I saw in the local newspaper yesterday that Obama will be making an appearance here on Saturday. This surprised me a little - we're not that big of a city, and our primary isn't for another 2 months. Contrary to all expectations a few months ago - Oregon's late primary might actually count for something - at least if you're a Democrat. (It'll still be pretty meaningless on the Republican side - but I will do my civic duty and vote anyway...)
And yes, I am a Republican. A disgruntled one to be sure; but a Republican nonetheless. (If a viable 3rd party ever arises, consisting of fiscally conservative pro-lifers who also care about the poor and favor sensible gun regulation and environmental protection, I'll be the first to join them...)
I've been watching the Obama-Clinton battle with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I can't help but hope that Clinton loses the primary, thus keeping the presidency definitely beyond her grasp (at least until 2012!) On the other hand, if Clinton wins the primary, I think she'll be much easier for McCain to beat - and so in that sense I should be rooting for her, right? (Such is the twisted logic of politics...)
Complicating all this is the fact that Obama is so darned likable. Not that I would actually vote for him - the man is so far to the left he makes Ted Kennedy look like Rush Limbaugh. And as inspiring as his speeches can be, when you get down to the nitty-gritty, his plan for "unifying" the country seems to be that those on the right (and religious conservatives in particular) need to ditch their convictions and get on board with his agenda. (That's supposed to be "Compromise"? Sounds more like "Surrender" to me...) But if he were elected, I at least wouldn't be lunging for the remote every time his face appeared on TV. (Although admittedly, that could change once the tax bills started rolling in!) All that to say, I still don't know what to make of the Democratic primary. I just know I'm planning on staying home Saturday morning - traffic is likely to be a bear.
