Barack Obama: the best choice for the Democratic presidential nomination

Many undecided Democratic primary voters are left asking themselves the question who has more experience? On paper, Senator Clinton has a great deal of experience from her years as first lady of Arkansas and then the United States, followed by seven years. Senator Obama has worked as a community organizer, attorney, state representative and now a senator. It is easy to see why some would call Obama inexperienced when in reality, he has been an elected official longer than Senator Clinton. Yet, Senator Clinton claims that she has more experience and is “ready to lead on day one.” However, no amount of experience, even as first lady, can prepare a person to be president. In a February column, George Will wrote about how experience is not relevant to being president:

The president who came to office with the most glittering array of experiences had served 10 years in the House of Representatives, then became minister to Russia, then served 10 years in the Senate, then four years as secretary of state (during a war that enlarged the nation by 33 percent), then was minister to Britain. Then, in 1856, James Buchanan was elected president and in just one term secured a strong claim to being ranked as America’s worst president. Abraham Lincoln, the inexperienced former one-term congressman, had an easy act to follow.

At the start of the presidential campaign immediately following the 2006 midterm elections, it was difficult to choose between Clinton and Obama. Additionally, there were several other candidates that would be worthy of support (including former Virginia Governor Mark Warner and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh who both chose not to run). However, since the fall of 2007, the race between Clinton and Obama has gotten nasty and the politics of smear have mainly come from the Clinton campaign. What is most disturbing about the smear tactics is that they came at times when Senator Clinton’s back was against the wall.

Over the past two years, there have been several politicians that have made decisions that were vastly unpopular with the people, the two most prominent examples being Senators McCain and Lieberman’s support of the Iraq War. Whether or not one agrees with their position, their act of political courage is deserving of respect. During Senator McCain’s campaign, he did not pander to the GOP base to get the nomination, he held firm in his beliefs. Senator Obama has done so as well for the most part, his indiscretion being when he said that NAFTA is not working and that he would fix it.

Yet, when it became clear to her that she would not cruise to the nomination, Senator Clinton began political pandering. Her most recent pander was the proposal of a temporary suspension to the gas tax, a move that economists have come out against as it would actually hurt the economy more than help it. Clinton’s own campaign admits that Congress would never pass it and that they only proposed it to score points with the voters. When asked on ABC’s This Week to name an economist who believes that the temporary suspension of the gas tax is a good idea, Clinton was unable to. She later attacked the economists who said the gas plan was a bad idea, saying that they had “elite opinion.”

Senator Clinton knows quite well that being labeled “elite” is code for “this person thinks they are better than you” and/or “they are educated, therefore they think they know what is best for you.” Using the tactic to label those who disagree with you as “elite” is shameful.

One factor that the superdelegates and a handful of voters will most certainly pay attention to in making their choice between Obama and Clinton, is the ability to help Democrats across the country. Polls have consistently shown that Senator Obama has the ability to assist Democrats running in red states and help gain seats in places where it was once thought impossible for a Democrat to even be taken seriously. Sadly, Senator Clinton does not.

Senator Obama has not been the perfect candidate. From Jeremiah Wright, other problems including his “bitter” comment and various gaffes. However, it is important to remember this question:

There are two baseball players that are competing for one spot on a baseball team. The two run from home plate to first base in the exact same time. The first runner has perfect form, while the second runner has no proper running form. Which one do you take for your team? The runner with improper form is the obvious choice as if he were to be trained to run properly, he would run even faster.

Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are like these baseball players. However, Senator Clinton has already peaked in terms of bringing new voters to the process and other areas, while Senator Obama has not even reached his full potential.

It is for the reasons discussed, as well as many not covered, that The Centrist Voice endorses Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.