Atonement

[Catherina]

I would rather stand with Obama in defeat, than stand with Clinton in victory. Every once in a while in life and in politics, we get a clear choice to do either the morally right thing, or to continue to cut corners and believe that the end justifies the means. We should have no illusion about this choice after following Bush’s road to the White House in which all of the ugliness and hatred he fostered on the campaign trail followed him and us through the last eight years. Now we are standing at that crossroads again watching the unfolding drama and contrasting styles of two Democratic candidates.

Hillary will get in bed with anybody. She has no internal moral compass. Her only choice is what is politically expedient. Her recent gas tax holiday proposal, an idea borrowed from fellow conservative McCain, is so stupid that I am surprised she can defend it with a straight face. Then I consider that it has no substance, it is just another means to an end for her. There are countless other examples that have made her appear harsh and arrogant, bullying in tone, threatening and menacing, pandering to our fears instead of inspiring our hopes. She knows that this works, and gleefully embraces it no matter whom she harms. The clearest example of her political calculus was her vote for the war in Iraq.

...

Obama has shown this kind of courage, too. He resists the temptation to get in the mud with Clinton when it would be the politically expedient and the expected thing to do. He resists her taunts. He does not infantilize voters. He does not pander to fear and he remains unwavering in his determination to win by the means that he believes will be necessary to govern this country. He is now being tested in this firestorm swirling around him. In the inferno ignited by his former pastor and fueled by the media, Obama has remained steadfast. He is undeterred by the ugliness of racism and continues to move with the confidence of a man who is grounded in a strong and principled sense of self. There is a basic decency about him that one catches in his smile and the spontaneous way in which he interacts with crowds. There is a steely determination reflected in his eyes that gives us a clue to the character behind them. He inspires and speaks to our higher nature, recognizing that underneath our fears and spitefulness we are basically a good and generous people. For these reasons alone, I would rather stand with him and lose, if necessary, than win however possible.

But the most important reason to stand with him is that his election in the fall would give us a chance for atonement, to get back what we have lost over the past 25 years through a politics of division and hatred, where our government has been corrupted for the benefit of the very few; where the common good has been denigrated by a narcissistic worship of individualism and the wealth of our nation has been measured only in economic terms. Moreover, we might make amends to the rest of the world by electing a president who leads with humility and does not need to prove himself by killing others. We could atone for our warring ways, for torturing and terrorizing others, and for promoting hatred around the world. We could talk to our enemies, find common ground, share the world’s resources, promote the general welfare, and regain our place as a country with a basic regard for the well being of all human beings. Rather than talk about Christian principles

Sunday, May 4, 2008
by Bud McClure

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/04/8702/

[cliffordu]

1. Excellent post, Catherina.

If she steals it, I predict a new political party.

[StevieM]

4. It's amazing that Obama supporters don't realize that Clinton supporters are every bit as angry

and hurt. If he gets the nomination then he will have a lot of work to do to unify the party, and that doesn't just mean condescending remarks about "offering her the chance for redemption." It means acknowledging her goodness in a very thorough and complete way. That might make you upset, but if he gets the nomination then at that point people like me will take precedence.

Steve

[EFerrari]

7. You must be joking. Even the foreign press has called out

the race baiting from her campaign. And a complaint has been filed against her at the UN for threatening the Iranian people with violence.

People like you need to recover your grip on reality and to realize how many thousands of new voters the Obama campaign is bringing to the show.

[StevieM]

15. I think Obama might want my vote too. He can start by asking for it instead of assuming that he is

entitled to it. He should show some respect towards those who happen to prefer a different Democrat.

The foreign press is as much lined up for him as the local press.

Hillary's campaign manager is an African-American woman. And many African-American lawmakers support Hillary, many of whom have been smeared for supporting her.

The U.N. complaint about Iran was filed by Iran. So all you're really saying is that Iran doesn't like Hillary. That's fine....I don't like that government anyway. The people are cool, though. I know quite a few Iranian expatriates.

Steve

[EFerrari]

21. You're projecting entitlement and disrepect.

You have no idea what Obama "assumes".

And, do you have any sourcing for the claim that the Obama campaign is smearing anyone? Thanks.

[judasdisney]

26. "Assuming he is entitled to it?" You mean like a "welfare queen"? Or

perhaps you mean exactly how Queen Hillary has presumed she would be the nominee, ever since Day One when she deigned to "Let the conversation begin" in such condescending fashion.

I'm starting to suspect that a lot of so-called Hillary supporters, who are projecting exactly like Neocons do, may actually be false flag plants from Freeperville.

[EFerrari]

40. I believe you meant to reply to a different poster. n/t

[Umbram]

37. You are not a special little flower.

You are not a special little flower. Nobody is going to beg you for your vote. If you don't want to vote for what is best for this country then oh well. If Clinton is no longer in this race, there really isn't much of an argument as between Obama and McSame what is best for this country.

Clearly you feel you are entitled to being treated like a spoiled child. It's simply not the case. Voting is our say about the future of this country, not our opportunity to be pandered to and feel all extra-fuzzy-special.

[Catherina]

12. There is no goodness in cluster bombs, obliterating countries,

enslaving Chinese women in factories for cheap goods or enslaving millions of Iraqi women into prostitution. It's not that I'm intellectually incapable of realizing you may be angry, it's that I'm morally and emotionally incapable of empathizing with your reasons.

I won't speak for anyone else but this election has nothing to do with getting a particular party into the White House for me, it has to do with doing the right and moral thing by supporting a candidate who didn't push for an illegal war, that murdered millions over the horrified objections of decent Americans.

[mythyc]

33. articulately and empathetically put

Catherina I marvel at how, after all their fist-shaking and ranting, the Clinton acolytes never have a word to say back to your clear, coherent points about the simplicity of what's moral and right. Your conscience always raises the sweet chorus of crickets. Much appreciated in this den of beasts....

:thumbsup:

[Catherina]

5. For the sake of our country, I hope she's stopped

I'm all for a new party but I'd rather see that happen after this war is over. The world can't wait. If she steals it :scared:, if she steals it, there will be a new party. I pity the Democratic Party, us and the world if it doesn't do something in time.

[StevieM]

2. I love Hillary and I think she has shown remarkable decency in this campaign

I don't understand how this writer could say that Obama hasn't gotten in the mud. He has said some very mean things about Clinton, repeatedly describing her in a negative way, and I mean personally not politically.

Steve

[ProSense]

6. Point to the decency in this

mailer and here about all the lies, including the RW e-mail attacks on Obama distributed by her campaign], and here.

[StevieM]

10. Two of those examples actually show Obama negativity IMO. It is so wrong the way he tries to

act like she is nothing more then an extension of her husband. Hillary has a long and distinguished record of her own and if Obama wants to challenge it then that's fine. But he shouldn't be running against Bill Clinton and then putting her in a position where she either doesn't defend her husband or she validates his suggestion that she is just running for Bill Clinton's third term.

Steve

[Webster Green]

14. "long and distinguished record of her own"..

Huh?

First Lady doesn't count. She's been a US Senator for 7 years.

Anything else we should know about? :eyes:

[cliffordu]

16. DING DING DING We have a winner!!! That's right. 7 years.

[StevieM]

17. Her record as First Lady counts to me. And you should know about the Children's Defense Fund (eom)

[mythyc]

34. Obama's experience as a community organizer is worth less than eh?

or how about his post as the president of the Harvard Law Review.... oh that's right, Hillary failed the bar.... twice

[Webster Green]

46. OK, Stevie!

That's a real stretch to me, but you are certainly entitled to that opinion.

"First Lady" is the term applied to the wife of a president. That wouldn't really count as "experience" in seeking the actual office of president. :eyes:

[ProSense]

19. Bill and Hillary are out there campaigning on his presidency. You're doing nothing but whining. n/t

[cliffordu]

9. FOCK!!!! LOL !!!!!!

You're fabulous!!

:rofl: :rofl:

[merh]

11. Provide links, back up your statements

Obama has not gone after her in the same vein she would go after him if the roles were reversed. He could have chewed her up and spat her out about the Bosnia lies during the last debate. He did not.

[StevieM]

18. He forgot to attack her because he was privately reminiscing about the Kennedys bringing his father

to America.

Steve

[merh]

20. Not even close - come on

give me some proof of all those nasty things he said about her.

Try to be factual, skip the pissy emotions they aren't very becoming.

[StevieM]

22. He says that she will say or do anything to win, he called her "the master of the broken system"

And what's so ridiculous is that his argument isn't based on comparing her to Lieberman, or saying she's from the wrong wing of the party. He's simply saying that because she's a Clinton that somehow makes her the status quo.

I for one liked the broken system of the 90s. We Democrats should be proud of the Clinton/Gore record of achievement.

Steve

[ProSense]

23. She lost a superdelegate and long-time supporter for doing just that on the gas tax.

Stop whining, your words are bring to mind a high-pitched annoying sound.

[StevieM]

24. Oh please, that was just Joe Andrew's way of delivering for Obama. Announce that the reason

he was leaving her was because of a position that she had taken, thereby clearly validating the position of his new candidate. That was nothing more then a smear. If she has a different position, then it reflects somehow on her character as a human being (he didn't make a stink about the issue, his point was that her position supposedly reflected on her character).

Steve

[ProSense]

30. Oh, that was just Hillary supporter Alice Rivlin expressing disbelief that Hillary is pushing a gas

tax. She even sign the "elitist" economists letter.

Oh, another excuse and another.

More of those lead to denial.

[merh]

38. And she has proven that statement is true and Clinton's admin

was not perfect and the politics is the broken system he was talking about. It's been broken for some time. She is a master of it, her campaign proves that, she is a corporate supporter and her foreign policy is one of bullying not diplomacy.

If you look at Clinton's foreign policy, he laid the ground work for bush's war - the "no fly zones" he continued to enforce over Iraq were illegal, were acts of aggression and were not authorized by the UN; the Iraqi Liberation Act was created and enacted under Clinton and used by bush to give cause for the war along with those "no fly zones"; the extraordinary renditions were begun by Clinton; the no-bid contracts to Halliburton were entered into during Clinton's admin for work in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Clinton's admins were better than what we have had but they also set the stage and did a great deal to make what GWB's war and abuses possible.

[Webster Green]

13. Say hi to everyone in Opposite World..

:hi:

[lojasmo]

32. You must not experience much actual decency.

I feel a little sorry for you.

[liberaldem4ever]

3. Great post! K&R

:kick:

[Triana]

8. WELL-SAID by Bud McClure. Thanks Catherina for posting this. This caps it for me...

..."Hillary will get in bed with anybody. She has no internal moral compass. Her only choice is what is politically expedient."

THIS is what makes me say, about her, that she has run her campaign just like a Republican. Because this is what THEY do. Now, SHE has done it. And WORSE, she did it against a fellow Dem and at the expense of the Dem party and MAYBE at the expense of our ability to win in the GE.

This is absolutely INEXCUSABLE and I cannot support it or anyone who does such a thing.

[Skittles]

25. uh huh

who on earth buys this kind of crap?

[Raine]

27. Interesting ... THANKS

for posting this! :thumbsup:

[BzaDem]

28. Whoever wrote this has no understanding of history, no understanding of politics, and

no understanding of the Supreme Court.

I hope the writer takes solace in the fact that people like them might cause the 20th century to be rolled back.

[Egnever]

29. Well written I whole heartedly agree.

Thanks for posting it

[barack the house]

31. The party is where it is by not standing firm to its valures.Not this time.

[Dogmudgeon]

35. Obama does not throw mud; he gets other people to do it for him

That "net roots" strategy turned out to be golden. So many negative talking points repeated so often -- it's had far more impact than the Republican campaign against the Clintons ever had.

People are inspired by soaring rhetoric to fall in love with Obama, but then, for some reason, they feel compelled to lash out against Clinton as if she was Satan to Obama's Christ. And so few people question that. None of them can see the group-think in repeating talking points.

In a few weeks, after The Evil One has been vanquished and sent back to her dark cave in the depths of hell, the Obama movement will pick up millions of members intent on keeping the Republicans out of the Executive Branch. Hopefully, we can break the god-spell and get back to our democratic ideals. And maybe people will start to remember that Hillary Clinton actually has done a few good things for humanity -- even without oration.

--p!

[Lisa0825]

43. Most of us have been "lashing out" against Clinton since long before Obama.

DLC is not well liked on DU and never has been.

[phrigndumass]

36. K/R

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[hokies4ever]

39. BETTER TO RULE IN HELL THAN TO SERVE IN HEAVEN

If the superdelegates decide to throw it for Hillary, I won't be voting for her. The people have spoken and Obama will have the pledged delegate majority. We want to see our candidate on the ballot in the Fall, not some supers trying to tell us that we don't know better and shouldn't have voted for him.

[Window]

41. K/R.

:kick:

[TragedyandHope]

42. Obama deserves a chance to try and fail as President of the United States

more than either of his opponents deserve to continue the business-as-usual politics that is killing this country.

At least Obama has a chance to start taking steps towards a positive future. The others are bought and paid for. It's certainly going to be a bumpy ride after 8 years of Bush. The MSM, the Washington establishment and the bigots will be coming out of the woodwork to derail and condemn his Presidency. No one said it was going to be easy.

It's going to be a tough uphill battle, but Obama has our backs and we are looking out for him.

[StevieM]

44. Unbelievable. If you're not with Obama then you're the enemy. Hillary has good ideas IMO which are

consistent with Democratic, progressive values. I think she'd bring a lot of change to this country.

Steve

[TragedyandHope]

45. Change for the worse

I supported Bill Clinton in '92. I'm sure I don't know everything that the Clintons have gone through in the intervening years, but they seem to have lost more than most. The conduct of the Clinton campaign this year has been a heartbreaking betrayal for many loyal, life-long Democrats and Clinton supporters.

The only change I see from Hillary is a change for the worse, as she turns away from the positive values that the Clintons used to represent.