Hillary has a point

Hillary Clinton is harking back to the 2000 presidential election and the dispute over uncounted votes in Florida. Democrats, she said, should be very sensitive about uncounted votes, and for that reason the Michigan and Florida primary results should be counted in the overall tally. I agree, but mainly because it wasn’t the voters’ idea to move up the primary dates — it was party leaders of the respective states. Voters were told the date to vote in the primaries, and they voted. It shouldn’t be a matter of “follow the rules or pay the price,” and if anyone should be penalized it should be the people who decided to change the primary dates. How? Who knows… maybe make go to bed without supper. Where I fault Clinton is for not framing the argument in this way, and in not making this precise argument all along.

She is also putting forth the view that the popular vote should count more than the delegate vote — and once again, I agree. But would she have taken this position were she ahead in the delegate count? Probably not.

The results of some hard thinking

It still amazes me that there are those out there who think the last eight years have been pretty good and we should have more of the same. But there are, and among those who don’t there are a lot of short memories to go around. Me, well… I hold a grudge — and while the Constitution prevents George Bush from running again, he’s been aided and abetted by the other Republicans in government.

A lot of us are concerned about the Democrats self-destructing come convention time, somehow turning off the independents and sending them McCain’s way. Those would be the ones with short memories. We have a mess to clean up right now, and another Republican administration isn’t going to go far in the fixing department.

Neither Obama nor Clinton were my top choices, and to be honest I favor neither over the other. I’m of the mind that either would be better than any Republican. What I want is a ticket that will bring in a few more senators and representatives with it, enough in both houses prove a real mandate for change.

With that in mind, I suggest that Clinton and Obama make a deal… end the primaries and declare a ticket, real soon. It would show unity and in my mind put the interests of the country above politics. In other words, a Clinton/Obama ticket — almost a shoo-in (barring more closet bigots than we realize). They would then campaign against Republicans all the way to election day, and they should succeed.

With a successful administration, Obama would be positioned to be the natural Democratic presidential candidate in 2016. He’d be older, wiser, and more experienced.

This is what we’re stuck with, but as they say… when someone hands you lemons, make lemonade.