The Great Campaign

Step under the big-top and into the political arena where the race is looking to be the tightest, and most important, election of our generation.

Caricatures by Ben Capozzi.

Hillary

by Pris Sears

Who loves Hillary Clinton? She's currently got half of the Democratic primary vote, so there are a lot of people out there voting for her. But it's a complex game of second and third-guessing to try to predict which way the party will swing.

There are lots of reasons to vote for her. Perhaps the voter doesn't like Obama, thinking he has too little experience. Perhaps the voter relishes the opportunity to vote for a woman for president of the United States for the very first time. Perhaps the voter is so disgusted by the rampant sexism that is spewed about Clinton, the asinine "hecklers" shrieking "iron my shirt" at her, the gendered microscope she is under eliciting insults on everything from her looks to her mannerisms, from her voice to "did-she or didn't-she cry?" debates, that they are motivated to get out there and vote for her purely to spite the haters. Perhaps the voter has swallowed the fairy tale going around that Obama is really a secret Muslim, out to destroy the USA. Perhaps the voter wants to see Rush Limbaugh go down in an apoplectic fit when another Clinton gains the White House.

There are also many reasons to vote against her—primarily her support of Bush's war in Iraq. She now claims that she didn't think the "Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002" meant that Bush was planning to go to war. It just meant that "it was a vote to put inspectors back in." Some people don't appreciate her "stand by your philandering man" ethic. Some people don't respect her "sleep by the window to see which way the wind is blowing" policy of political expediency. Some people simply hate her because she is a Democrat and she is a woman, but those people shouldn't be voting in the Democratic primary anyway. Some people will vote against her because she is perceived as being a figure that, if she gets the nomination, will get the Republicans so riled up, so full of hatred, that they will turn out in force to vote for anyone that gets the Republican nomination, just to keep her out of the White House.

Barack

by Andrew Mills

My reasons for supporting Sen. Obama go beyond the popularity to which many attribute his success. Like many, my political journey began in 2000, as lack-luster Vice President and a dimwitted good 'ol boy faced off to lead this country. Like many, I was uninterested in the intracacies of American politics, while professing outrage at the inability of either party to tackle the issues important to me. I cast a "protest" vote for Nader. Then September 11th happened. Then Iraq. As I watched the fallout, my interest in politics crystallized. In 2004 I cast my vote for another lackluster Democrat, thinking "anything but more Bush".

Now, there is finally a candidate I want to see win. The famous promise of change is not what made up my mind. Sen. Obama does not engage in the standard pandering practiced by every other politician. He speaks of bringing people together, to build a real working coalition, finding support from Independents and moderate Republicans (despite being deemed the most liberal senator in 2007 by the National Journal).

Sen. Clinton achieves victory through personal attacks and half-truth spins, demonizing her competition. This has worked in the past, allowing a candidate to "win" by the slimmest of margins. Sen. Obama, refers to this as "old style" politics. Sen. Obama promotes a break from this mentality to one of honesty and reconciliation.

In a recent debate, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were asked to identify their weakness. Sen. Obama answered that he can be disorganized and needs people to help him keep everything together. Clinton cited her weakness as "fighting too hard for change". The contrast between the old style and the new couldn't be more obvious.

The reason I, and many like me, support this man is not simply his youth or his warm smile, it is the opportunity to have someone who speaks to us, not slyly around us.

McCain

by Amy Splitt

Conventional evolutionary wisdom suggests that birds evolved from the dinosaur. If Rush Limbaugh is saying that a John McCain nomination will "destroy the Republican party," I can only say that the chickens are coming home to roost. The party of George W. Bush is on its way out, as it should be. Americans want an end to his cult of personality, to Operation Jumpsuit, and the oligarchic cronyism that has bashed our nation's credibility at home and abroad. McCain refuses to promise all things to all people. He's not a "decider"—he's a scrapper. The man is not afraid to be unpopular. He lost votes in Washington state for questioning an attempt at a cushy government contract by Boeing, and he risked Iowa for opposing farm subsidies. Bold moves in a primary race, when candidates strive to paint themselves in unmixed colors.

McCain's stance on maintaining military presence overseas is fueled by a conviction that religious extremism is a threat to the U.S. and the safety of America's allies; meanwhile he draws a line apart from right-wing evangelical groups at home. For McCain, the war on terror is not a crusade. Waging aggressive war hurt America's reputation and safety, but abandoning Iraq would at this point leave the Middle East in a dangerous state of chaos. We can't undo what's been done. Worse than being the world's self-proclaimed brute squad would be to become the world's deadbeat dad.

I can't say that I support McCain's platform without question. I have to wonder about his sudden silence on the matter of torture. Also, personal issues of reproductive freedom and gay rights should have no place in national politics. The glibly P.C. trends of the Clinton years and the "for us or against us" rhetoric of the Bush administration have torn families and communities apart for too long. Unlike Bush, McCain's arrogant conviction that he is right about just about everything has resulted in bipartisan legislation that while controversial, aims to define crucial political issues. What other candidate can say that?

Ron Paul

by David Williams

Ron Paul's quest for the White House was doomed the moment he opened his mouth. The moment he began speaking the truth about the war, the economy, the income tax, the Fed, and every other corruption in D.C. was the moment we shoved our fingers in our ears and asked for someone to sing us a happy song. A soft lullaby of patriotic rhetoric from someone more palatable.

There was a time not long ago when the G.O.P. had a conservative approach to government. How deficit-doubling, privacy-prying, and war-mongering have become conservative, I'll never know. With such party perversion, it should come as no surprise that someone with actual conservative values wouldn't be able to make it through the arcane primary gauntlet which understandably favors the party status quo. Yet this dark horse remains in the party race long after the front-runners have tanked. Ironically, in this land of democracy, hoeing your own row outside the two established grooves is impossible. So what do these single-digit primary showings mean for the Ron Paul Revolution? To sum it up, the Revolution is simmering and has yet to boil over into a movement. Even for those of us who chose to listen, exposure to so much truth in so short a time caught us off-guard. The fact that Uncle Sam is scamming us is nothing new. We just weren't prepared to hear such a coherent critique coming from a potential president.

Ron Paul gets people riled up, but they have forgotten (or because of their distrust of politics, never knew how) to orchestrate the masses to actually vote for him. Hence, action in the blogosphere hasn't registered in the votosphere. Nevertheless, numerous political teeth have been cut in a short time. A new generation of activists is learning to electioneer. Paul has the funds to stay in the race until the Republican convention. He will also work towards an 11th congressional term. We believers in the Ron Paul Revolution will bring our fight to Washington one way or another. And make no mistake, we can still write our man in come November.