I've never pretended to be an island of steadfast opinion in the sea of zeitgeist. My mind changes on all sorts of matters on a daily basis. But changing my mind when the facts change never seemed like a bad thing to me.
I've changed my mind about the presidential nomination race. My order of choice is Obama, Edwards, Clinton-- a stunning reversal from my prior thinking of Clinton, Edwards, Obama. My feelings are nothing new, but here they are in my words:
1. People really, really don't like Hillary. I even struggle to like her. She comes off as shrill and condescending in almost every public appearance I've seen of her lately. More and more, I get the feeling that neither myself, nor the general public's ever going to warm up to her. It's one thing to vote on popularity alone, it's quite another to ignore the polarizing nature of a candidate in a very polarized time.
2. People really do like Obama. Say what you will, if this is the only factor to judge someone, Obama comes off as passionate, sincere, intelligent and interested in building consensus. You may not agree with him politically, but I see no one else in the running on either side with that kind of visionary energy and optimism. This is the first time in my life that there is a candidate running for president who actually makes me feel good. It's not an intellectual response for a change. Combining the party of earnest eggheads with someone that has human affect could really be dynamite.
3. Experience is good but... it brings a lot of baggage, a lot of old blood, and a lot of old ideas. Hillary Clinton's health reform package is better than Obama's, but I just can't imagine the press and the public getting over the soundbite surge of Hillarycare II. I can't imagine her administration doing anything other than safe, incremental approaches to problems that demand clear and rapid deployment of will and resources. I don't know exactly what Obama wants to do about the economy, social problems and the ominous portents of grave danger from abroad, but I think it would really be a different approach. Besides, how much foreign policy experience does Hillary really have anyway?
It's really just a feeling, like someone has finally vocalized a universal malaise about Hillary winning the nomination. It's the feeling that someone is hitting on the moral messages that many of us share in this country. There seems to have been a tipping point of support that the Clinton campaign will have a tough time reversing. We'll see where the trend lines are in January, but I think people sense that there's an alternative worth considering.
This love of a political figure, and trust in that figure's wisdom and instinct is a form of satisfaction that Republicans have long derived from their candidates and leaders. It's something I've been envious of-- both for its demonstrable successes in motivating people, and for the raw, limbic appeal of it. I want to feel good about a candidate, not just an idea.
It's someone getting to the moral meat that I care about, not evangelical Christians or nervous mom's in the exurbs.
In some ways, supporting Obama is more about following irrational impulses than policy matters or perceived electability, but who cares? Can't I vote for someone because I like them?
The answer is yes, especially if he has a chance of winning. And he does.
