My Heart Belongs to Hillary, But I'm Voting for Obama

Last week I posted a blog on the Huffington Post describing my dilemma; how confused I was swinging on the Democratic vine, sometimes towards Hillary, other times towards Obama. Truth is I found myself more often swinging towards Hillary, so why have I decided to vote for Obama in the New York primary come Tuesday?

Three little words. Hillary's war vote. The more I ponder it the more I find it not just a run-of-the-mill misjudgment, it was a catastrophic blunder, one that has stripped our country of its moral authority, nearly destroyed our economy, and most important, cost hundreds of thousands of human lives. As that wily old 19th century diplomat Metternich once said, "It was worse than a crime, it was a mistake."

Having said that, I must confess that I like Hillary better than Barack Obama in so many ways. Here I'm probably in the minority. I find her warm, sympathetic, and often courageous, much more so than Obama whom I often find cold, somewhat calculating, and hiding a real mean streak behind his affable smile and his idealistic talk. But none of this takes away from the fact that he could be a great president. He's got all the stuff to make a true leader, a measured, thoughtful intelligence, a passionate commitment to helping those who need help, and a manner that inspires the young. Oddly enough, I resent all those big-wig Democrat endorsements of Obama. They pulled me away from him rather than towards him. Sure, they are free to do so, but I don't want them influencing my vote or yours -- which fortunately they can't do. Indeed, it was Teddy Kennedy's endorsement of Obama that almost shoved me back into the Hillary camp.

Hillary is smart as hell, and God knows we need smart more than ever to get us out of this Bush hell. And I have wanted to vote for a woman because life has taught me that most women are smarter, kinder, and altogether superior to most men. But sometimes Hillary reminds me of the bright girl who sat beside me in the third grade who kept her arm over her test paper so that I couldn't copy her answers. In fact, that's at the core of my vote for Obama. Hillary's brilliance. I'm sort of okay when it comes to making a political judgment, but not half as informed or as bright as Hillary Clinton. And yet I knew at that time before the war that voting to give Bush war powers was worse than a crime. And that's what her vote did, no matter how she tries to spin it. Everything Bush had done prior to that vote showed that he would abuse his power, that he was an arrogant, willful bully and thus a coward, and would use other men's lives to prove that he was a real man. And of course, that's what he did. And she had to have known that too. Only she was preparing to run for the presidency and she wanted to seem properly bellicose to please the war crowd, and not risk being on the wrong side of history. It was just such a miscalculation that put her on the wrong side of history.

What do I like about Hillary if I fault her for all of the above? Well, she is one classy woman. The whole messy Monica affair showed that she had real guts and courage; that she could stare down public humiliation and go on to a splendid career and life of her own. This, despite the fact that some judgmental men and women were offended by her forgiving her husband and others saw it as political expediency. I viewed it as an honest effort to pick up the broken parts of her marriage and make herself, her husband, and her daughter whole again. I don't much care for her wonky oratorical style, but I like her smile, her giggle, her (God help me) charm, and I think she has raised a terrific daughter in Chelsea. I like the fact that Hillary is aging yet doesn't obsess over it, and that she deals with the important stuff like health care in a measured, intelligent fashion, and I am still wary of Obama's health care plan, and fear that all his inspirational talk can lead to demagoguery, as inspirational talk often does, still, I will vote for Obama come Tuesday.

This will be the first time in over fifty years that my wife and I will be voting for different candidates. She is fully committed to Hillary and thinks I am making a real error in casting my vote for the younger, less experienced, less tested candidate. But those three little words (give or take an apostrophe) "Hillary's war vote," won't allow me to pull that lever for her next Tuesday. By not 'fessing up and calling it what it was -- a tragic mistake -- she lost my vote in this primary. Yes, I would have voted for her had she done so. God knows we've all made terrible mistakes. It would take a book to list my own, and my vote for Obama may be one of them. Of course I will gladly vote for Hillary in the general election, should she win the Democratic nomination. She's a great woman and McCain would be an American disaster of monumental proportions, finishing the job of destroying this democracy that Bush started, engaging us in catastrophic military adventures in the name of national security, and thus lessening any security we still have, and any chance of reconciliation with the world. Add to that he would be packing the court with such zealots as Roberts and Alito, forced to play footsie with the Republican right -- and we would continue our downward slide as a democracy.

Oh yes, I promised one of my sons, the younger one, Chris, that I would publish a retraction. When I wrote last week that both my brilliant sons were voting for Hillary, Chris emailed me, "Whoa, Dad, what makes you think I'm voting for Hillary?" So I retract that statement. Only one of my sons is brilliant. The other one, like me, is voting for Obama.

Comments

[sockman]

Hillary's vote on the war will probably hurt her with the left and far left of the democratic party...ie the crowd that believed Howard Dean would be president. The fact is more than 70% of Americans supported invading Iraq and ousting Saddam at the time and those that changed their minds since the invasion do certainly understand why Hillary voted the way she did and most likely forgives her vote. Remember Bush had over a 90% approval leading up to the Iraqi invasion which means many of these so called "opponents of the war" that are popping up all over these bloggs are just liars. If the war effort wasn't such a strain on our economy few would care about the morality of it or the devestation it has caused the average Iraqi.

[Roses]

This is a very interesting post, if only because of your take on Hillary.
First of all, I am a woman. A woman of Hillary's age. I should be the quintessential HRC supporter, however I am an enthusiastic Obama supporter. Largely because of my estimation of HRC. I do not see her "charm" though I grant that being President is not really about charm. It is about wise leadership and good judgement.
There's the problem, I think that Hillary, though terrifically smart, has compromised judgement. She seems to always be playing the chess match of politics in her head. At the time of the vote to give Bush war powers it was ethical, good judgement to withhold them but it was impolitic for elected officials with dreams of higher office.
You said "It was just such a miscalculation that put her on the wrong side of history." I would change that slightly to....It was just such a 'calculation' that put her on the wrong side of history.
Obama/?'08

[danielasmith98]

1. only a journalist could try to pull off what trying here! How else can ANYONE but a journalist claim to be put off by Obama's endorsement and then go on to tell us that he is endorsing Obama? Are you just bothered that more people take such endorsements more seriouslythan the'd take YOURS? What would you have said if Obama's endorsers had all come out against him? What would Hillary be if it wasn't for her last name and Bill's strong endorsement? Since you sisdn't mention it, I guess that Bill's endorsement (as well as others she has) didn't bother you!

[DietrichMoody]

I tip my hat off to you, and I'm very impressed by your post Mr. Yellen, because I have read your posts questioning Obama at times. And you show that you are a reasonable man, that see the dangers that lie ahead. It shows that Obama is not all about the young, easily taken in, naive, and minorities, as some would like to characterize him, but he can bring in Independents and Republicans a like, and a lot of money and votes too.

Thank you for bringing the importance of the Iraq War up, it by far hasn't gone away, no matter how much we talk about trivial celebrity news, like Britney Spears.

With the Bush Administration gone and new leadership overseeing the military/Pentagon, the Iraq war will be taken in three directions; the same, unknown or new resonable way to get the hell out - direction. Yes, the Iraq War, is real "my friends" , and will intensify, sustain, or demise based on the rational and reasonable JUDGEMENT of the person in power. Hillary's actions have shown her Judgment to be calculating and overly thought out - is this what too much experience in your own mind do to you? A hybrid LBJ in ambition with Nixon in calculation. McCain is lost, and his only attempts at this stage would be to bomb, bomb, bomb, fight. Thank you once again, Mr. Yellen for showing your character and reasonableness. And actually caring about the future of your kids and grandkids.

[nunzia]

Really? You mean it? Otherwise you'd have voted for her?
Yeah. I believe you.
Now you wanna sell me a bridge?

[old91A10]

I believe I have been in the same quandary. Several recent Huffington Post articles have provided the tipping point for me. I'm voting for Hillary Clinton.

An aside: I doubt I will ever forget or forgive Doughy Kennedy for his treatment of Carter, Mondale, both Clintons, and some others.

[ulmew]

This post blows my mind. I am an Obama supporter, but I just don't see how anyone can perceive this:

"I find her warm, sympathetic, and often courageous, much more so than Obama whom I often find cold, somewhat calculating, and hiding a real mean streak behind his affable smile and his idealistic talk."

That, and the implication that somehow Hillary is considerably more intelligent than Obama, are almost indefensible. Hillary is not brilliant, she is obsessively committed. She is knowledgeable. Obama is brilliant; was called "the best student I ever had" and "most exciting research assistant" by none other than Laurence Tribe (http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98), perhaps America's foremost constitutional scholar (Read Geoff Stone's Obama pieces for more). Hillary has been described as personally warm, away from the cameras, but publicly this is almost never apparent. Sympathetic? When, and to whom? Personally she may be courageous. Politically she is infinitely more calculating than Obama. And the mean streak... that I just don't see. In any way. But I could be wrong.

[leftLibertarian]

Please do not forget that Hillary Clinton also voted for the original Patriot Act.

[DoninJoisey]

In the debate on 1/31- Hillary may have had the cutest line with "it took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, maybe another Clinton to clean up after the second Bush".
Cute, granted, but fact is the Republican Bush got in with "restore integrity to the White House". While like most of Bush utterances, it was a lie, but it had a lot of traction because of the LACK of integrity the Clintons had.

And what the hell was that "defense of her Iraq vote", speaking of Saddam:
" Knowing that he was a megalomaniac, knowing he would not want to compete for attention with Osama bin Laden, there were legitimate concerns about what he might do.

So I think I made a reasoned judgment. "

Well, I DON'T !!!!!
Saddam competing w/Bin Laden???Isn't that out of Bush's revolving reasons for invading????

[ladygreenslippers]

This is a very very interesting assessment of HRC, and i say interesting because i'm baffled by it.

The qualities you see in both candidates i see in exactly the reverse, and that i find curious.

I agree, off course, that Obama would make a better president. I find it hard to dissociate the Billary factor, even though i liked and admired Bill Clinton. Their campaign has broken my heart, they have left wounds that are open and raw and i think they saw African Americans as dispensible.

I don't need drama in the white house. The White House is a privilege, and is reward enough. i want my elected officials to be all about ME, ME, ME - unfortunately the Clintons feel the same way, and i think the Clintons duty to self, surpass duty to the American people.

[wizoz]

The Iraq war is the most important issue. It effects our economy and our moral standing in the world. When we pull our troops out, we will have to rely on persuasion to bring peace. Instead of just a Commander in Chief, we will need an American Articulator in Chief. Omama's skills will be crutial. He has demonstrated the ability to listen to all sides and find solutions.

[Desiderata]

The problem with new Presidents is that they always calculate decisions in view of the next election/r­eelection.

Clinton showed as a senator that she compromises her wisdom to such calculation. And as President, she will do as Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon did by not ending the war until safely reelected.

Obama will do the same.

[MR]

When you have someone deciding to place a vote for a candidate for President of the US based on the kind of reasoning you usually hear from a surly parent punishing a 5 year old, you have, well, an Obama voter. With reasoning like this who needs Karl Rove?

[Roshi98]

This is where I disagree with most of Obama's supporters, at least strategically. You assume that most Americans are against the war, but I'm not certain. Just hear me out.

What I haven't seen is a poll that asks the question in this way:

"If the execution of the war led to better results, would you be willing to overlook some of President Bush's misleading statements/actions that were used to justify the invasion?"

My point is that we don't really know what it is most Americans think about the war, because the ambiguities aren't really explored by polling, at least not mainstream polling.

A second point I would like to make is that, in my experience, many voters compare record to rhetoric. Now, many criticize Hillary for not "apologizing" for her vote, but we need to look at the consequences of making that statement. NONE of the candidates in the past several years who have made that claim has won anything. Why? Consistency. John McCain, despite his relatively unpopular standing among Republicans, is admired by independents because he is consistent, his word can be counted on, he doesn't back away from his vote. In a head-to-head matchup with Obama, this becomes McCain's strength. Sure, he voted for an unpopular war, but he has convictions, his record matches his rhetoric. Obama cannot claim this in the general.

Apart from his 2002 speech, ever since joining the Senate he has voted for every appropriation. I know that logic would say that voting to authorize force and voting to support the troops are different things, but to our chagrin this point will be lost on mainstream voters. They will note that his rhetoric does not match his record, and that will be a point lost in the general.

I'm just throwing that out there. Have at it.

[Blue08]

Yep, the war vote was the deciding factor for me too. Made up my mind last night that on Super Tuesday I'm voting for Obama.