Response to Gabriel

A writer has sent me the following comment:

I read your blog, and you make a strong point. Obama certainly has attributes (not necessarily faults) that tend to make him unelectable. As for Hillary - for some reason there has been an odor of skunk fumes about her since BEFORE Bill became president. Vitriolic stickers in public places. Media heads , e.g. Jay Leno deriding her. People constantly saying "Hillary's a phoney (whatever that means)", and I mean people who are liberal and/or progressive on most issues. Look, many years ago I was listening to then Rep. Gerald Ford mumble something about Vietnam. I immediately blurted out "That putz is going to be president one day !!" Now fast forward to about 1 year ago. McCain was practically written out of consideration. I said in one of my darkest moments. "This guy looks presidential (looks like a duck), talks presidential (quacks like a duck), well golly gee whiz, it's gonna be McCain for 8 years !!" G_d forbid, but the railroad train is chugging away. This is a really annoying horse race. I think we need a Democrat in the White House very badly now. Look - we're not Canada (with a recall system) - I wish we were. So, the only weapon is to get the present party voted out when they screw up. Of Clinton & Obama, who is more electable?. I'm not that sure right now.

To which I respectfully respond:

When it comes down to the bottom line, after the primaries are over, and it's McCain vs. the Democrat, who is going to better withstand the right-wing garbage that will rise up out of the AM/FM muck???

After watching how calmly Hillary has handled difficult questions in her debate with Obama, after seeing her easy command of all issues military, health insurance and economic, there is no way that Obama even comes close to her expertise. I think the Right will make mince-meat of him in short order. She, at least, has the confidence of all those good people whose economic condition improved considerably during her husband's tenure. There's a long and very valuable memory track going on there. By contrast, Obama was not such a strong state senator and his failings will be fodder for McCain. Do you know that Obama has campaigned on his so-called record of opposing nuclear energy in his own home state, and yet when you do the research, you find that he FAILED UTTERLY TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING IN THAT AREA? His opposition forced him to compromise down the originally rather stringently worded legislation until it had no teeth in it at all, and even then, he could not get it passed? Talk about ineffectiveness! The Times brought this to the attention of his campaign and asked him why he keeps touting this as an accomplishment, when in fact it went nowhere, and there was NO REPLY from his camp.

Gabe, I don't want to see 8 more years of war in Iraq with possible escalation to Iran. We've got to break this chain of military aggression. Obama doesn't have the experience or the know-how to get this done. Hillary does.

The skunk smell you refer to may be emanating from within the nostrils of the beholder, suggested to him/her by the radio demons that permeate the airwaves of middle America. We have to not let those demons affect what WE do.

Pull the lever for Hillary, and at least you won't be responsible for any part of the debacle that could likely result if Obama wins.