But her most glaring waffle is also her biggest criticism - her support for the Iraq Authorization for Military Force.
That gut-check vote, which millions worldwide opposed, showed not only her general attitude about armed conflict, but a lack of preparation and lack of leadership. Trying on a firm, aggressive image at that time, she was completely hoodwinked, offering in her AUMF speech "I will take the President at his word that he will try hard to pass a UN resolution and will seek to avoid war". The AUMF vote was the deciding factor recalled by many who literally made up their minds inside the voting booth.
But America took years to realize this, and Hillary took even longer, dragging her feet for months because she knew it would be a costly position change.
Her early swagger gone, Hillary's prolonged candidacy has disillusioned some supporters. A co-worker of mine is a local Democratic district committee member and perennial Hillary campaigner, making calls, volunteering and wearing buttons. Discussions with her got strange after Super Tuesday, when she expressed she was extremely suspicious of Obama. When I pressed her, she mentioned she believed Obama could be a Muslim sleeper. A few weeks later she overheard others laughing about the fool who expressed the same thing on 60 Minutes. Soon after this, the woman has offered that she's done with politics and will not participate.
But Hillary is not done. Last week, her richest and most powerful donors tried to extort the Democratic leadership, vowing to withdraw donation funds if Speaker Pelosi didn't retract the sentiment that superdelegates should reflect the will of the people. Shortly after this, I received an email from the news aggregation service TruthOut, saying that they'd now need additional fundraising this quarter.
Hillary dares to denounce Obama as "all hat and no cattle", but as a New Yorker, I've been appalled at her high-profile inaction since her inauguration. I'd hoped to see hard work towards healthcare improvements here. With her supposed influence, she could have stood up to Bush and Cheney early and often, picking from any of dozens of issues that passed right before the committees she serves on. Instead, she maintained a "knowing smile" and held back, allowing Alito and Roberts to breeze through to the high court. She did however, take a few easy shots at the politically damaged Rumsfeld on his way out.
I support Obama because of the greater commitments I see to benefit the public. His record as a community organizer supports this populist philosophy. I credit him for emerging from a local Chicago political environment known for corruption with a slate of national ethics reform proposals.
We are told we hardly know him or his positions, but I knew more about Obama's aims a year ago then I know about Hillary's today. Barack's hour-long speeches have long been available online, ranging on issues from energy independence to foreign policy, to reinvestment in American infrastructure and human capital issues. This was before I discovered the various videos and podcasts on his own website, his best selling books or the articles he's published. I don't believe I've ever seen an hour-long speech Hillary has made on any issue.
Also known for involvement in civil rights issues, I would credit Obama for emerging after 20 years in such a "radical" black church with a message of unity and brotherhood, without using race as any advantage. When this was used against him in cleverly-edited statements made by his pastor, I saw total availability as he sought to address the issue. His "crisis" management included writing an article for Huffington Post, an appearance on hostile Fox-TV and a 90 minute roundtable with dozens of newspaper reporters, grilling him on the Wright comments as well as his dealings with Tony Rezko, until there were no questions left. The Chicago Tribune the next day praised his new "standard for candor".
I am most hopeful that Obama will meaningfully tackle the issues of campaign finance reform that underlies many other problems in our society. It's only with the help of a record one million individual donors that Obama has been able to negotiate the highly flawed fundraising system to mount this winning campaign. With a record low in average donation amount as well, Obama's record highest-ever contributions have only shined a light on the money sourcing of Hillary and McCain.
With many more big, corporate donors and PACs, SIGs and bundled donations, it is truly the togetherness of the American people that is prevailing in beating back the corporatist political candidates - so far.
Hillary, on the other hand, hasn't even made public her tax returns "because she's been busy". She denounced opponent Rick Lazio for dragging his feet on the exact same issue during her last campaign. But Mr. Lazio wasn't hiding the rumored tens of millions from oil sheiks and data-mining corporations. We'll see what happens when she decides to share.
As Senator Patrick Leahy recently offered, Hillary has the right to prolong this, but as a seasoned politician, she should know the outcome. Only when she is mathematically eliminated and fails to persuade a majority of superdelegates might she acknowledge the voters in the Democratic party have spoken.
Meanwhile, Hillary's people are carefully targeting the demographics that could give her a win, even accepting that she is a polarizing figure. Obama is preaching a message of inclusion, reaching out to find the common ground that can galvanize us as a people.
I acknowledge Obama's mistakes, misjudgments, distortions and imperfections. I could choose harsher words for these - distortions, evasions, some even say lies. There was a time when I supported Bill Clinton despite his lying because I felt the Earned Income Tax credit was more important then his perverted peccadillos, but his pardons proved to be the most obscene act of all.
So I can very easily support Obama when I weigh everything - to me he's better then the other choices by far, especially because he's already proven because he can unite voters of different political stripes.
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