A commenter asks how I can be supporting Hillary if I'm so critical of the Hillary campaign and ready to recognize the virtues of Barack Obama and his campaign.
That's a fair question.
My answer is this. I believe that Hillary Clinton would make a better president than Obama and that she's right in viewing the United States as a fiercely divided country. However, I'm also very critical of the Hillary campaign because they've done a poor job of making her case and because the candidate herself sometimes seems stuck in the "New Democrat" politics of opposing the left as much as she opposes the right.
Concerning Obama, I believe that his vision of transcending the politics of class, race, gender, and sexual orientation is a fantasy. At the same time, I'm more than willing to acknowledge the effectiveness of his campaign and am beginning to see ways in which the "fantasy of unity" can become a "dominant fact" of American politics.
In other words, I support Hillary but am more than willing to acknowledge the power of the Obama campaign.
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4 comments:
"In other words, I support Hillary but am more than willing to acknowledge the power of the Obama campaign."
How generous of you, Great Sage of Morehead.
Hillary is a monster! You know that, don't you? I heard it on the news today. It must be true. How can you support a monster?
"Concerning Obama, I believe that his vision of transcending the politics of class, race, gender, and sexual orientation is a fantasy."
Can you honestly believe that? Can you look back over even the last 40 years and claim that this country hasn't dramatically altered its views on all those issues?
Hey Jinchi! Yes, I'm being very honest about not transcending the politics of class, race, gender, and sexual orientation compared to 40 years ago. The situation with class is much worse. Poverty is more entrenched and upward mobility is more difficult. With race, it's been one step forward, two steps back. In general, I believe that the racial situation is worse because of the disproportionate number of poor African-Americans, the high number of black men in prison, and the sense of hopelessness often seen in black writing. There's an argument for gender breaking even, but the explosion of sexual violence, pornography, and eating disorders balances out the gains in education and employment. I would say that the most real gain has been made in relation to sexual orientation. But it was only four years ago that gay-bashing was the centerpiece of Bush's re-election campaign.
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