The real difference between Obama and Hillary

[George_Bonanza]

Obama looks at a dysfunctional society and tries to figure out a way to change it for the better. Meanwhile, Hillary tries to change herself to put herself in power in order to change aforementioned dysfunctional society for the better.

In the end, both candidates have good intentions, except one is willing to take the principled road while the other is willing to get dirty. I don't believe that Hillary is a racist, but I do believe that she's not above exploiting the pre-existing racial tensions in the country in order to get herself into power, presumably to implement policies to help eliminate the racism that got her elected in the first place. It's ultimately selfishness and a supreme belief in yourself that sees it fit to delay and maybe even scale back, great social progress for a little bit, because you believe the country needs you that badly. Hillary apparently believes she will be such a great president that she has the right to poison the racial well now, only to purify it later. The need for the President Hillary is so great that sacrifices have to be made, whether it is the legitimacy of the democratic process or the positivity of racial relations. It's not as if Hillary hates democracy or racial harmony, but if those have to be momentarily subverted in order to allow her to achieve her predetermined destiny, then so be it. Meanwhile, Obama stands there thinking that if he cannot win the right way, then it's not worth winning at all.

The victory of Obama over Hillary is one the great political narratives in history. Its message reverberates beyond mere politics, because at the heart of the race lies one of the most fundamental maxims that we continually preach but rarely believe: be true to yourself. Obama, way back in 2004, had a simple yet profound message, and he has never redefined himself as anything but the candidate (and candidacy) of hope, change, and cleanliness. We watched him in his darkest hour with the Reverend Wright issue, and he handled it with a level of honesty, humility, and complexity that is rarely seen in politics or any other arena of life. Meanwhile, we were forced to endure Hillary barter her principles for political ammunition as she attacked Obama with everything that could possibly be thrown at him, whether it was his race, religion, or even literary integrity (remember the plagiarism charge? lol).

It might be hard to believe now, given his imminent nomination as the Democratic nominee, but Obama was once an unknown neophyte, and it was the will of the people that brought him to the biggest political stage in the world. It was not because of PACs, or Washington connections. It was because of THE PEOPLE. And no matter how many times CNN or FOX or ABC tried to tear down the people's candidate with non-issues, Obama weathered it all because not only was his support 10 miles wide, it was also 10 leagues deep. And on May 6th, when it was clutch time, the people overwhelmingly rejected the politics of distraction, division, and amorality. Perhaps not since January 3rd in Iowa, when the good people of Iowa signaled to the country and the world that yes, they were white and yes, they still wanted to vote for a black president, was there a moment of political transcendence like May 6th.

Obama is who we want to be, and Hillary's who we think we have to be. This mindset has turned generations of us into collaborators, appeasers, dream-deferrers, and quite frankly, cowards. But the story of Barack Obama has given us hope, maybe just a little, that we can embody our finest principles and still emerge victorious in the end.

Thank you North Carolin and Indiana!