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Thursday, February 7, 2008

Super Tuesday

By Silvia Uribe

As much as I wanted to stop hammering on people's eyes, ears, and minds about this never ending, and still long presidential campaign, I just have to recognize that it has been fascinating to watch our democratic process's wheels turn as they have. Do you think there have been surprises so far? What about Bill Clinton, who seems he has lost some of his touch, and frankly his sharpness, mental agility, and wit? (I am a little concerned for his health in general.) Reading between lines, don't you think that Republicans might prefer Obama over Clinton to win the primaries, so they can more easily sweep him at the national election? And what about the dirty tricks, the manipulation, the media doing its part with the air time each candidate gets during the debates, plus the strategies and the money campaigns put to work? To me, all of these are both entertaining and desolating at the same time.

We are almost ready for "Super Tuesday" on Feb 5th. We hear a bunch of well spoken words, but are they well explained or backed up? For instance, the "change" that Barack Obama's followers (so naively) hope for, and that he talks about all the time, is it something real or just empty words on his part? What exactly does he mean? We should ask ourselves for example, where is the money for his campaign coming from? What kind of concessions will he have to make as a pay back, if he in fact becomes president? I see nothing different from the rest of the candidates here. I also wonder...when Obama speaks about grass roots and his compromise with these kind of movements, what is he really talking about and why are people so pumped up by it? After his days as a community organizer, how has he supported grass roots movements, organizations or activism in general? On the other hand, his comments are getting personal and ugly, and he might have already shown an attitude problem by looking away from Hillary at the "State of the Union." Do you see anything really different in his deeds? And what about the celebrities who support him, and their shallow reasons for doing it, like Oprah's who by her own words, doesn't understand about politics but she just "believes in him". Caroline Kennedy's only reason, by her own explanation is because her son, now eighteen, is excited about voting and "feels inspired" by Obama. Is that enough to endorse, and trust an individual to be in the highest position of our country? What a disappointment! We all got excited the first time we voted, remember? Wouldn't you say that Caroline could do better than that, and that she would have more expectations and a greater vision for what a presidential candidate should be, other than an inspirational speaker? I guess not.

I have to admit that Ted Kennedy's support was definitely a move that could weigh in on some Democrats' decision, but if you're one of those Democrats that I'm referring to, let me ask you, have you looked at the individual's history? What are his positions on abortion, energy policy, or foreign affairs, for instance? Ted Kennedy has been a senator for 46 years, how do you think he has been able to remain in his position for all those years? I wonder...would you find out that he is an excellent politician, or one who's only committed to politics?

Now, it is pretty much a "two men" race on both sides. The bids are open! Like many others, I wonder too...which will be the finalists for each party? Who will Huckabee, Paul, and Edwards endorse? And finally, what's your educated guess for the final ticket on each party?

The real question here shouldn't be who do we like best, but who is better able to effectively lead our country?

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com