Jumping In

I have decided to go ahead and post a second time tonight, partially because my first post didn't really do what I want to do with this blog, but also because I feel like talking. In the future, I'm sure I will practice saving such rants, and posting them at a later time, to keep a steady schedule. I've heard that professionals do this, and it sounds like a good plan.

Today is Tuesday, the 11th day of March, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand Eight.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are avidly pursuing the Democratic nomination for the upcoming Presidential election, and if you didn't know that, good; I enjoy being a source of information for people.

We arrived at this place, for those of us who remember, after over a year of unprecedented campaigning. No sooner did votes come in in 2006, electing a Democrat Party majority to both the House and the Senate, than droves of people started declaring their candidacy for the Presidency. The reason for this, most pundits say, is because of how dissatisfied the majority of Americans are with the current administration.

Now, 16 months later, We the People can see that the next President of our country, and by association the next scapegoat for all of our problems, will be one of three career politicians. (I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being a career politician, but there are many who distrust Senators Obama, Clinton and McCain because they are politicians, regardless of their actions and beliefs. In a representative Democracy, we cannot ignore these people.)

The Republican nomination has been sealed up by John McCain. 10 weeks ago, this looked like a nearly impossible prospect, with Rudy Giuliani the national favorite, Mitt Romney having the biggest checkbook, Mike Huckabee rousing an evangelical host, and the Ron Paul movement, a phenomenon of Internet grassroots in and of itself. Iowa gave Huckabee a boost, but McCain's strategy did not include as much Iowa campaigning as Romney and Huckabee did. Huckabee's victory in Iowa helped McCain to convince New Hampshire that Romney was not the right person. McCain's victory in New Hampshire provided him all the momentum he needed. By the time Super Tuesday rolled around, Giuliani and Thompson had dropped out. McCain's appeal to moderate Republicans (at least as opposed to Romney or McCain) landed him a tremendous victory, prompting Romney to drop out. A month later, McCain had enough delegates to seal the nomination.

The Democrat race was much of the same, until March 4th. An underdog won Iowa, and the early favorite won New Hampshire. From there, it was a footrace, with John Edwards grabbing delegates sporadically, but nowhere near as effectively. He dropped out before Super Tuesday.

Early February results were split for Sens. Clinton and Obama. The race was on, and the American people watched. For four weeks, the campaigns shifted between
passive aggressive attacks and near-fraternal bonding. As the March 4th Primaries approached, Clinton's campaign seemed to get more desperate, and Obama's seemed less stable. Clinton won Ohio, Obama won Texas, and the whole day was nearly a wash.

And here we are. As I type this, CNN.com is reporting a landslide victory for Obama in Mississippi, which will change virtually nothing. In six weeks, Pennsylvania votes. As a native of Pennsylvania, I am looking forward to seeing the candidates campaign here, but I will not be surprised by the results of our election. Clinton will take a solid victory, and the nomination will remain undecided.

Many say that this conflict is good for the Party, and many say that it will tear the Party apart, or, at the very least, cost us the election in November. Here is the part where you get to hear what I think.

As an American citizen, Senator Clinton has the right to run for President. Nobody has the right to expect her to drop out. Having said that, she is not going to win. Obama is young, charismatic, educated, and not perceived as a life member of the DC Club, and all of these are things that Democrats want in a candidate. The longer she keeps her campaign going, the more damage she does to herself and to the eventual nominee. Even now, I am listening to Chris Matthews tell me how her infamous 3 A.M. advertisement is an inexcusable, racist attack against a bright young politician. I hear that she has practically endorsed McCain, saying that only she and McCain have the experience to be president "on the first day".

As much as I support any American's right to pursue public office, there comes a time when you need to put transparent personal ambition aside and help the country by supporting the candidate who will be the best President.