Special Interest Group on CRAP

As the democratic presidential nomination process winds down, it’s probably a good time to reflect on what happened along the way. In the beginning there were a lot of candidates (Biden, Dodd, Edwards, Richardson, etc). When the California primary rolled around, I ended up voting for Hillary Clinton, although it was a close call. At the time I was confident that she would make a good President, but I was concerned about the fact that I didn’t think she could win.

My doubts about her ability to win iwere motivated by the fact that I think the USA has more sexists than racists. I never understood the hatred that surrounded Hillary during the Clinton administration, but the depth of hatred is far-reaching. I finally concluded that it came down to sexism, and that there were too many people in society who resented women in power. It should be pointed out that there are a lot of female sexists in this group; those who hold some perverse lack of confidence in their own gender. I still think that Hillary would make a good President, but I’m comfortable with the fact that Obama exhibits leadership qualities that make him qualified as well.

As for the republicans, I haven’t completely given up on the party, although it’s a rare event when I find myself voting for one. In the current environment the thing that motivates me the most is foreign policy, and on this I think the country needs an abrupt U-turn. For some reason many Americans seem to think that the only way to influence the world is through military force and bullying. I’m fed up with it, and I would like to see my country seize the high moral ground for once. It’s time to vote democratic for president.

While foreign policy looms as the thing that seals my vote, there are a few other urgent problems facing the country:

1. energy independence
2. the budget
3. tax policy

I think that economics and technology innovation will take care of our energy independence problems, although it will be wrenching to our society. The other two problems are going to be harder. It took Richard Nixon to normalize relations with China, which most people thought would be impossible at the time. It took Ronald Reagan to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, which nobody thought would happen. It took Bill Clinton to reform welfare, which most people thought was impossible. It took Bill Clinton to balance the budget and bring on an era of prosperity, although prior to that most people thought democrats were anti-business. My only hope is that it will be a Democrat who unexpectedly brings the federal budget into a realm of sanity.