Primary Thoughts
I've been following the preliminaries from afar....taking notice and trying to keep detached. Last Tuesday when the three contenders all gave their aftermath speeches, I couldn't help but notice the striking difference between Clinton/Obama and the McCain speeches. Clinton and Obama both are a breath of fresh air from the same old rhetoric we've been hearing for 8 years. When McCain talked, my first thought was that he was medicated. All I could feel from his slurry lifeless speech was that this guy needed to go to bed. On the other hand, Obama and Clinton both had upbeat, positive, and energetic messages. They both made me feel like there really was hope for our country.
Side note....I like what Hillary said about using republicans for some key cabinet positions. This is what a true "uniter" would do. Quite a contrast to George Bush filling over 100 of the top department jobs with people who were lobbyist for the industries those same departments oversee. Can you believe it?
It is being said by some right wingers that the democrats and their "upbeatness" (to coin a word Bush might use) is all fluff, that the democrats have always been a party of fluff and personality with no real substance. Really? Are they talking about Al Gore? John Kerry? Dukakas? Mondale? These are four out of the last five democrats who ran for president and they all four had the personalities of a coma victim. You can argue their substance but you can hardly accuse any of these men of being all about personality, or even having one for that matter.
And since I voted for all of these past presidential hopefuls, I would not hold it against McCain that he has no personality. The only thing I hold against McCain is that he represents four more years of the same old same old. This country is desperate for a change. In California, it's now out of our hands, but whoever is left standing on the democratic ticket when the smoke clears is who we need to get behind. I am predicting a lop sided election to the degree of Ragan/Mondale or Clinton/Dole, barring any dirty Carl Rove type election tricks. We truly need somebody who can start undoing the damage caused by eight years of failed Bush policies. Either democrat will do.