While sitting in the main concourse at O'Hare watching half of America walk by (I was at a better venue last night as the photo above shows, thought the Mets lost), I was thinking about Pennsylvania - which I'll fly over in about 90 minutes. Who knows if tonight is the end? Lance Mannion, who I read just now as I ate on of those Wolfgang Puck chicken sandwiches that are supposed to make you feel like you're not consuming airport crap, laments: "I've discovered to my chagrin that, at least when it comes to politics, I have absolutely no powers of persuasion."
Me too, Lance. Me too. I also liked this part:
The point is that I want the Democrats to win the White House and pick up seats in the House and Senate and I do not care if the Democratic President is Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
I prefer Clinton to Obama because I know her better. She's been my senator for seven years. She was the admirable, engaged, intelligent, activist wife of the only successful Democratic President I can remember. As far as my experience goes, Barack Obama might as well have fallen to earth in 2004. I like some things about him, can't stand others. Same with Clinton. I'm sure I've criticized Obama more or struck a more skeptical note more often but that's because I've had to spend more time trying to figure him out. I have a good idea of what kind of leader and politician Clinton is, for better and worse. I'm still not sure about Obama, although I am a little surer. He's not enough different from her to win me over. He's a better orator and not a Clinton. Otherwise he's just a very bright liberal politician on the make who is arrogant enough or crazy enough to think he's qualified for a job nobody's qualified for.
Same as her.
Neither one is or will be the second coming of FDR. The best we can hope for is the either one will be the Bill Clinton Bill Clinton would have been if the Democrats had controlled Congress for all those eight years.
Though I had hopes on the FDR part for Hillary, and I also think that the score of 44-0 is a bad attitude to cop for our daughters. Nonetheless, I'll be over PA - transversing Penn's rectangle, really, from midwest to eastern reaches. Got any thoughts on the race or the early results? Is a close result a death knell for Clinton? If she cleans up, will Obama's candidacy finally get the questioning it deserves on electability? Let's hear it...
