Election time

I haven't made up my mind on who I am voting for in the Democratic primary yet. Years ago, I had a dream of Hillary running, but when I saw Obama speak at the Democratic Convention in the last election, I was amazed by his poise and grace. Now, here we are - I think the dems have an "embarrassment of riches." I would be perfectly happy with either person as our President. I am also continually excited by the fact that the two leading contenders in the Democratic party are a woman and a black man. Fantastic.

With that being said, I did contribute to Obama's campaign back in like October or November last year. I also signed up for the NCforObama listserv to keep an eye on what was going on in our state. Sometimes, I regret the latter. The bad thing (and also the great) thing about Obama's campaign is how grassroots it has been run. Individual groups work on their own to go door to door, post signs, etc. It is really getting people motivated. But the problem is, you get a lot of people in there who can also do damage. Sure, this is a problem in any political campaign, but I just want to describe my personal experience with this.

So, I get e-mails once or twice daily on the listserv that describes different meet up groups, postering, call banking, events, etc. It is great to see what people are doing. But then you get folks sending out their predictions on what the opposition's campaign will do next and how "we shouldn't stand for this" or blah blah blah. Today, this was the first sentence in one of the e-mails:

As far as I can tell, there seems to be a very high likelihood that the Clinton campaign will drop some kind of "Obama Hates America" smear between the next debate and the PA primary.

You have to be kidding me. Give Hillary some credit. You really think she would pull a swiftboat and say "Obama Hates America"? Hillary knows that Obama is real competition and has the respect and admiration of as many people in the United States as she does. If she calls him un-American or an America-hater, she ostracizes a huge chunk of the American populous. I am no political strategist, but I can pretty much guarantee that calling Obama a "hater of America" is not high on the list of strategies for the Clinton campaign.

This isn't the first e-mail I have received off the listserv I've rolled my eyes at. I think this one was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I replied back - to the whole listserv - and said that asinine comments like that do sway people in their thoughts about an Obama administration. I have no idea where my vote is going at this moment, and if I keep getting e-mails that are rash, not thought out and just silly, I step one more foot away from an Obama vote.

I am sure the people who replied back to me with a passion for patriotism and the hope for a brighter future think I am full of crap. But I felt it was necessary to at least remind people that what they send out, other people read. Their words reflect on a larger segment of society, and people need to be more responsible with their words. Even if not part of the "official" campaign, the face of those posting on these lists can and has affected a voter. If you asked me today, Hillary has my vote. That may change tomorrow, but my interaction with Obama supporters has turned me off enough that I don't see him in the light I used to anymore. And no, these people I have heard from do not stand for EVERYONE, but it's the whole butterfly effect thing. One person can affect one vote.

Just my 2 cents. ::steps off soapbox::

PS - I also know I am WAY too thin skinned for politics or even political debate. I take things to personally. So, if you flame me in my comments section, I will delete you, FYI :-)