It occurred to me today that Obama supporters are in a unique situation. They are supporting a candidate who promises to change the tone in Washington. He promises to bridge the partisan divide. Presumably, they support him because of this view, rather than in spite of it.
If he and his followers are to accomplish this goal of increased civility (which I heartily support) they'll have to prove they don't hate people that disagree with them on policy matters. After all, hating someone isn't a great way to build bridges. Some of Obama's most vocal supporters in the blogosphere are going to have a hard time convincing me they've jumped that hurdle.
It was a good reminder for me that I can't get so blinded by Obama's poor choices and policy positions that I start to consider him "the enemy." If he wins the election, I'll support him as the president. I hope that those on the left will extend the same courtesy to Senator McCain.
8 comments:
I don't support Senator McCain, and should he get elected, I admit that he'll have a harder time getting my support as President than Senator Obama would, because he'll be starting so far away from my values and ideals. However, he'll certainly be able to count on civility in political discourse. I like to think that's one of the distinguishing characteristics of my side.
I'd like to think there is civility on my side too, but conservatives keep proving me wrong. On the liberal side of the spectrum, Daily Kos and Democratic Underground haven't made us too proud either. They don't just disagree with President Bush, but they seem to viscerally hate him. It makes dialogue impossible.
I hope Obama can inspire some on the left to rise up out and be better than they've been before. If he can do that, then he will have won, even if he loses the election. Maybe it will rub off on those on the right, too
Obama's rhetoric is one of his greatest strengths, and its ability to get people to the polls with be key in November. It will be interesting to see if he can back up the words with action once the campaign gets tough.
Um ... is there any candidate in this race that is not "the enemy"?
Reach, I'm not sure I follow your argument. Are you saying that you don't support any candidate and that they are all thus "the enemy", or is there some other point that I'm totally missing.
I guess I'm not much enchanted with any presidential candidate at the moment.
I completely agree, Reach Upward, I'm am...um, less-than-enchanted with our options this election season. The best that I can say is that I feel like I can at least respect both candidates for being as moral as you can expect a politician to be. (Is that damning with faint praise?)
I've decided I can vote for McCain with a clear conscience and even hope that he wins. But there is absolutely NO enthusiasm in my soul.
I'm actually not sure how I will vote in November's presidential election. I have no problem with voting for a third party candidate that can't win because I know that my one vote will not matter much one way or the other here in Utah. Unless something cataclysmic occurs, McCain will receive all of Utah's electoral votes regardless of how I vote.
So I've shopped the third parties, thinking that I can at least make a statement. I don't expect to find a candidate with whom I completely agree. But I'm not finding anyone that I really want to vote for.
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