Nothing, nothing, nothing,..... in the upcoming presidential election is more important for this country than kicking the Republican Party out of the White House.
Whether the nominee is Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, or Al Gore in a white cape coming to rescue us from the current nonsense going on in the campaign doesn't matter. Any of them would be better than any of the Republicans including McCain, who may be moderate on some issues, but cannot be considered a moderate on the war in Iraq, where he wouldn't mind staying for 100 years.
So two things need to change or Democrats will destroy themselves before the national election.
First, Hillary has to get Bill and her supporters and campaign advisors to stop with the coded language about race and the trashing of Obama. I was also going to suggest Obama do what he could to cool things off but it seems he has already done that. The media seems to be itching for an Obama vs. Hillary fight, so both of these candidates need to pull back from the attacks on each other and focus on their own policies and campaigns. We don't want one of them so wounded going into the general that they can't recover, with the supporters of their Democratic opponent so angry at the destruction of their own candidate that they refuse to show up at the polls. This is the reason Ronald Reagan instituted an 11th Commandment (Thou shalt not attack a fellow republican) in his party.
Second, Democrats need to look beyond race and gender in deciding whom to support. It seems there are many women who are supporting Hillary Clinton just because she is a woman. I think that's as big a mistake as not supporting her because she's a woman. If she's the best one for the job, and electable because of her policies and character, great. If she's not the best one for the job and the American people decide to vote for a Republican as a result, then ladies we will not end up with the first woman president but with the first female nominee and that is not good enough - for feminism, for women, but especially for the country. That's simply not a risk any of us should take because nothing, nothing, nothing is more important than electing a Democrat this time around.
Likewise, Barack Obama should not be supported or opposed just because he is black, or not "black enough." While I think it is very important for our country to finally electe a black president, just as I think it is important to finally elect a woman, these aren't more important than dumping the Republicans. The mess we are in because of a criminal Republican administration, an illegal war, a failing economy, and an attempt to make the president a monarch, makes it crucial to restore the Constitution - and sanity - by electing a Democrat.
I ask all Democrats - and especially Hillary, Bill, and Barack, as well as their supporters and advisors, to knock it off and restore some dignity to this campaign so that whoever wins the nomination will have the best possible chance of defeating the insane party that has nearly destroyed the Constitution and the country.
