Do You Feel Loved?

DYFL Endorses Obama

nobody@vox.com(DYFL) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:03:54 -0500

I hope all my American readers who live in states holding primaries today are voting. I've been following this year's race very, very closely, but unlike the 2004 presidential race, I haven't been writing about it much. I will say that overall, it's been a pretty fantastic primary, all things considered, and that we've wound up with two fairly exceptional candidates. I do think Hillary Clinton would make a pretty good president at the end of the day, and up until a couple of months ago she was my preferred choice for the nomination. But today after work, I'm voting for Barack Obama, because he's got a shot at being not just a pretty good president, but a great one.

I don't really have the focus or the mental acuity needed to try to make my point today, but the simple fact is that a Clinton presidency represents an ironclad guarantee of at least four more years of the same kind of red-state / blue-state liberal / conservative infighting that's poisoning this country's culture down to its very soul, and I honestly don't think I'm being alarmist about the level of that threat. Americans are turning on each other with a ferocity and abandon that I find disgusting. Barack Obama is not an immediate cure for that problem, and honestly, there's a good chance that the sickness will defeat him and he won't transform our political culture. But there is half a chance that he will, because he really is an insightful, talented, and level-headed politician who's thoroughly prepared to take a new approach to the business of government. I do believe that he's every bit as capable and experienced as he needs to be to do this job, and I do believe that he has a better chance than any other candidate of commanding the cross-partisan respect that's needed to communicate with both his ideological opponents and the full breadth of the American people.

No matter which nominee we end up with, I'm confident that the Democrats can win the White House in November. But I'd like to win more than the White House: I'd like to win a lasting victory over the negative forces that are tearing our national culture apart, and it's plain to me that Obama is the only candidate running from any party with the ability to get us any closer to that goal. So: he's got my vote today, and with a little luck, he'll get my vote on November 4th as well.

For an excellent collection of Obama links (although frankly, I think he's taking the anti-Hillary position too far), don't miss Kevin's post today at Ghost In The Machine.

(And yes: You can count me among the pathetic fanfic millions who'd love to see an Obama/Clinton ticket, or even a Clinton/Obama ticket, at the end of the nomination process. The odds are terribly slim, but the Democrats have too much to lose from splitting the party at a time like this, and I worry that some of the more gung-ho supporters of each candidate will be unwilling to jump aboard with the other if things don't go their way.)

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Dead And Buried

nobody@vox.com(DYFL) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:22:21 -0400

There's a shitload of stuff going on with me right now, but I can't talk about it yet. Maybe later, and behind lots of privacy restrictions. Maybe never.

Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment to correct the record: Back in February, I expressed my absolute conviction that John McCain would win the Republican presidential nomination. Boy, have the last two months proven me wrong, and I'd like to recant that ill-starred bit of prognostication right now. I'll be stunned if he can come back from this one...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

On The 2008 Presidential Elections

nobody@vox.com(DYFL) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:26:34 -0500

I am a Democrat, as anyone who's even sort of paid attention to me for any length of time can probably figure out, and as of right now, I'm supporting Hillary Clinton for President in 2008. As I see it, there are only three real contenders for the Democratic nomination:

--Hillary. The bottom line is that I like her. She's profoundly intelligent, she's tough under pressure, her experience is unmatched among the current crop of nominees, her stances on issues are always thoughtful and considered, and even when I don't agree with her I can trust her to never advance a policy that's flat-out batshit insane. She's obviously a shit-magnet on a level that politics rarely sees, but at this point I really think I do subscribe to the argument that there is nowhere for her to go from here but up. She actually is a likeable politician, and as Americans start to see something other than the caricature, I think they'll get on board. Obviously she starts with a pretty broad-based "no" vote staring at her that will never switch, but it's not enough on its own to deny her a victory.

--Barack Obama. There's certainly plenty to like about Obama, but I honestly do feel he's both too young and too inexperienced. In fact, pursuing the nomination this early in his political career tarnishes him as a person and a professional, in my opinion. There's also the fact that really, from a policy perspective, just what the hell does he stand for? I do think a Clinton / Obama ticket would be unbeatable, even with the whiff of patronization it entails, but at this point it is, sadly, kind of a distant pipe dream. Oh well.

--John Edwards. I'm the least drawn to him in general, for two reasons: one is simply the fact that he was part of a losing campaign, which is a crippling liability in the modern super-saturated political landscape, and the other is that he's got kind of an untenable position on gay marriage -- from an ethical standpoint, anyway, though I guess the "I'm conflicted" line is potentially saleable to the part of the American demographic who shares his views. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not deluded enough to think any of the Democratic nominees will legalize gay marriage with one fell swoop the moment they get into office. I could foresee it as an outside-shot second-term development for Hillary, but that's about it. However, the way you talk about the issue matters.)

So yes: Go Hillary. I want a female President (though a black one would be great too [and a gay atheist one would be even better. Maybe a polyamorous Hispanic one with a lot of tattoos and piercings]). The good news is, I wouldn't be upset if any of these three people won the nomination, or the Presidency. So things are already looking bright for 2008, when (cue game show voice) one of these three contestants will face... JOHN MCCAIN! Seriously, I'm going on record, if he doesn't win the Republican nomination I will burn a $20 bill and photograph it. Hold me to this. Also, read this depressing article on McCain's recent campaign hires... oh, Mr. Ethics, where are you now. Though I suppose there's a reasonable counter-argument to say that he's locking up this kind of firepower in order to make sure that somebody with an even shakier moral grounding doesn't get their hands on it...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend