Monday, January 28, 2008

A dilemma but not a bad one to be in

I've been mostly undecided but have for a while believed that Hillary Clinton would be a more effective president than Barack Obama. After listening to each of his victory speeches (and even concession speeches), I can't help but feel that his message of bringing America together and giving Americans a sense of common destiny, regardless of race or economic status, is growing closer to fruition. I've even had the ridiculous idea that he would inspire not just us but the rest of the world.

I know that people can be fickle and that overhauling the political establishment isn't guaranteed to say the least, but it would be a self-fulfilling prophecy to elect a President Obama. It would mean that America truly came together in the recognition of his unrealistic vision, instantly making it a reality. The future he describes has universal appeal among Democrats and at least does not alienate [moderate] Republicans.

It's really unfortunate that Hillary cannot take the political high road since for most of her public life, she's been the target of partisan and personal attacks from Republicans and special interests. The "us versus them" mentality is real in American politics and personal to her. I don't mean to downplay struggles Obama has had to face (I'm not too familiar with them), but I recognize that his optimism is not something Hillary could honestly pull off despite her efforts at bi-partisanship.

Many of our decisions are made based on what other people think. We also defer to experts who know more about a topic than we do. This behavior probably helps us survive. We also make decisions based on emotions and gut feelings. Despite all of the momentum of Obama's campaign, I still feel more invested in Hillary's campaign and I'm not sure why. It could be because I feel she has a concrete grasp of exactly what needs to be done to accomplish the goals shared by most Democrats. To be honest, though, it's probably because I feel she is compassionate, thoughtful, and commands the respect of Eric Schmidt. To be fair, I have yet to watch the video of his interview with Obama at Google. Talk about anti-climactic. Anyhow, I'm happy to support either candidate should they win the Democratic nomination.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read his The Audacity of Hope last year.

You know, even a tiny boss in our offices can be very rude. It is not easy for a kind man to go to this position, especially in politics.

if one contrast with the other leaders in some the other nation, one should feel very very glad.

Will said...

What did you think? I got it on audiobook and got about 2/3. So far I don't remember him talking about foreign policy but its cool I'd has an international audience. How's the iPhone?

Will said...

sorry for the iPhone typo. I meant to type the it's cool that "he" has an international audience. I swear it's because I'm typing in landscape mode and I'm more used to typing in portrait mode.

Anonymous said...

haha...the iFon (jailbroken) is too great. The only device beating it will be a iFon with 3G and real bluetooth. There r so many apps and games out there.

I think no one expects his book to be a bible of management. It's more reader-friendly with his writing approach, talking about little things reflecting those greater.

Back to the candidates, most would agree Hillary can lead well. But it probably will be priced at par; there would be no premium, nor surprise. In contrast, Obama is the one who may be able to lift the states to a better level but equally may fail to do so.

But, for some risk, we are honored to take, right?

Anonymous said...

btw, this
http://nexthaus.com/products_b_iphone.html
and this
http://www.goosync.com/

will finally sync the iFon with Galender.

Blog Archive