The Stamp is on My Ballot Envelope

I just voted in the California primary. Or rather, I will have voted as soon as I put the envelope into a mailbox in a couple of hours. I drew a blue ball-point line connecting the front half of an arrow to the back half. And that arrow was pointing at the name “Barack Obama.” I got to vote for him because I'm a dual citizen of the US and Canada.

Last night I watched the Iowa caucuses on TV until CNN’s election central handed over to Larry King, who was going to keep the excitement going by interviewing Mike Huckabee and some of the others – but not Obama. I’d have stayed up all night, had more of Obama been promised.

This is the first time in ages that I’ve felt delighted about voting for a US presidential candidate. This guy is inspiring. I would have been satisfied to vote for Edwards, if Obama hadn’t been on the ballot. Or Kucinich, if he had stood any chance of winning. (I hate to waste my vote on futile gestures.)

But Hillary? No way! Even if she wins the nomination, I don’t think I can bring myself to vote for her — though I won’t promise not to until I know who the Republican nominee will be. It’s nothing personal, you understand. It’s just her politics I can’t stand. I can’t excuse her voting for the Iraq War, and voting to continue funding it whenever the chance arose. She waits to see which way the wind is blowing before taking a stand. That’s politics for you, I guess — at least it’s the kind of experience in politics that she boasts of having. And that is exactly what I want changed.

Last night after the outcomes had been announced, each prominent candidate made a speech. Of them, only Obama mentioned nuclear weapons. As they campaigned, a few of the candidates have, when questioned, stated their intention of getting rid of nuclear weapons. Edwards did, for example. Obama has done so all along. But Hillary doesn’t promise any such thing. Maybe she'd make some reductions, but there’s no promise to eliminate them, since that would give others a chance to match the US arsenals. On another occasion, a peacenik woman asked whether she would ever use nukes and she said she would keep all options available.

Well, in that case, she won’t get my vote.

Obama’s speech was moving and convincing. He made several important promises, including this one, which impressed me. As president, instead of telling you what you want to hear, he will tell you what you need to know. Imagine that!