There is only one thing that matters this November to anyone concerned about our economy, the planet's survival, health care, ending terrorism or severely reducing its threat, ending the occupation of Iraq, protecting women's rights and civil rights, and building cooperation with other nations: electing Barack Obama.
Yet the progressive blogs are full of people complaining about one or another issue and threatening to stay home this November or vote for John McCain, Bob Barr or Ralph Nader.
To me this is political and national suicide.
This time, I want a president who has enough intelligence to be our leader. In the last two presidential elections, the most responsible and most intelligent candidate lost to the long time alcoholic, with a second rate mind, because he said he was a born again Christian and because his campaign manager knew how to appeal to people's fears and biases.
We have another chance this year. We can elect the Democrat who is enormously intelligent and gifted in oratory (which is far more important than Republicans want to admit) or we can elect a second rate brain, who is showing cognitive slippage as he ages, and who claims little knowledge of our biggest national problem: the economic slowdown coupled with escalating inflation.
This is supposed to be a can't lose year for the Democrats, but Democrats are slamming their own nominee or refusing to get behind him because, like immature babies who want mommy to fulfill all their needs, they are mad because they can't have their way.
Barack didn't vote the way they insisted he vote on FISA.
Barack is sounding nuanced on the details of getting out of Iraq.
Barack is not cowtowing sufficiently to Hillary Clinton and her supporters.
Barack is blaming fathers for not supporting their children when he should be blaming the government for not giving them sufficient opportunity.
Oh please!
McCain would have voted exactly as Barack did on FISA, had he bothered to show up. And if he becomes president, you can bet he will abuse his power under FISA in ways Barack won't.
Barack may say he wants to be careful getting out of Iraq, but at least he wants to get out and close the bases we have there. McCain wants to stay indefinitely and maintain permanent bases.
Do Hillary's disappointed supporters really think McCain will be the better choice on women's rights? He has already said he will appoint right wing justices to the Supreme Court, and would like to see Roe V. Wade overturned. When questionned the other day he didn't seem to know that many insurance plans don't cover birth control for women, while they all cover Viagra for men. And he didn't remember that he had voted to allow them to do this. Is this a good sign for women? Barack may not be the woman candidate that Hillary's supporters wanted, but neither is McCain. At least Barack is right on the issues. McCain would be a disaster for women.
And Barack is right to chastise fathers for not suppporting their children and right to encourage children to stay in school. He hasn't forgotten the role of government in harming minorities and he won't abandon the fight to help them, but he isn't wrong when he says we must all do our part, no matter what the government does or doesn't do.
There is nothing more important to this nation than electing a Democratic President this year, and anyone who is willing to risk electing John McCain because their nose is out of joint over one or another issue is being selfish and stupid.
Barack Obama in not a perfect candidate and he will not be a perfect president, but he will be a million times better than McCain who is not only wrong on all the issues, not only a man who will say or do anything just to get elected, but who has some serious mental deficiencies that would be disastrous at a time when we need the best and the brightest running the country and solving our problems.
So let's all put away our desire for perfection, and our disappointments that we can't have a candidate like Santa Claus, who will honor our list of wishes, and vote for the best candidate we have had in a long time: Barack Obama.
