UNITED IN UNITY
On Friday, sooner than I expected, wounds between rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, were healed before a sweaty, black-fly covered crowd in Unity, New Hampshire. It was the political equivalent of a faith-healers tent, with the crowd swaying and chanting words like "hope" and "change". It was a marvel in more ways than I can count, the most obvious being the sobering reality that a young Senator with only a few years of experience, was, in essence, throwing a bone to Hillary Clinton, after running her down in what has been a raucous campaign. Personally, I am still reeling from the notion that such a large portion of Americans really see "hope" and "change" in this young man. Should he become President, we'll see change allright. Most of us will be seeing it as we count it out at the grocery store, trying to buy food for our families.
I like Barack Obama, in the same way that I like many of my friends. I respect him, he is intensely bright, a good sense of humor, passionate and a decent man. But I don't want him to be President any more than I want one of my friends to be President. It is not the right time in our history. While I am proud that this country was fair enough to propel a black man to this height, and it dismisses the generally held view that we are a racist country, he is just too inexperienced for the job. Period. I also am amazed at the way this guy outran what is arguably one of the most powerful political machines in the history of our country, the Clintons. Hillary and Bill are tenacious, they hung on, they kept fighting. From both sides, things were said that were marginal at best. The "Race Card" played deftly, but certainly was cut into the deck on more than one occasion. Towards the end we marveled as Bill seemed to be starting to unspool, to lose his cool. There are those, and I am one, who suspect that had he stayed completely in the background during this race, she may have clinched the nomination. It was very close. At the end of the day, Obama led a pretty clean campaign and stayed mostly to the high road.
I have suspected all along, that Barack is a sly player. Without saying so, he has played the race card quietly, through his surrogates and otherwise. Don't start yelling. I don't believe he did so deliberately, he had no choice. He is Black. And for many Americans, the "Enlightened Ones", voting for a black man is all that matters in this race. It makes them feel good. It is our personal equivalent of Stephen Colbert's picture of himself with his "black friend".That, of course, is satire. This, on the other hand, is a presidential race. So for Obama, there is this inescapable bonus. For Hillary, there was Bill. More of a "Boner" than a "Bonus".
Hearing her today made my stomach hurt. You just know it's not real. You just know she is seething under that blue pants suit. At her husband for being such an uncontainable dolt during her campaign, at the very base of voters she has spoon-fed for so many years, anticipating this moment in time. Reverend Fleger, as obnoxious as he is, probably had it right when describing her shock at the ascension of Obama. "A black man is stealing my show..." Did he ever. But in the end, she may have been her own worst enemy for all these years. Seen as a maniacal manipulator, schemer, driven beyond reason, and enduring a farce of a marriage for political expediency. Folks were shocked when she shed a tear last January in New Hampshire. Think about that. A woman who has been prominent in the public eye for decades, and we were all shocked to see a display of real emotion. At least, we think it was real.
There is plenty of show left, if the hayfields of Unity, New Hampshire are any indicator. Obama now has the unenviable task of finding a place for her and Bill that doesn't alienate them and dispensing of any hope for a VP slot at the same time. He is in a dicey position. He needs her base, but he doesn't need her face. Let's face it. Folks are tired of the Clintons. Speaking for myself, anyone promising me "Hope" and "Change" from a podium where she is standing, leaves me feeling a little pale.