Two Fine Choices, One Clear Decision - Obama

Last Monday, I was very moved to see my uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, and my cousin, Caroline Kennedy, publicly endorse Sen. Barack Obama. I thought their statements of support were brave, intelligent and responsible. Given the importance of this election, and the remarkable strength of our candidates, it's not an easy decision for anyone looking to cast a vote for a new direction in this country.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is a truly remarkable leader. She has given an enormous amount to our country as a public servant and to my family as a friend. Not only does she stand ready to be president, but she would be the first woman to hold the highest office in the land.

All that makes her very appealing. As a woman, a mother, and feminist, I can fully appreciate the symbolic power of a woman in the Oval Office. I have dedicated my life to making documentaries, many of which focus on women's issues. I would love to have my daughters see a female president in our lifetimes. And still, that is not enough of a reason for me to vote for Senator Clinton.

I empathize with Senator Clinton. In her run for president, she has been forced to walk a difficult line. She is scrutinized not only for her political positions, but also for her clothing, hair and make-up. When she is tough, she is called cold, when she is emotional, she is labeled weak. It can't be easy. I have an enormous amount of respect for the way she has handled this near-impossible balancing act. And still, that is not enough of a reason for me to vote for her.

I am concerned about women getting equal pay for equal work and breaking through the glass ceiling. I care about policies regarding health and education, issues that affect me personally. I have no doubt of Senator Clinton's commitment to these issues. And still, that is not enough of a reason for me to vote for her.

Times are far too dark, the price of failure too steep and the road ahead too perilous for us to vote on identity politics. I would love to see a woman be president. I would love to see an African American be president. But right now, what I would love most is to elect the best person for the job.

I believe that person is Sen. Barack Obama. As a leader, he has inspired generations of Americans to look beyond reductive categories like gender or race. Instead, he calls on us to think past our own individual interests, to envision a world that is better for every person in it.

Like Senator Clinton, I have no doubt of Senator Obama's commitment to the issues I care about. But, his unique ability to unify this country and transcend partisan gridlock means that we can finally get something done.

In my years making documentaries, I have traveled to remote regions, from small villages in South America, to townships in South Africa, to the hollows of Appalachia. Every trip, every film, I meet people who still keep photographs of my family on their walls. They cry when they meet me, simply because they were touched by my father, Robert Kennedy. In part, this is because my father supported policies and legislation that helped the disenfranchised. But it is also, and perhaps more importantly, because they felt that my father understood their pain. Senator Obama has that quality too. He has an open heart and an energizing spirit.

Recently, my mother, Ethel Kennedy, said of Obama: "I think he feels it. He feels it just like Bobby did. He has the passion in his heart. He's not selling you. It's just him."

I agree. Obama is a genuine leader. We Americans - women included - desperately need that kind of leader now. Not a president of a particular gender or a specific race, but a president with a different vision, one who inspires a sense of hope.

To elect Barack Obama is to choose a new direction, set a new course - to steer America toward a better place, better for women as well as men, better for us all.

This piece appeared on page B - 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Comments

[NASCARLiberal]

Well, here are a few reasons, if deciding between wet between the ears Obama, and a highly qualified woman, to vote for that woman:

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802030313

[lifeinfullcolor]

A sincere leader, I agree we desperately need someone who feels sincere, Hillary lacks sincerity. As to voting for a woman, isn't it the same business as usual, the good old boys are giving us a woman who has stood behind her man, not forged her own unique path. Touting her 35 years of experience, 15 of those years as a corporate attorney, remember the Rose Law Firm. She chose to represent corporations, versus litigants, like Edwards. She chose corporate law over civil liberties! Is she going to do that again?

[cephalgia]

I have great respect for John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. They were fine public servants.

That being said, why should the endorsement of any of the current generation of Kennedy's sway me one iota? I would like a kinder, gentler President also, but I want someone who is ready to make tough choices, not just hope for a better outcome. I believe Barack Obama is too naive to take on the number one spot on the ticket. I have thought all alone Senator Biden or Senator Clinton were the only ones with enough experience to counter what will be John McCain's trump card. McCain will make Barack Obama look like a little kid in short pants, and I definitely don't want another 4 years of a Republican in the White House.
In a few years Barack Obama will be a tough and seasoned contender. I just don't see him as one now.

Please endorse whomever you wish, but realize just because your last name is Kennedy, that doesn't mean I need genuflect to your opinion.

[MDDem444]

"He's not selling you. It's just him." Give me a break!

Obama is a political beast like the rest of them, just as calculating and insincere, but with just less experience. He flips flops on issues to take the side of whatever is most expedient at the moment.

Why is it that Obama said yesterday that he had "no intention of taking away folks' guns" but had earlier been for gun control? Because the crowd he was speaking to wanted to hear that. In the past he has said he "supported banning the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns."

I am sick to death about hearing about his redefining politics and that he has some type of moral superiority over either of the Clintons. He's just as calculating and political as the rest of the candidates and will do and say ANYTHING to get elected. Vote for him if you think his experience is greater or if you like his CURRENT positions (whatever those may be, I wouldn't know because he never gets around to articulating them with any sense of detail), but please don't try to convince us that he is the second coming! He is just another flavor of the guy you want to drink a beer with. Or in this case, for the democrats, cool aid.

[jexmarter]

"...his unique ability to unify this country and transcend partisan gridlock means that we can finally get something done." What?? When?? Really, where's the content to back up this kind of grandiose declaration? If you're going to say something like this, provide at LEAST one example. You're not stating an opinion - you're stating what is (or isn't) a fact. It seems like every time I hear someone raving about this candidate it's always with this flowery yet utterly empty rhetoric. Because he hasn't yet been tested, and we don't really know what he'll be like when he is, everyone wants to ascribe these qualities on him that he may or may not have.

[Novaseeker]

The reality is that Hillary cannot win a national election. In part it's the fact that she's a woman, but it is more than that. She carries a hell of a lot of baggage from the Clinton years -- a lot of democrats seem to be forgetting that a lot of people really, really dislike the Clintons and their way of operating, some of which we saw a few weeks ago in South Carolina. There's just a lot of negative baggage around Hillary and her husband that we won't have to deal with if Barack is the candidate. If you think that the GOP machine will attack Barack on the experience issue harshly, you don't even want to know what they would do with Hillary. They actually *want* us to nominate Hillary -- that speaks volumes right there.

[MaureenSharkey]

Men will not vote for a woman to be president. But they will vote for a Black man. That statement alone proves that the more oppressed in this country is woman.
Just as the Black man got the right to vote before the woman, so too would men today, and a lot of women as well, vote for the Black man before a woman. As Mark Twain said, "...man is a fool; and woman a damn fool."
Twain also had said that since we are distracted by the Negroes' features and the color of his skin, we fail to notice that their hearts are a far sight better than our own. Barak Obama is a fine, decent, classy, person. But so is Hillary. And she knows more. She deserves to win. And she answered the question of her naivety on voting for Bush's war, pretty well, and I am forgiving her.
The issues that we will be seeing constantly for the next 4 years if Barak wins, will be the Black issues. And as we witnessed Bill Clinton falling asleep behind that Black minister on Martin Luther King Day, so too, will these constant issues put us to sleep.
When Chicago elected a Black Mayor, hoards of African Americans came up from the south side bringing their loud music on their boom-boxes. They took over the streets. They hung out on the sidewalks. They laughed in our faces. They didn't reach out to us; they conquered us. The restuarants and bars on Rush Street all closed.
We democrats are still naive. And stupid.

[CanadianinNY]

Ms. Kennedy, thank you for your eloquent argument and your work on behalf of human rights.

I will be able to vote in November as a naturalized American citizen for the first time. I hope to cast my vote for Mr. Obama in this historical election.

For those of you who are arguing that unlike Mrs. Clinton, Obama lacks the experience or the backbone" to fight the republicans, please read Frank Rich"s column today:
Ms. Kennedy, thank you for your eloquent argument and your work on behalf of human rights.

I will be able to vote in November as a naturalized American citizen for the first time. I hope to cast my vote for Mr. Obama in this historical election.

For those of you who are arguing that unlike Mrs. Clinton, Obama lacks the experience or the backbone" to fight the republicans, please read Frank Rich"s column today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/opinion/03rich.html? em&ex=1202187600&en=0abc103dfadda51c&ei=5087%0A

[sparkandy]

I have a question for what y'all are calling "Obamaniacs" and "Hiltard" or whatever y'all call each other when you're passionate about one or the other. If Edwards just suspended his campaign, won't he still be on the ballot Tues? And if so, what happens if there is a groundswell in the Super Tuesday states for him? I'm really curious about this. I'm actually a Republican looking for a Democrat to vote for in November, and I think Edwards would have been wonderful. Now I'm at loose ends. Anyway, I'd appreciate any input on my question. Thanks.
Sparky and Candy's Mom.

[joja]

I agree with Ms. Kennedy. I'm all for a woman prez -- just not the Clinton's version of it (the two-for-one deal).

Who knows? Maybe it will be you, Rory?

[truthyguy]

I was in college when John Kennedy was elected president and I was just starting my professional career when Robert Kennedy was running for president. To those who did not live through the 1960s it is not really possible to understand the transition that too place in our country. All of a sudden there was this new generation that was truly our best and brightest. They were young, energetic and had vision. It was a difficult time generally, but people felt confidence in our leadership and truly liked President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. When all that changed I never again felt the same about any of our politicians. Even when Bill Clinton was plagiarizing from the speeches Ted Sorenson wrote for John Kennedy, the words were similar but the feeling was not the same. No one inspired that way the Kennedys did. (If you don't believe me, google and listen to a John Kennedy speech or news conference.)

No one until now. Obama has those same gifts. A great mind, an ability to communicate and a vision for our country where we work together, are proud of our leaders and the president represents the best and the brightest of America. With Obama we will no longer be ashamed and embarrassed by our president.

[dknightpost]

Dear Ms. Kennedy,

Thank you for your inspiring endorsement of Barack Obama. I appreciate you pouring your heart into all you wrote.

I offer this in the event that you might read some of the replies here at the Huffington Post in addition to the comments posted at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Few of us can understand the emotional impact that an endorsement such as yours must have upon you, nor the feelings your mother, your uncle and your cousin must have experienced as they made theirs. But I can tell you that your collective words had an incredible impact upon me as well as upon those I know and love.

Your father inspired me when I was very young to believe that one person can make an impact in this world - if they are willing to brave the challenges that seeking noble change requires.

I apologize for the cavalier sense and disregard that characterize some of the posts that have been offered here. At times it's very difficult to defend members within the Democratic/Progressive family when thoughtless remarks, directed at extremely tender subjects, are posted in a way which conveys a lack of respect.

When I replied to your mother's post earlier today I mentioned the sacrifice that many American families have made and continue to make to insure the future of our country. Your family has sacrificed and endured loss such as few of us will ever know - in that it has taken place under the watchful eye of the nation and the world.

Many of us deeply respect the sacrifices your family has made - while continuing to exhibit grace and character in a rare and precious manner that has inspired countless lives.

Your films, your writings, and the investment of your family in the country and in the world are greatly respected Rory. They add tremendous weight to your opinion and your endorsement of Senator Obama to us at this time.

May blessings find you and your family now and always.

[vernonbc]

Thank you Rory. Beautifully put and I agree with your sentiments completely. Barack Obama will indeed choose a new direction, set a new course - steer America toward a better place, better for women as well as men, better for us all.

[cadbury]

Sorry, I don't think BO has had enough experience yet. I just can't buy the view that having experience in Washington is a bad thing! I fear the Repubs will eat BO alive re: his lack of experience. People keep comparing him to JFK and Bobby; but JFK was in Congress for 14 years when he was elected! Bobby was Attorney General for 4 years and Senator for 4 years when he was shot.

People are talking about BO like he'd be our political savior. But many progressives would be surprised by his domestic advisors and policies. Both Edwards & Clinton have articulated more progressive health care plans and economic stimulus packages. BO regularly talks about the poor Maytag employees who lost their jobs. But guess what...Their unions are endorsing HRC because BO didn't do much to help them.

[xrayman]

I don't think Obama has demonstrated that he can unify the country. He has great rhetoric but he has yet to prove anything. What makes you think that a Republican is going to swoon over his "inspirational" tones?

Just think, Obama is endorsed by Teddy Kennedy, who is far more hated by the Republicans than even B. Clinton. How is that going to unify the country? It aint.