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Clinton best pick Tuesday
I have not been especially taken with any of the candidates of either party but they are all we have to pick from. I am anxious to find a replacement for George W. Bush so we can send him packing to Crawford, Texas for good. I have waffled and changed horses several times in the past few months but I am coming back to the candidate I favored initially- Democrat Hillary Clinton. I am convinced she can do the best job of leading our nation for the next four, perhaps eight, years. Yes, she is a woman and yes she is the wife of former President Bill Clinton. Some say those definitions are liabilities. I have no problem with a woman being president and I think Bill Clinton did a good job when he was president - we weren't trying to fight half the world and the economy was in good shape. Hillary has done a good job as U.S. senator from New York since 2000 and her work has proven she is not the flaming far-left liberal she is often painted. Further, her political experience goes back 30 years through two presidential terms as First Lady to Arkansas where Bill Clinton was first attorney general and then governor. She could not have lived with him all those years and not learned something of the political world- or maybe she taught him! She is her own person too and has shown through the debates that she has a wide grasp of the issues- from domestic matters to foreign policy. Even her critics acknowledge her intellect. Two friends opposed to her surprisingly commented that her intelligence is what scares them. If it comes down to it, I'd rather have someone with intelligence in the White House than someone with little or none. Another friend, a female officeholder herself, confided that she just didn't think a woman should be president because of decisions that might have to be made in times of crisis or war. I do not doubt that Hillary Clinton is tough enough to make the hard decisions. I don't agree with her on every issue and my biggest criticism has been the fact that if she is elected we may have 24 straight years of a Bush-Clinton presidency. I don't like the idea of family dynasties in this country. But after weighing the other Democrats, I'll have to chance it. Barack Obama has won over a lot of folks with his charisma and his talk of change for the nation. We will and should elect a black president one day and Obama may be the person but right now he doesn't have enough experience. He served a short time in the Illinois Legislature before being elected to the U.S. Senate and he hasn't even completed a full six-year term there. He needs to season a little more. I like John Edwards. He champions war on poverty and speaks for the middle class with a masterful oratory that comes from his successful career as a trial lawyer. But he, too, has limited experience, serving one term in the U.S. Senate before being Al Gore's vice president running mate in 2004. I'm voting for Hillary Tuesday and I hope I get a chance to vote for her again in November. McCain best on GOP ballot If you must vote Republican, I'd recommend John McCain. The U.S. senator from Arizona was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. We don't agree with him on many of the issues but he has shown a willingness to reach out to Americans at all levels and not just to limited constituencies like many of his GOP opponents are doing. His ideas of open government are refreshing, given the current GOP administration.
Jim Cox is editor and publisher of The Clarke County Democrat.
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