By Scott Tibbs, May 28, 2008
As Barack Obama moves ever closer to being the Democratic Party's candidate for President, one gets the feeling that his chief rival feels she has a divine right to the Oval Office. I can picture Hillary Clinton ranting: "Who exactly is this rookie, just elected to the Senate four years ago who was a state legislator before that? What is his experience? How dare so many of my colleagues support him over me?"
This is evident once again in Geraldine Ferraro's recent claim that she is considering voting for John McCain in November if Obama does win the nomination. Ferraro hysterically accused Obama of running a "terribly sexist" campaign. Ferraro's evidence includes Obama and other Democrats "ganging up" on Clinton in a debate and his failure to denounce sexist taunts aimed at Clinton.
The first claim is simply stupid. The front runner is a target and will be attacked the most. Ferraro has been around Presidential politics for a long time and knows this to be the case. That Clinton was criticized was not sexist, but an acknowledgement of her status and strength. Second, it is not Obama's responsibility to chide some juvenile individual taunting Clinton with an "iron my shirt" message. That Ferraro expects the man to come riding in on a white horse to rescue a damsel in distress demonstrates that she can find sexism in the mirror.
If Obama leads the ticket for Democrats this fall, it will guarantee that we will have a President not named Clinton or Bush for the first time in twenty years. Obama's nomination would most likely end Clinton's hopes of becoming President. If Obama defeats McCain, I cannot imagine Clinton running in 2016, when she will be 69 years old. Clinton's last shot at the Oval Office would be challenging an incumbent McCain in 2012, which may be why her supporters are openly talking about voting for McCain in November. If she (like many Democrats) truly believes that McCain would be an extension of the "disastrous" policies of the Bush Administration, why would she do that? The answer is simple: selfishness and arrogance.
I am not a fan of Barack Obama. I will not vote for him, and I will be criticizing him more in the months to come. But there is no doubt in my mind that Obama's nomination would be a good thing for this country, if for no other reason than it keeps Clinton away from the White House. Obama should resist calls for a "unity ticket", leaving the divisive, dishonest and corrupt legacy of the Clinton Administration on the trash heap of history.
