I'm an OS and I haven't posted here, but I feel compelled to do so, reading so many say that OS make them not want to vote for him.
Standing where I stand, of course I believe he's the better person to be president - just as HS believe Hillary is. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and everyone has different reasons for them. Deep, important, strongly-felt reasons. We're not so very different. I truly believe that dragging each other down and infighting is devastating for the Democratic party, and exactly what conservatives want right now and for the fall. You won't catch me saying a nasty word about a Hillary supporter - we're all people, and we all deserve respect. Each of us feels so strongly and so personally about our choice, and it's hurtful to tell someone else that their deepest feelings are wrong, or worse. Many of us (myself included) have put in a lot of hours volunteering and helping with our respective candidate's campaign. I think we *all* have to be so careful not to use the anonymity of the internet to say something we wouldn't say in person. As a young Democrat, the discovery of these threads and some of the comments has been heartbreaking to me.
The race is not over yet, but it will be soon. And I pray that if Obama is the nominee, that HS will *not* make their decision about whom to vote for based on OS who may have rubbed them the wrong way. As with any vote, it will call for soul-searching and a determination of what each person believes to be best for our country. You may decide that it's important to have a Democrat and vote for Barack (or Hillary, should the current situation change). Perhaps you're a moderate Democrat and will swing McCain. Maybe you really dislike both and will stay home, and I hope if you do, you'll be content whatever the outcome. But please don't let anyone else help make that decision for you, except the candidates and yourself and your own in-depth research. Don't let anyone else take up space in your brain for free and poke you with a stick, or distract you from what will matter this fall. You're not electing OS, just as I wouldn't be electing the HS - and representatives from both sides have said hurtful things about each other on these threads, so that's a good thing.
I've liked Obama from the beginning, but I've also made up my mind from the beginning (especially when he wasn't doing so well) that it was important enough to me personally to have a Democrat that I would vote for her, even if I liked him better. That's not lip-service - it was something that I knew I personally would have to do in order to elect someone who I agreed with on the issues that matter to me. I realized that in most years, I don't love any of the candidates, so I just vote for the one that most closely aligns with me on the issues. This year I'm fortunate enough to have two candidates who are fantastic (to me) on the issues, and I've been saddled with the lucky choice of just picking who I like best based on personality, etc. While Obama won that contest with me, I know honestly within myself that if it came down to it, I'd be okay with seeing her in the White House (again) - it's an easy choice to me when it comes down to voting for McCain, who I disagree with on most issues, or "staying home" from voting, which is not an option for me because I want some ownership in who is elected and I want to prevent a non-Democrat from being elected. Depending on how the Rules Committee meeting and the superdelegate breakdown goes, I may well need to vote for her yet, and I would do so if necessary.
I know how easy it is to get swept up in these personal arguments. When Bill Clinton visited my town, I went to the town hall meeting despite knowing who I wanted to vote for. I live in a small town and I've never seen him, so I knew it would be historic to see a former president. While in line, I heard a woman say "I just don't know why people won't vote for her. If they vote for him instead of her, they're just sexist, plain and simple." As a female and a feminist living in a very white community, my immediate thought (which I almost shared with her), was "Well, by your logic, if you vote for her and not him, does that make you racist?" I caught myself in time and realized that it's not the point, and me poking her back would do no one any good. Clearly (most) of us who chose to vote for her and not him are not racist and (most) who chose to vote for him and not her are not sexist, and the knee-jerk reaction from me would be unnecessary and snarky. The American people deserve more credit than that - most of us have put immeasurable thought into our candidates, and it cannot be boiled down like that. Further, I refused to let this woman that I didn't know stir me up and impact my opinion of someone that I might need to vote for. It's not worth it. I'm not voting for that random woman in the crowd or some random person online, and they aren't representatives of Hillary any more than I'm a representative of Obama. Life is too short to dwell on so much negativity, especially amongst people who are really so similar.
I want to say that I have nothing against HS and I hope you all have nothing against me. As a 24 year old woman, I'm witnessing something that I never thought I'd witness in my lifetime, and it's been a spectacular event for me, as I know it's been for so many of you. She is an incredible woman who is breaking barriers that I never thought I'd see, and I'm thankful for that. If Obama does end up winning, and you do decide to vote for him in the fall, I reach out my hand to you and would like to reunite with you as Democrats, not just HS or OS. I know that both Hillary and Obama, should either lose, would want us to unite behind the nominee for the good of the party, rather than fight amongst ourselves and lose to McCain. We can't elect a Democrat divided, and if that's your end goal, I'm excited to see record numbers of people working toward it everywhere - this could be an amazing general election! If your end goal is different than mine, I wish you nothing but good will and luck (but not too much luck, he he) in the fall.
This statement had nothing to do with Obama At.All.
) and only wish that I could say it as well.
My thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you and your family.
