With a few state caucuses under our belt, Democrats are boiling down the options for their next presidential candidate. To the voting Democrat, it is becoming evident that two options are championing their way for consideration, and with no offense to Mr. John Edwards (who so far has come in third), the choice is between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.
So far each has had victories in the caucuses. So who is the better of the two? Who will be better for you and your America?
The answer is Obama.
Obama and Clinton do share similar views and concerns. For example, their plans to tackle issues of energy and global warming are pretty much identical. They both believe that middle-class citizens are in trouble and need help to continue their presence in our culture and, more importantly, in our economy. They both desire to forge a future for America with universal health care in it.
Though they reside on the same side of the aisle and can see eye-to-eye on some issues, each is significantly different on how they would lead America through the next four to eight years.
For example, Clinton would like a universal health care system that utilizes the existing private health care companies that have caused many of the problems we see today. She aims to “lower cost and improve quality,” which has been the cry of many over the years and has become a blanket, cliché statement on the issue.
Obama’s plan for health care does utilize the private health care system we already use, but also provides a way to cover every citizen. He proposes to establish a health care plan identical to the one members of Congress and other federal employees get. He even has it planned down to subsidies and tax credits for those who struggle with any costs related to their health care.
Overall, when it comes to the issues, Obama comes out clearly ahead of Clinton. Just looking merely at their campaign websites, Obama has listed scores of more issues and plans he wishes to tackle that Clinton hasn’t addressed. Should Obama make it all the way to the White House, far more would be put on the table than Clinton would bring. Any simple investigation into their records and intensions would prove Obama over Clinton.
Separate from the issues, Obama is far more electable than Clinton. It seems that a sense of a 2008 victory has already spread within Democratic circles, as if it’s in the bag and independent voters are on their side.
However, Clinton has become a sort of boogieman for Republicans. She is like some sort of supernatural entity that draws political hatred that could span across party lines. Obama has run for years on a platform that pulls people together in a unifying fervor. As he said at the 2004 Democratic Convention, “E Pluribus Unum, out of many come one … there is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there is the United States of America.” It is this kind of unification America is in dire need of.
Clinton’s intentions and passion for this country seem genuine. But when it comes down to it, who of the Democrats will ultimately be better for America, and who of them can actually make it to the White House? Vote Obama in ’08.