A reader wrote a Letter to the Editor in response to the Boston Globe's endorsement of Senator Obama. In it, he claims that Hillary Clinton is more 'up to the task' of President of the United States. You can read the actual letter here:
http://tinyurl.com/2fulru/
The following, whether it ever sees print or not, is my response:
I write this in response to David Morwick's Letter to the Editor dated December 22, 2007, where he claims that Hillary Clinton is more 'up to task' than Barack Obama for President of the United States.
First of all, Senator Obama didn't 'walk' on the Kyl-Lieberman amendment. He was there for the scheduled vote, but left when Harry Reid stated there would be no vote in the near future. If anyone is to blame for Obama not being there for the vote, it is Harry Reid, who then called for a vote the very next day. Still, let it not be lost that Senator Obama was on record against it, and Hillary Clinton was glaringly and singularly wrong in her vote for it.
Secondly, visiting more than 80 countries does not make Hillary Clinton any more qualified to be president than it does Laura Bush or any other First Lady. Moreover, a future president who voted for the Iraq War Resolution and continued to support the occupation for years would hardly be in a position to restore our reputation globally, since it is that very war that helped destroy our reputation in the first place. If her speech in China was 'groundbreaking' in its recognition of human rights abuse, what adjective would you consider appropriate for the lack of recognition she showed of the genocide occurring in Rwanda?
Hillary Clinton's efforts to provide health care, one must remember, were an abysmal failure. Only in political 'silly season' double-speak does anyone point to such failures as a leadership quality.
Senator Obama DID face the political realities of standing up against a popular war when it was politically dangerous to do so -- in the midst of a fiercely contested campaign. Hillary Clinton took the politically expedient route while admitting to not even bothering to read the NIE. Senator Obama stood up with the truth. Not only did he make the right choice, but his superior judgment predicted the result with stunning accuracy. Attempts at historical revisionism fail miserably here.
The 'many years of experience' Hillary Clinton claims does not stand up to any kind of serious scrutiny. To hear the senator assert her years at the White House as foreign policy experience must make one wonder just what Madeleine Albright's role was. Or Bill Clinton's for that matter. Stand Senator Dodd or Senator Biden next to Senator Clinton and her proclamation of being the 'experience candidate' is so absurd, one must wonder how she wasn't shamed into political obscurity at the first utterance.
Yes, we are electing a president. In so doing, honesty, integrity, and credible experience should be taken into account. The Globe's endorsement of Barack Obama shows that they did the honest, comprehensive, and in-depth research of the qualities needed and came up with the right choice.
Voters who will have the grave responsibility of choosing a leader to restore this country after the damage inflicted upon it in the last seven years have a duty to do the same kind of honest research. Once one gets past the smoke-and-mirrors of campaign rhetoric, the stark reality of Obama's 11 years of substantial legislative accomplishment puts Hillary Clinton's vapid legislative record to shame. His consistently superior judgment and principled stand on issues contrasts her continually vague and/or ever-changing position on issues and consistently wrong judgment on the most important decisions a president will be faced with.
This is certainly no American Idol contest. It is perhaps one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. We have seen the dangers of falling for Karl Rove-style image manipulation. We are seeing the same kind of tactics employed by Mark Penn. Some apparently are falling for it again. Most of us, fortunately, are doing the fact checking demanded in such an historically vital election season, and know that Barack Obama's actual record of the past, and comprehensively detailed vision of the future, is exactly what is needed to face the challenges that lie ahead.
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