Why I do not Support Barack Obama

Lately there has been a huge amount of press for Barack Obama – one could almost call it a very premature coronation. He’s even picked up the support of Ted Kennedy, a major boon indeed. Of course, Obama always had the support of more young and first-time voters than Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. And quite frankly, that’s what worries me. Here are just a few reasons why I do not support Obama – and the very reasons why he’s garnered so much support.

Lack of experience

Don’t play this down. No matter how much you like the guy, he’s only been in the Senate a measly two years. He’s the most inexperienced candidate, especially now that Edwards has dropped out. He hasn’t had the chance to learn the ropes in Washington. It’s like picking fruit that hasn’t had a chance to ripen. There is potential there, but right now it’s too sour to be enjoyed.

Says nothing

It’s a known fact that one of the most important skills for a politician is the ability to say as little as possible with as may words as possible. But when your entire speech is a contest to see how many times you can jam the word “change” into a paragraph you’ve way overdone it. Vaguely uplifting messages and subtle attacks make up a typical Obama speech, to the point where veterans like Clinton are put to shame with how much ham Obama packs into a stump speech.

Playing the race card

Some of us were too busy watching Power Rangers and Dragon Ball Z to remember Clinton, so it’s understandable that we don’t remember Bill Clinton all that well. You can’t expect a kid obsessed with how cool his lunchbox is to know politics. Obama, being a grown man, should have the good sense to remember that playing the race card on Bill Clinton is as stupid as calling the Prime Minister of Israel a Nazi. It’s sickening.

Add it up. Obama is the perfect candidate for a generation obsessed with MySpace to the point of distraction. Whatever is popular, whatever sounds cool – that’s what we support. Whatever happened to taking a stand? Why, when we should be at our most active and rebellious, are we going for the perfectly manufactured politician. A politician so perfect, he uses some of the oldest tricks to convince us that he is not a politician.

Could you stop fighting? Please?

Apparently one of the most beloved presidents in a while is a liability. At least, that’s what Obama would like you to believe. The constant bickering has become tiresome and idiotic.

See, if the candidates spend all this time tearing each other down, come general election time the voters will have a nice supply of resentment. The Democratic nominee will have been assaulted, smeared, and denigrated in every possible way. Every attack exchanged between Clinton and Obama is another voter they stand to lose in the general election. The Democratic Party is being looked at favorably right now, but it’s a delicate balance. Destroying the credibility of your opponent won’t do the party a bit of good if you aren’t nominated. Unless these candidates can set aside the stupid petty arguments we’re looking at 4 more years of GOP administration at least.

And I can guarantee the Democratic Party isn’t looking forward to that.

Obama attack ad
Clinton attack ad

Oh, it’s getting good now…

One thing is for sure: change is good. Politically speaking, of course. At a debate for the Presidential candidates from both major parties hosted by ABC in New Hampshire, the Democrats could have passed for hobos. They spouted the word “change” so often I almost wanted to throw a few dimes at the TV screen. This comes on the heels of Obama’s surprise victory over Hillary in Iowa, who was basically writing her acceptance speech until recently.

After being defeated not only by Obama, but also Edwards, a candidate who was quickly slipping away, Hillary realized “I’m Bill’s wife” and “Hey, I’ll probably win”, while excellent slogans, wouldn’t convince everyone. Naturally if you are a Democrat victory in the general election is paramount right now, and with good reason. Bush has made a great attempt at messing up as many things as possible at the same time, so a change of leadership is sorely needed.

Realizing that many young Dems were in grade school when her husband was in power would do Hillary some good. We don’t remember much, besides that the Congress was very mad at him about a lady named Monica. While many older voters will have little trouble glossing over what might be the most famous hook up in years, the first-timers, still bright eyed and hopeful are naturally being taken in by the constant cries of “change” coming from Obama, even if he is inexperienced. That’s why Hillary filled the recent debate with plenty of vitriol, making sure that the vaguely happy remarks that Obama has been spouting like a preacher don’t steamroll over the fact that change isn’t worth getting that excited over if you can’t implement it.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, the right-wingers are demonstrating how to take care of a flip-flopper: beat him up until everyone hates him. They did it to Kerry, and now Romney spent the last debate getting trashed – most memorably by Huckabee – for anything and everything. I must admit, it was nice to see some fur fly; after all, what good is democracy if everyone agrees?

With a victory in Iowa, Huckabee now has a chance at a nomination, something that seemed desperately unlikely before now. Sure, he had the Norris bump (similar to the Colbert Bump but with more roundhouse kicks) and Evangelicals love the guy, but no one thought he could carry the state against the oiled machine Romney was running. Now his big challenge is to carry New Hampshire, where his good-guy image and pastor heritage won’t do much to cover up his weak economic policies and lack of foreign policy knowledge.

Still, Huckabee, Obama, and to a lesser extent Edwards did what they had to do. They made sure they put themselves in the minds of voters by not knuckling under. People dead set on Clinton might now look at the possibility of Obama as the nominee in a more positive light. And Huckabee’s rise will get conservatives concerned with family values thinking about having a guy like him. Butter up some popcorn. It’s going to be a heck of a show.