Feeling Different?

I hope it's not just me, but that Mr. Obama has turned some sort of corner. Maybe the 1-2-3 punch is: route in South Carolina, endorsement by Caroline Kennedy and Ted Kennedy (read the NY Times piece by Caroline if you haven't) and Edwards dropping out.

I think Hillary is a smart cookie and a tough campaigner, but I think there are at least four reasons we must choose Obama over Hillary to have a chance at winning in November. They are interconnected, but yet at least arguably distinct:

1. No Dynasties/Clinton Fatigue. There are no dynasties or royalty in American politics. We've got more political families in the U.S. than Bush and Clinton. I think the Democrats are weary of the Clintons and won't be enthusasitic supporters in the general election. We can't afford not to have a juiced up Democratic base, because....

2. No uniting the Republicans. Related to number one, the Republicans are in disarray and disappointed with their field. The best (only?) shot they have of uniting and getting energized is clear: we nominate Hillary. And Barack will get some, if not a lot, of crossover votes, more than enough to compensate for those who won't vote for a black man. Were they ever going to vote Dem anyway? And especially for Hillary?

3. Yesterday's Politics. The Clinton way is to divide and polarize. Slice and dice the electorate. Get some votes by alienating some in the hopes that you'll attract more (net) than you drive away. Yes, the Republicans are the Zen masters of this art and perfected it with Atwater and Rove. People seem ready to turn the page I think, and this strategy may backfire. I loved Bill because he could "play the game" right with the Republicans; it was fun having someone who could hand them their hat from a purely political point of view. Sort of like trading for that big home run hitter. You love it when he belts one out for your side, but deep inside you also don't like what it does to the rest of your team; when Ozzie starts swinging for the fences and pops weakly to left center (instead of knocking the slap opposite field single and stealing second), you know you're cooked.

4. Billary. Bill may be quiet going in to Super Tuesday. But at some point he'll enter the stage again. And if Hillary gets elected, Bill is going to be involved in everything trying to burnish his own legacy and do everything he didn't get a chance to in the first eight years ("Hillary who?" he'll say). He did some great things (and was Abe Lincoln and George Washington rolled in to one compared with the current occupant of the White House), but I just think a co-presidency cannot actually be good in this instance. And I don't doubt that's exactly what it will be--when I was typing this entry, I typed "... if he gets elected...", and I was really thinking of it that way--that we'd be re-electing Bill. Enough already.

So let's all chant: Fired up! Ready to go!