This morning I figured out who will get my vote in the February 5 primary. I realized there was a variable I hadn’t considered – which party will likely control Congress next year and how Congress will relate to the President.
If we were likely to have a Republican-controlled Congress next year, my choice would be Hillary Clinton. She has the most experience building compromise and working with members of the other party, and her closest advisor, Bill Clinton, is a master of compromise. With a Republican Congress, I believe Hillary would be the most likely to get things done.
However, I believe that what this country really needs is massive change – change in the way we relate to each other as citizens, change in the way the U.S. relates to other nations as a member of the world community, change in the way we relate to our environment. The candidate who I see as best embodying the kind of massive change I’m talking about is Barack Obama. With a Democratic-controlled Congress, he would be able to use the Presidency as a bully pulpit and push his programs through.
According to projections, the Democrats will not only maintain control of both houses after the fall election, but may in fact be able to hit a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate.
Therefore my choice in the February 5 primary is Barack Obama. I could be quite happy with either Clinton or Edwards as President, but I believe Obama is best equipped to bring about change, not only in laws and policies but in the way we see ourselves as Americans.