Now What? Or Who?

I've been saying for weeks that my vote won't count when the Maryland primary rolls around. Guess I was wrong. But what I'm not wrong about is the threat that is John McCain. And this is what my vote will be about on February 12.

For months I anticipated that Giuliani or Romney was going to be the Republican nominee. In either scenario, the general election was going to be a breeze, enjoyable even. Now, Giuliani is done and after Tuesday, I expect Romney will be too. A general election against McCain will be tough and hardly enjoyable.

Here's the situation. McCain is on his way to winning the nomination. During the Republican debate in California the other night, Romney was constantly on the defensive. It appeared really easy for McCain to be the reasonable truthful one while Romney spent all his air time on rebuttal after rebuttal. Given that the Republican field never had a "favorite," it won't be that difficult for McCain to keep the tide flowing his way.

Even though the Democrats have narrowed their field to two, the outcome is not as certain. It's anyone's guess who's going to take this contest. That's why the ambitious John Edwards isn't picking sides. He's hedging his bets and hoping he'll find a place in one of their administrations.

It's been a rare occasion for us Marylanders to have any say in Democratic nominee. I thought the contest would be decided by now, so I was ready to vote for one of my lefty favorites. Now I have to take this vote seriously (not that voting isn't serious, but you know what I mean).

So how really should one decide between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? This is the question of the day. Either nominee is historic. And despite what people will say about Hillary Clinton, she is not business as usual. A woman in the White House is change. Barack Obama doesn't have a monopoly on representing change. As a matter of fact, despite his race, a man in the White House would be more like business as usual than Hillary Clinton. Will his race really affect his decision-making? I doubt it. The historic nature of having an African American in the White House means that despite the persistant nature of racism, our country is really moving towards healing the racial divide. Barack could really have a huge impact as president on our racial problems.

Hillary has tried to make the contest about young versus experienced. She knows how to get things done. She has the command of the issues that Barack doesn't have because he hasn't been around long enough. He's a great public speaker, very inspirational, but according to Clinton, it ends there and that's not enough for the next president. Obama says he does understand the issues and he's always on the right side of them. He believes we need inspiration and a commitment to heal our country. He's right. And so is she.

Neither will talk about electability, but that's what we need to talk about today. A year ago, the Democrats were on top. They were starting a new term with Dems in control. The tide of the country was change. We were tired of the disaster the Republicans have made of the war and home. A year ago, electability was not one of our problems. Today, with McCain as the nominee, it is the problem.

And the answer is to vote for Barack Obama. This isn't an endorsement or anything. As I have stated before and implied above, either Hillary or Barack would make a good president. But they have to win a general election first. And that's why Barack is who I'm voting for. I can't take another Republican president. It sickens me. We HAVE to win.

Just close your eyes for a minute and clear your head. Then, imagine a picture of McCain versus Clinton. What's your gut telling you? Now, imagine a picture of McCain versus Obama. What's your gut telling you now? If you're paying attention, you know that Hillary doesn't have a chance against McCain. While the Democrats could swallow a McCain win, Republicans will succede from the nation if Hillary wins. As one pundit has said, Hillary has toxic coat-tails.

Barack does inspire and that is what's going to help him win. Hillary inspires, but she inspires the wrong people. She inspires the Republicans to get off their butts and vote against her. As unfair as it is that Hillary has been judged so harshly, it's the reality. I'm not going to roll the dice on this election just because I think Hillary has been held to a higher standard and been set up to fail.

That's the direction this primary season has taken us. The Democrats are going to make history by electing a minority as their nominee. Hopefully, the country will follow suit in November.