My Heart Belongs to Barry

I would be for Hillary, if she weren't a Clinton. I know that seems like an impossible notion, but she has everything that it takes to be a terrific president. She's intelligent (I'm talkin' crazy genius smart) with her wonkish, photographic memory of foreign policy to-dos and health care and education mandates. As a senator, she has been able to reach across the aisle to effectively work with her Republican colleagues, yes, the very same ones who were part of the vast right wing conspiracy, bound and determined to water board her husband's brilliant political career.
I'm not saying that the Clintons aren't capable politicians. They both are. They're a dream team of brains, charisma and bare knuckles know-how. It's just that when you have a Clinton in the public eye, dysfunction and poor impulse control are sure to follow. Let me count the ways. Paula Jones. Gennifer Flowers. Monica Lewinsky. Health care. Travelgate. Whitewater. Cattle futures. The Marc Rich pardon. The Lincoln bedroom. I'm sure I am forgetting many of the scandals and faux pas of the Clinton era. And, yes, there were people out there--Richard Scaife, the far right wing heir to the Mellon fortune, for one--who threw millions behind slam dunking our boy Bill. But somehow, in South Carolina, when Bill Clinton referred to Obama as a niche candidate, comparing him to Jesse Jackson, there seemed to be a visible push back by the American public that invariably said, "Enough!" Somehow, all the problems of the Clinton presidency came rushing back into our collective memories. The wind from Hillary's win in New Hampshire was sucked out of her sails. And along came the wind of change, a need to turn the page, somebody who could get people, both young and old, excited and engaged in American politics once again.
The nay-sayers say that Obama is all hat and no cattle, that he is unproven, untested, that Hillary will be ready to run the country on Day One.
But I was shocked and delighted when I read in the New York Times on February 17th that Mark McKinnon, the Bush media person who has similarly helped John McCain's campaign, said that he would step aside from his duties if Obama became the Democratic nominee because he "likes Mr. Obama and what he's doing for the country."
Now, if Hillary is the nominee, bet your sweet bippy that McKinnon and his cohorts will be sharpening their knives and throwing into our faces every misstep the Clintons ever made. Do we need that kind of negative dialogue, all that bad karma, back into the political arena after we have suffered eight years of Bush's disastrous domestic and foreign policies? I say no. We all need to move on. You go, Barack...