Ferraro is almost right

Geraldin Ferraro is almost right with her statments about Barack Obama. She said,

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position... and if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

She is right that there is bias in this election season centering on race and gender.

What she fails to grasp, it would appear, is that Obama has rhetorical mastery, charasmatic appeal, and is incredibly intelligent. It is not his policy that is appealing, it is himself. His policies are not that different from Hillary's policies. Were a man or woman white or otherwise in his place with his skills, they would also be delivering Hillary Clinton defeat because what has Obama defeating Hillary are his strengths, not his race.

In another era, when intellect, charisma, and rhetorical skills were not as valued and when policy was all people cared about, Hillary might have the edge on Obama. But we are in a day when the current president suffers from an intellect, rhetorical, and charsima problem on top of is policies. All Hillary has are her policies. Obama has that and more.

Americans want to be inspired. Through inspiration Obama will lead people to places they have never been or have never dreamed they would be willing to go. Hillary is incapable of leading people where they do not want to go because too many people are thoroughly uninspired by her.

Although Ferraro scores a hit in general that race and gender matter, she misses badly by being blinded by the idea that nothing else matters.

Hillary is the conservative choice for democrats

If conservative means sticking with the staus quo and not changing, then Hillary Rodham Clinton is the conservative choice for Democrats. You know that if you vote for Clinton you are going to get an old guard which surrounded Bill Clinton back in the 1990's.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, will be the progressive choice for Democrats. Obama will bring in a lot of new faces and new ideas.

A vote for Hillary is not a vote for change. With a Bush or Clinton in the White House for two decades, the nation is ready for real change. In reality, there has been a Bush in the White House since 1980. Think about that. The Bush and Clinton years are all anyone under age 28 has ever known. There is no way for the nation to change with substance with the old guard in place.

Hillary is a polarizing figure, even more than was Bill or is Bush. She has established herself as unlikable for almost half of the nation. These Hillary haters are so committed to being against her that she could never change their mind. She has painted herself into a corner. On the one hand, if she is consistent she will not be liked by half of the nation, but on the other hand, if she reinvents herself (again) it wil only reinforce what people do not like about her, that she will say anything to get power.

Obama may or may not be ideologically different from Hillary, but Obama does not carry with him the baggage with him that Hillary does. For whatever strengths Hillary brings with her, the baggage she brings with her neutralizes all of her advantages. No republican will work with her just because she is her. Some republicans are more likely to work with Obama.

Hillary is the conservative choice for democrats because she will give more of the old guard - just the thing Americans are sick and tired of.

Edwards wants a position; Guliani doesn't

John Edwards has dropped out of the race for president for two reasons:

1. He can't win.

2. He wants a position in the administration of the Democrat who wins the nomination. He might be in line for VP or attorney general. Edwards is in no way done being a politician. Edwards captures enough attention to make him a credible force in politics, but not enough to win anything on a national level He needs to be appointed to something on a national level in order to be aplayer on the national level.

Rudy Guliani is done. He does not want to be appointed to anything and he won't play second fiddle to anyone. If he is not the top dog, he won't race. He won't run with McCain, even if asked. Rudy will pursue success in the private sector.

H eended now in order to save future humiliation. He took an enormous risk in skipping a complete month of campaigning. He would have been the kind of president who made similar risks - for better or worse. Clearly this lapse in judgment means he does not know how to feel the pulse of Ameicans. We may have dodged a bullet with Rudy's departure. We can also feel relatively confident that we have seen the last of Rudy on the national political stage.

Obama Wins Big

With 55% of the South Carolina democratic vote going to Barack Obama, the victory is decisive.

The speech Obama gave after the victory was inspring and made clear indications that he is not the establishment, and the establishment is not what America needs. You got the feeling from his speech that it just might happen - that he might just win the nomination.

Hope. Hope is the key word. People who are usually losers in the political arena, people who usually do not vote, people who think their vote does not count are coming to the polls and voting for Barack Obama.

People who normally do not vote are Obama's only hope. It is such a perfect synergy that Obama's hope is the people who normally do not vote while the people who normally do not vote have Obama as their only hope.

Historic Times

These are historic times that are very good for America. There is an African-American and a woman who are both legitimate contenders for the presidency.

Both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have got to make their strategies the same as they move forward. They must both trust that their mere presence as presidential contenders presses the issues of race and gender to the forefront without having to be explicit about these issues.

Too much conversation about race and gender by either of the condidates will only result in painting themselves into a corner. Hillary will become "the female condidate" and Obama will become "the Black candidate." This is the exact opposite that either of these savvy politicians needs. They would be reduced to single issues candidates. Both of these candidates are not so shallow and stock as to be single issue candidates, but too much conversation about race and gender will give them such a perception among the electorate.

The time for excitement over these historic events comes in victory, not in anticipation. Although it is tempting to make much of what is happening now, capturing too much excitement now will short change larger adn more improtant advance. Too much celebration might get people thinking that we have made enough progress.

Democrats Running For President 2008

Hillary Rodham Clinton 40

Barack Obama 21

John Edwards 11

Al Gore 9

John Kerry 4

Bill Richardson 4

Joe Biden 2

Chris Dodd 1

Al Sharpton 1

Dennis Kucinich 1

Tom Vilsack <1

Other (vol.) 1

Unsure 6

Chris Dodd

Dodd declares he's running for president. Chris Dodd is the long time senator from Connecticut. He's a democrat.