Getting close to Feb. 5 and still undecided

[Thirtieschild]

I had decided to vote for Obama, not because I liked him best but because I disliked him least; however, this whole Hillary-Obama debacle has turned me off. I've never liked HRC and can't really say why, and I've distrusted Edwards since he claimed last time around that he beat Clark in New Hampshire and Oklahoma. I'd like to hear from others who are also undecided - or who were but have made a choice. What choice and, most important, why?

[iconoclastic cat]

1. I agree. As of right now, I think I may not cast a vote for the presidential nominee.

I really can't stand the fact that they are attacking each other. Save it for the fucking Repubs! Sheesh.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. records show they tied...

when did he say that he beat him?

[Thirtieschild]

5. They didn't tie

The vote in both states was close but in each case Clark won. My sister even called the State of Oklahoma to verify that Clark won - needed verification because Edwards was claiming a tie. I still have a Clark folder and I'll look there for the particulars. In the meantime, I'd like a good reason to vote for Edwards. In spite of my previous animosity - make that distrust - I'm beginning to think he's the best of the lot. Never, never thought I'd say that or lean in his direction.

[murielm99]

3. If you remain undecided, please go to the polls

and take a ballot anyway. There are probably some important people running locally and downticket that need your support. There are in my area. (Not least of which, is that I am on it, again, running for precinct committeeman).

I have been undecided for a long time, too. It is even worse for me, because I know all the county and area-wide people who are campaign chairman for the various candidates. Some of them went to Iowa to work for their candidates. I have spoken to these people and met the candidates.

Now, I think I will vote for Clinton. The whole debacle turned me off, too. And, as an active Illinois Democrat, I have seen some things here that would be better explained face-to-face, but they have turned me off Obama, too.

Clinton has a great voting record. She has earned respect in the Senate for her willingness to work there. And she has survived all the years of the VRW hate machine, and is still standing. Unelectable? BS. Wait until the real smear machine gears up against her or Obama. We haven't seen anything yet.

[Thirtieschild]

6. I'll definitely go to the polls, but ....

I was so passionate in 2004 - I've been voting since 1956 and for the first time in my life I had a hero. Clark. And this year--sigh. It looks like it's going to be Clinton but....

[murielm99]

10. I don't believe in heroes.

I lived through the sixties and saw us lose our heroes to assassination. While I hate all the vicious criticism I see on DU of Boomers like me, I think that was our mistake. We invested too much in heroes. We became lost when they were lost.

Yes, there are heroic people who rise to leadership positions. But unless they are mere figureheads, they do the work and invest the time to get where they are. They need people around them who are willing to do the work and make the sacrifices. They need people who can pick up where they left off if it becomes necessary. We need more teamwork if we are going to succeed. That is why I am involved in grassroots politics. Someone has to do the work so the best choices, heroic or flawed, can move forward. We will have perfect candidates when we are perfect.

[readmoreoften]

4. My history and where I landed...

I began as a weak Obama supporter, but when he began to scold Democrats for not handling religious voters with kid gloves (my paraphrase) he plummeted to below all candidates except Clinton. I was an avowed Clinton opponent and distrusted her immensely. I even voted against her in my local primary. Kucinich became my top candidate, Dodd/Biden/Richardson/Edwards were tied and Obama and Clinton were last (in that order.)

I had been distrustful of Edwards on his previous votes, but when I finally realized that his campaign was one consistent message, he began to rise in my estimation. The message resonated with me. Although I was (and still am) uncertain as to whether he fully believes it, I began to take the position that his position now is so resoundingly clear that voters would have something to hold him to. He is not asking for me to trust his judgement blindly. He is asking me to vote for a particular mandate. If, as president, he violates his campaign rhetoric, I will be able to denounce him as a fraud. But how would I know if Hillary is working out? "Things" will feel "better"? How would I know if Obama is working out? I'll feel significantly "hopeful"?

After McClurkin, Obama fell below even Hillary in my estimation. Since I learned that he supports the doctrine of American expansion and military intervention, a larger military for "battling terrorism", and since key neoconservatives (Kagan and Kristol) are excited by his candidacy (I believe genuinely excited--I've seen no convincing evidence that they have anything but good reason to be excited) it is most likely that I will not vote for Obama at all. I'm not entirely clear what he stands for (per his voting record, his associations, and his rhetoric) and it seems that he may be the 'liberal' end of the neoconservative/neoliberal spectrum. I fear that this is the 'bipartisanship' of which he speaks. This is the kind of 'new' I have no interest in. I'll take the 'old' mediocre candidate in whom I have no faith (Clinton) over the new upstart whose most salient characteristics are his religiosity, his distain for the left, a vague voting record full of holes, no apologies or explanations for his inconsistencies, and a shallow rhetoric that both dumbs down the debate and preys on people's desperation. I started with Obama as my choice and now I am fairly certain that he is the one Democrat for whom I will not vote-- the one I trust the least.

I'm in the Edwards camp now. Warts and all.

[Thirtieschild]

7. I may land in the same place.

I'll have to hold my nose to do it, but if the sniping continues I don't think there's much choice.

[Mz Pip]

8. Still undecided here.

It's between Clinton and Obama. I have never voted for someone in the primaries who has gone on to win the nomination so I don't have a good track record of picking winners.

I watched Hillary on Meet the Press and came away feeling better about her than I did before. Then I logged onto DU and it was some kind of Hillary hatefest. I wondered if I'd watched the same show. :shrug:

I have reasons for liking both of them and reasons for not liking either of them of them. I'll watch the debates tonight but I expect to be on the fence until I fill out my absentee ballot.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Thirtieschild]

9. The one time I voted for the eventual winner was Carter

Of course, we lived in Georgia then. Wish Richardson was still in the race.