OBAMA, HILLARY...OR RUDY?



The video above was created by a Barack Obama supporter, mashing up video of one of Hillary Clinton's speeches with the iconic 1984 Apple MacIntosh advertisement. It's being called the first "viral" video of the campaign and has been viewed by millions on YouTube and other sites. Sure, superimposing Hillary's talking head over that of Big Brother is entertaining (not to mention the digital re-imaging of the runner, who is now wearing an Obama t-shirt and an iPod), but does it really convince you that Obama is the better candidate? Not me.

I haven't decided who I'm voting for in the 2008 presidential election. Obama is fresh, charismatic and has lots of great ideas. Hillary has a lot of money and supporters, but she's polarizing and has more baggage than a jumbo jet cargo hold (most notably her womanizing ex-president husband). And then there's Rudy Giuliani. Yeah, I know, he's a Republican...well at least he calls himself one. Rudy is basically a fiscal conservative, because he supports both abortion and gay rights, that makes him socially liberal. The Christian conservative nutjobs are never gonna back Rudy because of those two hot button issues.

Who else do we have? The Republicans have John McCain, who has flipped and flopped so much on issues he should be wearing a whiplash neck brace He doesn't even know his own opinion half the time, especially when it comes to HIV prevention. Mitt Romney? Who? Newt Gingrich? Not after yet another admission of adultery...while he was trying to have Clinton impeached for the same thing. Hypocritical bastard. The Dems have John Edwards, who will probably wind up dropping out of the race if his wife's medical condition worsens.

But let's get down to brass tacks: Is America ready to vote for an African American or woman as President of the United States? I'm not so sure. Hillary doesn't do much for me, and I'm still forming an opinion about Obama. I was sort of turned off by both of them last month while they were using the anniversary of the Civil Rights March in Selma to "out black" each other at local churches. Hillary had this weird accent working and was trying to be MLK and Obama was pacing the dais and speaking in a big preacher-man voice like he was trying to save the world from fire and brimstone. Ugh!

I hate to admit it, I kinda like Rudy. He's pretty no-nonsense. I heard him being blasted on Sean Hannity's show (yeah, I listen...you gotta see what the enemy is up to), and Rudy refuses to pander to the religious right wing nuts and change his stance on human rights. You have to admire that. Some people hate him for being a womanizer...even his own kid doesn't like him very much at the moment. We'll just have to wait and see on Rudy.

We need more than a one-term president at this point. It's going to take more than four years to undo the mess Dubya and Co. have made. Hillary and Obama might get four years, but I want someone who can go the distance and wants to focus on rebuilding America's damaged relationship with the rest of the world and focus on domestic issues for a minute. Yes, we should be vigilant for terrorist attacks, but that can't be the entire focus of the administration.

It's a long time to November 2008. How all these candidates will maintain momentum for the next year and a half is beyond me. Maybe there will be dark horse candidate or two to shake things up.

Comments

hill will get the dem ticket, if she was smart she'd bring on obama, edwards, or rudy (mitt will get the repubs nom) as her vp mate.
Anonymous said…
America might be ready for a woman but not for a black guy. This isnt "24." Rudy might be okay but im worried he might flip flop on issues like gay rights to win the election.

GAV
Rachel Mallino said…
I totally listen to Sean Hannity, too - though I think he's worse than Limbaugh - Rush actually makes me laugh sometimes. I really WANT to vote for Hillary because I'd love to see a woman president BUT I've been so turned off by her lately, especially after the "black" speach. She's like a talking doll, at this point - pull the string and hear Hillary speak. I'm very much looking at Rudy, even though I'm a registered Dem. If I thought Obama had a real chance, I might consider him, but there's been way too much talk of him being Muslim (forget that he's black!!) and I don't think this country is ready to vote a black muslim into presidency. Rudy, so far, is the only person that seems real to me. It's going to be interesting. He may not get the radical right wing vote but I think he will make up for it by bringing in the moderate vote on both sides.

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