening split within the party that McCain supporters cannot help but enjoy.

It wasn't that long ago that progressives were celebrating a number of good Democratic candidates while Republicans were squabbling over which of their choices was the lesser of many evils. At that time, a McCain presidency seemed like an impossible scenario. McCain is deeply flawed in so many ways, and seemed to have little support among members of his own party.

How times have changed! As increasing numbers of Republicans are uniting behind McCain and the Republican attack machine has a luxury of time, we Democrats are bogged down in what once would have seemed trivial. The differences in policy between Obama and Clinton are still fairly minor. Any hope of real political change vanished with Kucinich, and we are left deciding on grounds other than policy.

I'm not suggesting that our decision is trivial. I decided to support Obama after Kucinich and Edwards left the race, but I've never had even the slightest inclination to support Clinton. Her campaign tactics have merely strengthened my largely unfavorable impressions of her. I think she should leave the race and work to repair the damage she has done to the party.

At the same time, I want to make sure that the Democrats remain focused on the real issue - Iraq. We must remember that McCain is the opponent that most matters. His free pass has lasted long enough.

Tags: Democratic nominee, McCain, campaign, convention, Democratic, Clinton, Obama, Republican, Democrat, Kucinich, Edwards, Iraq, Iraq war, war, election 2008, 2008 election