Hillary & Barack

WARNING: MY VIEWS ON U.S. POLITICS FOLLOWS

In a comment on my last blog post, Maxxo wrote:

hi nick. perhaps you could explain - in simple terms - the difference between obama and hilary clinton to us brits? and why you support the former ... perhaps it could be part of your next blog post. we get the coverage of the US elections on our news, but no-one bothers to explain what either candidate can bring to the mix. it just seems to drag on and on ...

I shall provide, as best I can, the differences as I see them:

Basically, there are few political and philosophical differences between the stances of Senators Clinton and Obama. The former leans a bit more to the political right than the latter. She also espouses the business-friendly centralist philosophy of her spouse (pun intended). I have heard her positions described as “same old same old.” That that “same old” rather died out during the seven and a half years of the present administration is, to me, a shame.

The latter is not only more liberal the former, but advocates a move away from “same old same old” stances of Senator Clinton. Andrew Sullivan’s observation below sums up, for me, the philosophy of Senator Obama:

He is not a traditional top-down big government liberal. He’s a pragmatist who believes in finding ways to empower people to run their own lives. No, he’s no libertarian. But his view of government’s role has absorbed some of the right-wing critiques of the 1970s and 1980s. Hence the lack of mandates in his healthcare proposal and his refusal to engage in racial victimology. This nuance is worth exploring. Unlike Hillary, he doesn’t believe he is going to save anyone. He thinks he has a chance to help some people save themselves.

I supported the candidacy of Senator Clinton from when the rumors began that she might run for the presidency until the past month or so when I became convinced that:

• Senator Obama’s philosophy appeals to me much more than does Senator Clinton’s.

• Senator Obama’s stance appears to appeal to a much larger cross section of Americans than does Senator Clinton’s.

• Senator Obama has a better chance of winning the presidential election than does Senator Clinton.

• And, finally, the rather absurd and vicious attacks on Senator Obama, his mixed racial heritage, and his religious faith (remember: I am an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, Barack’s denomination) by Senator Clinton’s campaign turned me off to her.