Response to Dawn

A friend of mine sent a serious note to me voicing her concerns and reactions to my last posting. Here are her note and my response to her.

On 2/1/08, Dawn wrote: Thanks Jeff, I'm really not sure whom to vote for this "Super Tuesday". I'm highly concerned about the economic disaster our country is currently facing, in terms of the value of the dollar, the mortgage crisis, and the lack of jobs and the unemployment rate. Also, I want the next President to solve the problem of lack of health care for many Americans, and get us out of this never-ending war in Iraq. I'm not convinced that Hillary will do that for us. She voted in favor of the war originally, and has not properly address her position about why she thought the Iraq war was a good idea at the time, nor will she admit that she was wrong! Bottom line is that Hillary supported President Bush and his Cronies, and I think she needs to give the American people an honest answer. I think it is despicable that the oil companies are experiencing record breaking financial gains, yet Americans can hardly pay there bill at the pump nor afford for the cost of fuel to heat their homes. I'm much more inclined to vote for Obama. Barak is ready to lead this country and will help our country greatly. If the ticket is Barak vs. Romney (like my husband said), you can bet your bottom dollar the new President of the United States will be BARAK OBAMA!

My response:

Hi, Dawn,

First, let's talk about the voting machines.

According to today's Times editorial page (If an Election Is close...), New York State has decided to go with machines which scan in a paper ballot that people have circled in first. The Board of Elections will keep the paper ballots and be able to hand-count them should the need arise. The other machines that other states have purchased and discarded will not be used here. They were made in Holland, and Dutch hackers have already fully demonstrated their hackability. New York State decided against them - late, true enough. But better late than never.

I read with interest your concerns regarding Hillary's Iraq vote and have been considering how best to answer you. However, Bob Herbert's column in today's Times contains a quote from Thomas Paine which I think says it much better than I ever could:

In his biography of Tom Paine, John Keane referred to a pamphlet that Paine had written near the end of his life and said:
"Paine here touched on a quintessential feature of modern republican democracy: it is superior to all other types of government not because it guarantees consensus or even 'good' decisions, but because it enables citizens to reconsider their judgments about the quality and unintended consequences of those decisions.
"Republican democracies enable citizens to think twice and to say no, even to policies to which they once consented."

I think this speaks to Hillary's original decision to support going into Iraq and then saying no later on. We cannot foretell the future, Dawn. No one can. There are so many different roads that history can follow. Given what information they had, those who now want us out of Iraq and who voted to support the president years ago, see the unintended consequences that Paine described above. It is an honorable thing to be able to say: "This isn't what we intended. We have to undo this damage, taking into account the safety of those Iraqis who supported us and others who are our friends." That's Hillary's position. She wants us out within a year, but doesn't want to rip us out completely and instantly which would result in utter havoc in Iraq and a betrayal of those Iraqis who put their faith in us. She says it's a difficult tension but one which, with international support and conciliation, she thinks she can surmount. It's a very responsible position. Does she know EXACTLY how she's going to do this? Neither she nor Barack can know that now because candidates don't have access to the privileged and top secret military information that only a sitting President and his/her cabinet have. But they know the path they want to take. If you know your goal and the general path you want to travel, your chances for success are excellent. Bush's weakness is that his administration never established the long-term path or objectives.

Give Tom Paine his due and don't be so harsh in your judgment of Hillary. Please think carefully before making your selection about who it is that will best be able to defeat the Republican talk show hosts, the hanging chad people, and the Karl Rove types who will surely emerge from their maggot holes once the primary season is over. Who has the experience to stamp out their arguments and their appeal to fear and baser instincts? Who has both the experience and the good will that can trump good will standing alone?

If you Hillary wins, we will have a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress. If you Barack wins,.....

Jeff