This primary season has been a great success

[Onlooker]

To those who complain or hint that Obama only won (or, technically, is likely to win) the nomination because of the caucuses, well, that's the idea of caucuses. It has allowed new blood to soar to the top of the Democratic Party and, in doing so, has infused the Party with thousands of new volunteers and new voters. It has given the Party the backbone of a political movement in the tens of thousands of people who actively back and believe in Obama. It has made the Democratic Party more modern, more daring, and more dynamic.

To those who complain that Obama's victory leaves the Democratic Party with a weaker candidate, that is not the point. Even if Obama is weaker than Clinton, it only means we will have to work harder to get him elected. He is the greatest orator of this era, and he, more than anyone since JFK, can speak in way that educates people and challenges people to think differently about the issues. If we wanted the "strongest" candidate, then maybe we should not have had elections, but have had a polling firm analyze the issues, the American public, and John McCain, and made a calculation based on that. One things for sure, the strongest candidate would not be a black man or a woman. We may not have the strongest candidate, but we have the best one.

To those who believe that an Obama candidacy will lead to serious splits in the Party, then we have to accept that the last vestiges of racism (which apparently played a role in West Virginia) will soon be out of the Party, and we will have to work very hard to retain the support of the many progressives, feminists, and others who backed Clinton. Most of us understand that Obama will have to reach out to a far broader audience than he did in the primaries. He will have his work cut out for him finding constituencies to compensate for the loss of bigots, but every election has problems of this nature.

To those who actually believe that the Obama campaign has been especially dishonest or disingeuous in the way it's campaigned, that is not relevant. The goal of campaign is to win, because only by winning can you pursue the ideals you espouse. In each stage of a campaign you have to put together a winning coalition and a winning strategy. The bottom line is you have to get elected. The Obama campaign has shown it has brilliant strategists who know how to use the strengths of their candidate to overcome tremendous odds.

While the primary season may not necessary choose a candidate who captures the views and values of all Democrats, it has chosen someone with terrific leadership skills, an inspired group of supporters, and a vision that is well in line with what most of think is Democratic. It has chosen someone who has infused the Democratic Party with the sort of energy and promise we haven't seen in nearly 50 years.

[nomaco-10]

1. Good post. But, since it is a thoughtful and insightful ....

look into the winding down of the primary process, sprinkled with with hints of unity, it will sink like a rock to the bottom of the page in no time at all.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I read it and enjoyed it very much.

[mmonk]

2. At our 4th Congressional Democratic Convention (NC) yesterday,

great news for democrats. We have the most registered democrats in a very long time and while our registrations are up sharply, it is matched with a sharpening decline in registered republican voters. We now have competitive democrats locally in districts we haven't had in decades.