February 2012

Many people still think it’s a tight race between the two candidates. I on the other hand think the point of no return was the hit in South Carolina, and it’s only a matter of time before more states and more politicians throw their support behind Barack Obama instead of Hilary Clinton. First, let’s break down a few of Hillary’s weaknesses; not because I personally am trying to bring her down, but these are all points that would be exploited against this so called front-runner.1) She’s a Clinton, and she will be attacked for maintaining a dynasty in a way that never seemed to stick on George W. Bush. And voters are very aware that we have been Bush/Clinton/Bush for 20 years, another four of the same pattern is a hard sell. Especially when so many feel the country is on the wrong path.2) She’s still a Clinton. As we’ve seen in South Carolina, Bill is using all his influence and tricks to keep her on top. The Clinton’s (even with all the good they did get done) have never been known as a force for co-operation, so much as leveraging and manipulating others to their view. We’ve seen where 8 years of a political cudgel got us, it’s seems likely that her opponents will see and use this too.3) Hillary claims experience is one of her greatest defining traits, and even went so far as to say that she’s been fighting in Washington for the past 35 years, oddly this is less than accurate. If NPR can prove it so can Fox, or any other campaign out there that wants to fire off a low blow. Besides, how does Hillary’s experience stack up against those that now have dropped out, like Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel, or Chris Dodd, or against those that are still running, like John McCain, or even Mitt Romney who at least was a Governor, and has some semblance of executive experience.4) This final reason is I think the most important: How electable is Hillary? Really? Granted the USA right now is looking away from a second Republican administration, but will they turn to a Hillary driven administration as an alternative, or will voters turn to a different Republican simply because it is not another Clinton? I expect that voters will choose the fresh face over the old in this election regardless of party.Be wary of those that say any Democrat can beat any Republican; that view did not serve either Al Gore or John Kerry well when they were handed their losses, and the nation does not need another president of a 51% majority. There is also much to be said for Democrats to support the most viable candidate for the presidency instead of the candidate that they like the most. For example; Dennis Kucinich probably had one of the best platforms, but the cameras hated him, and it rendered the man unelectable.And on to Obama and his best attribute: 

Yes, he’s the new face. He’s the Kennedy endorsed Kennedy that’s not a Kennedy. He’s the first African American democratic candidate in nearly twenty years to win multiple primaries, and arguably the first African American that has a real shot at the office. But none of this fully answers the two big questions…1) Is he electable?2) Would he actually make a good president?My answer is wholeheartedly yes. This video is an hour long, but it’s fantastic, Barack Obama sits down with the editorial board of the San Francisco Gate, no aides, no rules, just an hour long candid question and answer session where he talked policy and practice. Within this video, Obama emphasizes that transparency in the legislative process can create natural environments of accountability, that as a nation we’re not trying hard enough for fuel economy (he wanted 40mpg or better by 2020), he emphasizes research funding with minimal government stipulations to develop alternative energy arguing it’s not government’s job to define what energy creation methods we will or will not support, it’s our job to set the standards and let the market shake it out).He also goes on to emphasize that Washington needs to be a place where legislators are rewarded for doing the right thing, and standing up for their constituents, and he says the office of the president can do all that. A very solid and honest account of who Obama currently is. That video was from before the Nevada caucus.Next The Atlantic emphasized that Obama’s win in South Carolina was not exclusively about the black vote putting him over the top, instead EVERYBODY voted for him; that’s significant. It’s proof that Barack Obama can turn everyone out to vote for him and the numbers are showing that it’s a very broad spectrum of American citizens that have granted him their support.Barack Obama is the Democrat’s Reagan. It’s really just that simple. The charms and characteristics that made Reagan so endearing as a character to so many conservative Americans has been reborn as a young liberal black man with a law degree from Harvard. Barack Obama is the political love child of Ronald Reagan’s stature, and the idealistic potential carried in memory of an assassinated John Kennedy, 100% raised by the smooth talking political media world of Bill Clinton. Barack Obama’s electability isn’t grounded in the boring sounding policies of a Dukakis or Mondale, it’s in that magic essence that comes with a politician once in a generation. And Americans have always been receptive to it.And yet, even with this fresh and inspirational character Barack Obama is still able to pull the support of the old guard locking in endorsements from both John Kerry, and most of the Kennedy family. If you haven’t read into what these endorsements mean, learn a little more about super-delegates.If you’re aware of the impact of these endorsements it doesn’t take much to realize that when the former party nominee for president, and a Kennedy back someone, it’s a full fledged endorsement by the Democratic establishment.The Kennedy endorsement:  Barack Obama is a solid candidate that is supported by the people, established democrats, and respected news papers. He is even leading in the election! Do not get pulled into the misdirection that Obama doesn’t have a platform, or that he’s nothing more than a fresh face in an old scene. He is much more than that.Remember:*His instinct to oppose the war was correct; while he was running for Senate.*He has co-sponsored bills that have facilitated online searchable databases of federal spending*He brought death penalty reform to the state of Illinois during a time where it was a wildly unpopular issue*He was the youngest president of the Harvard Law Review*His wife ran an managed a CityYear program*He is a supporter of Net Neutrality*He worked for many years in the state legislature as a member of the minority party*His voting record is consistent*He started his career as a community organizer, and truly worked his way up from the bottom.*He emphasizes co-operation and compromise over forcing home his views.*He wants to appoint a technology “czar” to move as much of government as possible online.*Has already expressly mentioned his cabinet would probably have people from opposing parties as members. Many people still doubt that he can win the nomination. This doubt is more poisonous to his campaign than any real flaw. If you’re a supporter of another candidate, please, continue to do so, but if you vote for Hillary Clinton, or John Edwards simply because you think they are more electable, you’ve made a serious error of judgement that could be as disastrous in the long run as it was for Ralph Nader to have split the vote amongst Democrats and Independents in 2000.Barack Obama’s personal response to President Bush’s final State Of the Union Address: Prose Before Hos is a small, and opinionated blog that regularly covers politics. We’re aware that our online stature is not great nor is it important, but sometimes you still have to declare a stand. And we think that in the future blogs and their opinions will become more and more important to our political process in the future. Prose Before Hos would like to stay near that cutting crest of good ideas, so like XKCD, we here at Prose Before Hos proudly supports and endorses Barack Obama for President because he is a candidate that we take pride in, believe can make a real difference in partisan politics, and most importantly can restore faith in America as a great nation once again for all people around the world and at home.  Update: Since writing this Barack Obama has now gone on an 11 contest winning streak, out fund-raised Hillary Clinton, and has moved within upset difference in both Texas and Ohio. And Hillary has only countered by falling flat on her face.  

Mark my words. This single-handedly lost her Texas. This petty shot back will cost her thousands of votes. It is incredibly shocking to hear a debate crowd boo a candidate. While it is her job to keep the race competitive, and to call out her opponent on questionable acts. It quite simply isn’t plagiarism if you’ve been given permission to use the words. And everyone knows it. Instead of letting it slide, and keeping issue oriented Hillary took the VERY low road, and I think this will cost her a lot in the eyes of voters.

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