Last night I stayed up until the wee hours watching the results come in from the Iowa presidential caucus. This morning I'm still sorting out what happened and how I feel about the results.
On the Republican side (of which I'm not. . .), I was disturbed that Iowa voters gave first prize to Mr. Aw Shucks Huckabee, the good ole boy from the south. Please tell me we won't have to deal with four more years of a leader who prides himself on not being intellectually curious, not reading the papers,and getting his directions from on high. Even more dangerous,was his recent lack of understanding of the complexities of the Middle East, especially Pakistan, in the aftermath of Bhutto's assassination.
At least John McCain made a decent showing. For all his crustiness, I admire his principles and service to our country--and his backbone. His age doesn't bother me either. After all, he's the one who was able to scale the Grand Canyon at 70 years old--that trumps Huckabee's losing 100 pounds in my book.
And then there's the Democrats. With these candidates, the party has a chance to make history. Are we willing to nominate the first woman? The son of a Kenyan father and Kansas mother who may have more of a world view because of his upbringing? The son of a southern mill worker who is passionate about lifting up the middle class?
Last night Obama triumphed, as did the people of Iowa for giving him a chance to fight on. Hillary Clinton was gracious, but strategic, in her concession speech. She recognized the strength of the Democratic candidates and predicted they would prevail in the '08 election. And, to her credit, she cleared the way for her move on to the other states.
So, this morning I find myself somewhat straddlesore. The only cure will be to watch the candidates as they battle on. I'll support the one who is able to fight hard, but fair, while not losing his or her authenticity. I hope the American voters will still be able to recognize authenticity when they see it. . .
(Photo credit: Tom Chambers, File Magazine)
I never heard of being straddle sore before, but it's very descriptive!
ReplyDeleteAnyone remember the very first episode of The West Wing? Remember how excited they were when they finally found a candidate with the goals and idealism they could believe in, give up their cushy jobs and work like dogs for? I still do and that's been almost 9 years ago. I know it was fiction, and maybe Obama is fiction, too, but I don't think so. I got the same feeling with his speech and the excitement surrounding it that I got with the first episode of West Wing.
(If you never saw that first season of WW, you might want to put it on your NetFlix list.)
The prospect of Mike Huckabee in the White House scares me. But he's not another Dubya. He is smart and calculating. And he is dishonest and out for himself. I hope journalists in Arkansas come forward with some of the dishonorable things he did while governor of their state.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Democrats go, I'm a John Edwards fan. I don't think that Obama or Clinton have a chance of winning the presidency, even if they win their parties' nomination.
I am visiting from Laurie's. Glad I came over. Great post.
Kaycie, glad you dropped by. Agree with you about Huckabee. I've studied him in all the debates and so far he's relying on a quick turn of phrase instead of an honest answer--please, not another sound byte president. We'll see how NH voters do with him. Noticed that tonight ABC has a debate from New Hampshire--I'll be watching. Sad thing to do on Saturday night. . .giggle.
ReplyDeleteLast night the great Elizabeth Edwards really gave Chris Matthews a run for his money on Hardball on MSNBC, challenging him to give John more coverage. I just wish Edwards would have claimed more of the debate stage earlier.
I agree with kittyhawk that its exciting to hear someone like Obama speak. He has the cadence and style that excites a crowd. However, I want the media to bear down on him like they do the other candidates. Let's see if he can take it. I want Hillary to do well because I think she's has, excuse me, the most balls. Also think she would represent us more strongly on the world stage. However, people do hate her so agree with you about electibility.
Hense, my saddlesore condition!
The West Wing was a great show!
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