I’m a long time reader. I’m clear this is YOUR page. This is YOUR site. These are YOUR opinions and – Koresh bless America – you’re entitled to them. I like your site and I intend to continue spinning your hit counter. I’ll even contribute again should I ever again enjoy “disposable income”.
The point is, in demonstrating your fervent support for Hillary, you’ve taken to insulting Obama supporters. Now, I wouldn’t trust Zogby any further than I could throw him but if you look at the overall picture of support according to ALL the polls, I think you would agree that Obama – at the very LEAST – has a huge following. To me, that indicates that a huge percentage of your reader base supports Obama as well.
Allowing this debate to devolve into personal attacks on the people who support one candidate over the other is short-sighted both to the Democratic party and – more importantly to THIS post – your site.
Suggesting Hillary is getting a raw deal in the press or repeating some anti-Obama slur that has been disproved or pretending you can never navigate Obama’s site or some such is one thing. But suggesting that your own readers – upon whom you count for support – are wishful thinkers, engaged in “idiocy”, or not thinking like “adults” could well end up hurting your own long-term interests.
The truth is, the vast majority of us WILL back the Demo candidate regardless of who it is or what we say today. (What, we’re going to vote McCain?!?) In slamming your own reader base, though, you’re insulting people I would guess you’d like to have around (and potentially contributing) AFTER the election no matter WHO wins.
As I’ve tried to indicate, I know it’s your page and I always take you with a grain of salt and STILL I feel, from time to time, some personal sting to your characterizations of Obama supporters. I can tell you, flatly, that you’re not going to say anything that’s going to alter my support for Obama but you run a tremendous risk that you might say something to alter my support for YOU. (I’m trying to make a point, not issue ‘never-coming-back-again’ threats…)
We on the left should be very, very careful not to destroy ourselves by attacking each other just because we have a difference of opinion on who should be the nominee. I’d like to see the debate limited to discussions of the issues and leave the “intangibles” and media-driven “conflicts” out of it.
BTW, your “who-wants-a-pony” chart is wrong. The race is about garnering delegates. From that perspective, NV wants a pony, too. But would it REALLY be so difficult to say, Iowa preferred Obama, NH preferred Clinton?
Macrobank, I wouldn’t take everything Bart says about Obama entirely seriously — he IS running a humor site — but there are no doubts he fervently supports Hillary.
As I’ve written here before, I am not an automatic Hillary-hater, and I’ll vote for her if she’s the Dem nominee, but I just think Obama would be the stronger candidate, warts and all, as he’s shown he can motivate large numbers of people, including first-time voters, and the types who swear they’ll never vote for Hillary. (I’m also kind of appalled that she didn’t have a Plan B following Super Tuesday. Watch that hubris.) It’s not her fault: Hill just doesn’t have the kind of natural charisma Obama has — hubby Bill does, she doesn’t, and you can’t force it, buy it, or learn it.
For various other reasons, I think Obama would have an easier time beating McCain, but if she can pull out the next three big states with impressive numbers, than that will show she’s capable of coming back and winning it all, which will be important in the general election.
In a relatively short amount of time, Obama has gone from nothing to the frontrunner — the man is a smart politician who knows how to inspire an audience and he knows how to organize a ground game, qualities most progressive candidates sorely lack. And if you think he’s going to crumple under the GOP assault forces — well, you didn’t see him in action in Illinois, as I have. He’s quiet, but deadly.
Far from being a pony, Obama is a gift horse, and I hope we’ll all support him if he’s the Dem nominee, just as we should all support Hillary if she wins the nomination. One thing’s for sure: The country can’t survive four more years of a Bush Republican in the White House.
Comment by RS Janes — February 15, 2008 @ 8:40 am
I know Bart’s site is humor-based and I know he’s supporting Hillary. But I live in California. I watched as Phil Angeledis and Steve Westly DESTROYED each other looong before the actual election that returned Ah-nold to the Governor’s mansion and I fear I see the same seeds germinating in Dems regarding Hillary vs Barack. (I have to add that Angeledis v Westly WAS a race between a couple of thieves and I don’t see either Hillary or Barack that way.)
Of course Bart should support the candidate he thinks best as should the rest of us but the candidates are SO similar we’ve taken to debating (and inflating) media-driven bullshit and it’s causing people to become entrenched in their positions.
For me? I lean toward Barack mostly because I prefer his health care plan and I object to Hillary’s vote on Kyl-Lieberman. I’d be perfectly happy to have her in the Oval Office, just a bit happier to see Barack there…
Comment by macrobank — February 20, 2008 @ 9:19 am