What Do I Have Against Hillary and Her Peeps Anyway?

Why am I hatin' on all the Hillary supporters? Friends (as John McCain would say), that's not it at all. My whole family was for Hillary. Some of my best friends were for Hillary. My most brilliant students were for Hillary. Do I think they are stupid and knee-jerk? No. I also don't think they will sit out the election or vote for McCain for spite. But I did sit beside a Hillary supporter at the Cleveland Heights Democrats meeting who told me she just wouldn't vote for President since Hillary was so wronged. I've seen their quotes in the paper or on the news about how four years of McCain would be worth it to allow Hillary to run again. I saw that woman crying (and crying and crying) on CNN. PUMAs do exist. I profoundly disagree with them.

Now, there are plenty of people out there who believe McCain is best for America. Fine. I disagree with them too. But I'm not upset with true McCain supporters in particular, because they are voting their convictions. I am upset with the PUMAs in the Democratic party who will vote against their political beliefs just to avenge Hillary's loss in the primary. That is self-destructive, and unfair to the rest of us who would have to live with his policies just so they can get their petty (or strategic) revenge. And it degrades the democratic process.

If you have talked politics with me recently, you know I Don't Like Hillary. I got very tired of her tactics. I got very tired of her presenting herself as Co-President when she was really Wife Of (Obama should have been much more critical of her "experience" claim - now it is the gospel). I got very tired of her sense of entitlement. In short, I really don't like her style. Plus, I don't trust her. I feel like she will vote conservative if I turn my back for a second and she thinks it will help her win the next election.

But that's just my opinion. Plenty of people voted for Hillary because they truly believe she is the best candidate. However, I also can't count how many times I saw someone in the news say they just wanted to see a woman elected President before they die. That's great, but don't vote McCain because it didn't happen. That just leaves the rest of us hanging.

I have been for Obama since '04, when my jaw dropped during his convention keynote address. "Who IS this guy?" (and it had nothing to do with his looks this time, I swear.) He cuts through all the noise that other politicians thrive on. He gets it. It's not superiority or conceit on the part of Obama supporters - it's just our conviction that this is the right guy, and as we all know, the right guy hardly ever shows up at the right time, so let's get him elected.

The bottom line is, if the PUMA Democrats don't vote Obama, it will be one of the reasons we (all) lose. Don't be a PUMA, people!

PUMA Patrol

Ok, I looked up "PUMA" and found it stands for the very classy "Party Unity My Ass." That's beautiful, isn't it? I like my version better.

I also just perused McCain's abysmal record on women's issues. This link comes from the Obama campaign and appears to be accurate. Women who will vote for McCain just to get back at Barack Obama are throwing the rest of us under the so-called Straight-Talk Express.

Now, maybe it is a stereotype that the PUMAs are all baby boomer women, but I still think there is a big generational conflict here. Hillary and her PUMAs were all about electing a woman because she's a woman. Yes, I know they believe she's more qualified, but the real pain comes from the fact that we were thisclose to nominating the first woman, and the cool handsome young male upstart took it all away. So obsessed with the retro-feminist factor, they can't even appreciate what it means to black and biracial kids across the country that they might soon have a President who looks like them.

PUMAs seem to be mired in an outdated version of the women's movement the way Presidential politics for decades were mired in Vietnam (and I'm afraid that measuring contest's not over yet, with McCain and Biden on the tickets). Is it a coincidence that blouses with bow-ties are back in the stores? Is it all about getting a woman into a man's world or are the issues more nuanced now? That's not to say it won't be a milestone when we finally do have a woman President or that the women of the sixties didn't break down doors for the rest of us to walk right through. But we have to live in the present, and the fact is, now women are walking through those doors as breadwinners for our families and as caregivers, going to work with our kids and our infants and our breast pumps and yes, our ambitions. There's a lot more to this election than feminist symbolism. There's modern feminist reality.

Frankly, I don't want these sore losers dictating my and my kids' future. Here on the ground, we need expanded and paid family leave, equal pay for equal work, access to universal preschool and childcare, a woman's right to choose, sex education that's based in science, not religious belief. We need the Hillary feminists of yesterday to get with today's program. Yeah, that means get over it. (Hey guys - the same goes for Vietnam.)

If PUMAs vote for McCain or sit this one out, they can only blame themselves when it all falls apart. Of course, many of them will be comfortably sitting back on their pensions and Social Security, plotting for Hillary's comeback in 2012. Their daughters and grandchildren will pay the real price.

Who the Hell is Sarah Palin? and Other Questions

It's time for some political questions of the moment:

1. Who the hell is Sarah Palin? Yes I know, devoted hockey mom meets the religious right. I actually think this was a brilliant BRILLIANT chess move by McCain, but I hope I am wrong about that. It neutralizes Biden (can't pick on her in the debates or he's sexist, right Hillary?) and puts a happy personable human next to McCain. Of course, standing next to McCain, she also makes him look particularly elderly and creaky, which I like. Hopefully the concerns over her lack of experience and preparation will win the day. And is it just me (being sexist?) but who goes back to work running the state 3 days after having a special needs baby and then runs for vice-president 5 months later? Scary Republican Super-Mom, that's who.

2. Is Barack going to be tough in more than one speech? Barack did a great job in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. As one commentator said, "Here is a Democrat who has found his spine." He attacked head-on the notion that only Republicans can be trusted with wars and national security. He alluded to McCain's volatile temperment as a liability. He said, "ENOUGH." Will Barack keep it up or was that a one-time show? Everyone knows Obama is a superb speaker, but he has been notoriously generous with his opponents. Yes, it's part of his charm, but there's no time for that now. I heard comedian D.L. Hughley on the radio the other day giving some of the best political analysis I have heard in a while. He said we gotta fight this dirty, like a Republican or a Clinton. Ok, maybe not quite that dirty. But wouldn't it be great to see an ad that cuts all McCain's senior moments together with perhaps some temper and "bomb bomb Iran" for good measure? Take off the gloves, Barack. We'll still love you.

And speaking of the Clintons . . .

3. Do they really mean it? Hillary and Bill both gave excellent speeches at the DNC. In Hillary's though, I would have liked to hear less about Hillary (we get it, you were ALMOST President and you're a WOMAN) and more about why she supports Obama other than that he is not McCain. But she did everything she could to get those (in Rachel Maddow's terminology) "post-rational" PUMAs to vote for Barack. Bill filled the gap in Hillary's speech beautifully. He detailed why Obama is qualified to be President and noted that people thought Bill Clinton wasn't experienced enough either - but then we had all that prosperity and happiness back then when he was President. Remember? Remember? But until I see Bill and Hillary relentlessly on the campaign trail for Obama (and Hillary, in particular, putting the smackdown on the Palin strategy) I can't help but think what they are thinking: 2012.

4. Will the damage done by Hillary in the primary decide the election? Yes, conventional wisdom is that she acquitted herself and all is forgiven because of that speech in #3, above. But every devastating word Hillary said about Obama in the primary is now being replayed in McCain ads. Hillary painted Obama as inexperienced and unqualified for months without Republicans having to lift a finger. And then there are those rabid PUMAs - I don't know what it stands for (that's another question!) but I am guessing it is People United to Make America suck. Just sayin'.

5. In the debates, will the moderators take to heart Obama's admonition not to make this big election about little things? Or will they pursue tabloid "gotcha" questioning, as they did in the primary debates? Then their (lame) excuse was that the policy differences between Hillary and Barack were so slight, they simply had to ask about inconsequential nonsense. That line of reasoning is out the window with Obama and McCain, Biden and Palin. So now what? I won't hold my breath in this Britney-Lohan nation, but let's have the audacity to hope for something better.

6. And speaking of Britney and Lindsay Lohan, why when I listen to 96.5 Kiss FM (Cleveland's local top-40 pop station) would I think that there isn't even a Presidential campaign underway? All the newsbreaks are about "celebrities," and no, even Obama doesn't make the cut. It's irresponsible to fill young people's heads with nothing but fluff, even if you're not NPR (ick). They could take a lesson from Michael Baisden or Tom Joyner, who use their radio airwaves for more than just entertainment.

7. Finally - Is it ok to say Barack Obama is hot? My friend Jen texted me the night of the speech: "Obama is so dreamy!" Totally! Remember when the Republicans thought women would vote for Bush I because of Dan Quayle? We were so offended. Number 1, we don't vote based on looks. Number 2, Quayle was so not hot! Barack Obama is another story entirely. Of course that gleaming smile is so NOT why I'm voting for him.

Stay tuned . . .