WHY I VOTED FOR SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
“Even
so
faith,
if
it
hath
not
works,
is
dead,
being
alone.
Yea,
a
man
may
say,
Thou
hast
faith,
and
I
have
works:
show
me
thy
faith
without
thy
works,
and
I
will
show
you
my
faith
and
my
works….”
James
2
verses
17-18
Tuesday, the 12th day of February, 2008, was dubbed the Chesapeake or
Potomac Primary Election Day. It was the day that the State of Maryland,
Commonwealth of Virginia and Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital voted
to nominate a democrat for the general election. It was the day that
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) roundly defeated his rival, Senator Hillary
Clinton (D-NY).
On that day I voted for the latter against the former. Yes, I voted for
Senator Hillary Clinton. I have no doubt that the two candidates are very
good candidates and that democrats have cause to be proud of them.
However, I am convinced that Ms Clinton is a better candidate to win the
general election come November.
The decision to vote for Ms Clinton was by no means an easy one. It was
the case of my heart fighting with my head. Definitely, my heart is with
Obama while my head is with Hillary. It took me a while to make up my mind
hoping that I will get a cogent reason to vote for our ‘brother’ Obama. I
was hoping that he would move from his rhetoric to realism. I was hoping
that he gets down to specifics. I wanted to see the ‘beef’ but to no
avail. But finally, my head won over my heart.
Finally, I decided that this nomination process as far as Obama is
concerned is not much about the bread and butter issue bordering ordinary
people like me. For people supporting him, it is more about style and
oratory. It is more about rhetoric and personality, as contrasted from any
serious issue.
This is the most trying period of US history. The country is at war with
fundamental religious fanatics and terrorists. President George W. Bush
has basically destroyed this country due to his incompetence and penchant
for cronyism. There are mortgage crisis, soaring oil prices/gasoline
prices, huge budget deficit and monumental debt, environmental
degradation, shredding the constitution and Geneva Convention by a very
callous administration of Bush. The country is virtually under a dictator
that trampled on all opposition using scare tactics, intimidation and
labeling all opposition to his policies as aiding terrorist or soft on
national security. We have Quantanamo mess, Abu Ghraib mess, water
boarding mess; Firing of US attorney for political reasons, the lists of
incompetence of George Bush are monumental. United States that used to be
the bastion of democracy and rule of law has become a laughing stock to
the international community.
So this is a time of grave challenges to this our adopted country. This
country needs a person that has a real experience about governance. Some
have argued that Hillary Clinton was only the first lady of Arkansas for
14 years and first lady of United States for 8 years and not actually a
president during the 1990s and should not claim any credit for the success
of the time. At the same time, critics were eager to lump her with the
scandals and controversies of the 90s. We have to make up our mind whether
the successes and scandals of Bill Clinton are mutually exclusive and
whether Hillary contributed behind the scene to those successes.
At the time of Clinton presidency, people were buying housing in record
numbers, now people are losing them, we had budget surplus, now we have
deficit, US national debt was being paid; now we accumulate more. Apart
from all that, United States equally saw relative peace, policies of that
time worked for America. However, the country wanted to experiment with
George Bush.
At this period of American history, we cannot afford to take chances or
experiment with idealism. Senator Barack Obama, no doubt has ran a very
competent and convincing campaign and have energized and tantalized
Americans they way that no other candidate had ever done so since JFK. I
am proud of what Obama has achieved in his short political career. I am
happy that just like our kids born of Africans in foreign lands; they can
aspire to be president in the future. But that’s not what the issue is.
The main issue is who can demonstrate to us that in this time of
uncertainties; he or she has the competence or experience to know what to
do.
Make no mistake about that, Obama is no JFK. John F. Kennedy was a World
War II hero. He became a war hero even before his more favored big
brother, Joseph Kennedy, Jr. JFK was not only a war hero, but he was also
in the United States congress for 14 years. Obama is no JFK. Both Obama
and JFK can move people with their speeches and with their charisma, but
JFK has both style and substance.
After listening to Obama speak, one cannot but be moved by his oratorical
skills and his inspirational touch. To some, his speech has therapeutic
effects. Even some people believe that he is the modern Messiah! In one of
his speeches, he said:
“We are the hope of the future…we can remake this world as it should be…a
hymn that will heal this nation, repair this world, and make this time
different than all the rest”
He has his way with words that tend to uplift people. There is nothing
wrong with that, we want that in our president. But again, speeches and
hope for the future without any concrete plans for governance has left
people like me wondering. It has left a lingering doubt as to what Obama’s
presidency will entail. It would amount to voting for him and them hoping
that he would be what we hope that he would be. It would amount to “let’s
vote for him now and find out later”. That’s not how to choose a
president.
I was overjoyed that finally a black man has a chance to be president, but
this is not about filling the black quota. It is about making sure that
after he wins that all of us blacks will beat our chests and say, “he is
one of us, see what blacks can do”. I don’t want him to end up like
Clarence Thomas, the only black Supreme Court Justice. We cannot just vote
for him for no other reason than that he is a black man and we owe it to
ourselves to vote for him. Or that we are voting for him just to make
history. Obama could still win the nomination and could still win the
presidency and go ahead to make an outstanding president, but I find it
difficult to see how he can do it with no specifics.
I have been waiting to get concrete details as to how Obama would solve
kitchen table issues affecting common people, but I cannot lay my hands on
any. Some of my enthusiastic and over-zealous Nigerians supporting Obama
were sad that I did not join the bandwagon of what is known as“Obamagerians”. But I told them that I have to know what I can predict
from his Presidency. All the people asking me to join them has not been
able to answer a single question about what Obama will do to end the war
in Iraq, and all the problems enumerated above. They were left speechless
whenever I ask them to convince me of what Obama’s record is that make
them think that he is qualified to be president. I was met with blank
stare when a question of what his records are. I will only get “well, if
you go to his website you will find out”
After all the oratory and inspirational speeches, if I still find it
difficult to pay my mortgage or to be able to provide quality health care,
education, jobs etc, then am afraid, there is nothing to hope for. I am
full of hope that tomorrow would be better than today. But hope can only
be built on solid foundation to make it hopeful. We cannot be blinded by
oratory and charisma. We cannot be satisfied by empty rhetoric short of
specifics. As
James Wolcott, “Idealistic zeal divorced from any particular policy or
cause is a chariot driven by pure euphoria”
According Charles Krauthammer in his op-ed in the Washington Post on
February 14, 2008, “Obama has astonishingly empty paper trail. He is going
around issuing promissory notes on the future that he can’t possibly
redeem. Promises to fund his list of promises by rapid withdrawal from the
unpopular war…..”
My question is what happens after the camera is gone, in the moment of
truth, can he deliver? This is not a game or who can deliver a powerful
speech or who is the most glamorous. This is about the life of millions of
people including the rest of the world. What happens when he has exhausted
his oratory? What happens when people get tired of his powerful lines or
when his lines become repetitious and monotonous to the ear, what else can
we hang on to? I have noticed that his speech has become a repetition of
previous speeches. That will spell disaster when push comes to shove. He
was accused of borrowing lines from Governor Devall Patrick, the first
black governor of the state of Massachussetts. His speech is beginning to
get monotonous as was also observed by E. J. Dionne, a political analyst,
when he said:
“Obama is inspirational, but in a particular way: his message has been
constant since his November 10 speech at Iowa Democratic Dinner. He is
less specific about policies than he is in describing the frustrations
voters feel-with Bush, with Washington, with divisiveness, with
partisanship. His consistent promise is not to pass a detailed program but
to change the mood and style of politics….”
That to me is the sign that he is running out of his oratory in February
when the general election is in November. If he wins the nomination
against Hillary and go to face the republican attack machine of Karl Rove,
Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and the rest of the Fox News
attack dogs; what happens when the republicans start to poke hole at his
record or lack of it? They have already started collecting a dossier on
Obama. The other time, Ann Coulter referred to him as B. Hussien Obama,
trying to remind people that “Hussein” is a Moslem name and that in this
time of American history, it is an abomination to have a Moslem as a
president. They stress that name “Hussein” reminding people of the brutal
dictator, Saddam Hussein. They have started to link his last name, Obama,
with “Osama Bin Laden” which equals terrorism. Some intentionally
mispronounce his name, pretending to mistake him for “Osama”.
All these are not by accident. It is well-designed by the conservatives to
discredit him and tier him apart methodically. Remember what happened to
John Kerry, Al Gore, John Mccain, Mark Cleland etc. Dirty politics still
works! The conservations know that they cannot try that with Hillary
Clinton. That is why you hear people call themselves “Obama republican”.
They want to vote for Obama to win the nomination and they return to their
true colors. The Hillary Clinton is not afraid of the republicans, she
have beaten them before. They know that she is a tough customer.
What happened in 2000 between Al Gore and George Bush is about to repeat
itself in Hillary Vs Obama. During the 2000 Election, even though former
Vice-President Al Gore was a better candidate, people said that then
Governor Bush is more warm and fuzzy and is someone you can chill out and
have a bottle of beer or cup of coffee with. People said that Al Gore was
stiff and always serious and wanted a president that they have a personal
connection with. They took for granted the peace and prosperity of
Clinton/Gore presidency. They thought that it was an accident of history
that 1990s has lots of economic milestone for America. Now we have seen
what Bush has to offer.
This nomination fight between Obama and Hilary is a fight between the two
factions in the Democratic Party: idealism as represented by the Kennedys
and realism represented by the Clintons. I am of the school of thought
that realism gets things done. No democrat can successfully rule this
country from the far left. Senator Barack Obama is ranked number one
liberal, even before Senator Ted Kennedy or even Senator John F. Kerry.
Hilary Clinton is number 22. No democrat can be successful from the far
left and no republican can be successful from the far right. The
republicans have already started using the “L” word (liberal). We need a
blue-dog democrat, (a moderate democrat). Former President Clinton
succeeded because he was moderate.
Obama is phenomenal, but if he continues to dodge giving out specific, his
stock will go down as fast as it rose. If he defeats Hilary Clinton, he
would not go far without facing the scrutiny of the press. Obama is
getting a free press before but now he is the front-runner, let him not
think that the honeymoon will continue. The republicans don’t play by the
rules; they would go after him in a way that no one has gone after him
before. They will use all kinds of racist code words as they used against
Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee. Now, that Obama is the front-runner, the
target is at his back!
On the 5th day of February, 2008, about a week prior to the Potomac
Primary Election Day of which Obama swept Hillary, as I was playing with
my wife and two little daughters, Chiamaka and Chioma; I asked them:“girls who are you going to vote for, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton”?
Chiamaka is 5 years old and her little sister, Chioma, is 3 years old.
Chiamaka, the older daughter said “Barack Obama”! I said “great”. Then
turning to the younger one, Chioma, I said: “And how about you, Chomy, who
are you going to vote for? She said, “Bayak Ubama”. Finally, I asked my
wife, “Honey, who are you rooting for”? She said, “Hilary is my girl, how
about you?” I said, “I am also for Hilary” Then I told the girls: “You
see, the game is tied, 50-50. But guess what girls? Both of you cannot
vote! So Team Hilary has won” My elder daughter said, “You are so funny,
daddy, but Obama will win, my teacher said so”
After the interchange with my girls, as I looked into their innocent eyes,
I began to wonder what the future holds for them in this our adopted
country. Obviously, they have caught the Obama fever.
As I was pondering all evening, what this country holds for them, I read
what Rudolph Ogoo Okonkwo said in an article on that same day, the 5th day
of February, 2008 in Nigeria Village Square titled: “Why Obama Is My Man”.
In that article he said:
“If America takes care of Obama, I can then relax knowing that America
will take care of Ijeamaka and Ogonna.”
I agree with Mr. Okonkwo and share his views on why Obama is his man.
However, I agree with him for a different reason. I want an America where
my little girls would not only be able to dream dreams and make them
realities, I also want America where my girls will see no more barriers or
glass ceilings. I want America where people will judge them, by the
content of their character; and not by the color of their skins or by
their gender. I want my little girls to aspire to the greatest heights and
not be hindered by the fact that they are females. I want them to believe
that with hard work, perseverance and faith in their God, there is nothing
on earth that is not achievable irrespective of where their parents come
from or what their names sound like.
I will always train my girls to study hard; I will continue to push them
to explore their God-given potentials and to believe that they can do
anything they set their sights on. I want people to first of all look at
my girls as individuals. I want people to look at their competence and not
at their gender, or their names or their color.
I want my kids to know that the fact that they are girls should not
discourage them from aspiring to reach for greater heights and compete
with their male counter-parts in any field of human endeavors including
the highest office of the land, here in America!
I dream of days when America will open its eyes to the fact that women are
not inferior to men as regards the highest office in the land. American
prides itself and the bastion of democracy and rule of law but cannot even
think of a competent woman occupying the oval office. They shudder at the
thought of a woman calling the shot. Some, even females fear that she
would be able to pilot the affairs of the country especially in a time of
war. It makes me wonder why many countries have been able to produce
female presidents that had really touched on the life of their people in a
positive way. Great Britain, Germany, India, Pakistan, and even Liberia
have produced a female presidents/prime ministers.
This election should not be about race or about gender. It should be about
competence and about who is more qualified. I voted for Hillary Clinton,
not because she is the prettiest woman on earth or because she has the
best smiles on earth, but because in my view, she is better qualified to
turn the Bush economy around, because she would be able to end the war in
Iraq, because she has a better plan for global warming, on education, on
health care, on national security and or immigration.
I am hoping that Hillary Clinton would still pull it out regardless of the
fact that she is currently struggling and seems like the game is over. But
people have under-estimated her in the past to their peril. Ask the
republicans.
BY CHUKWUDI NWOKOYE
UPPER MARLBORO, MARYLAND, USA
*Chukwudi Nwokoye, an attorney, is a former United States Marine and a
disabled veteran. nwokoyeac@hotmail.com