Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Hillary vs. Barack
The Wisconsin Edition

Well, Wisconsin held its primary today. I was almost the 500th person to vote at my polling place, which would have been around 12:30. Not too shabby! So, who did I end up voting for? Well...

So, as I mentioned previously, last week I went to the Barack Obama rally at the Kohl Center. I was really feeling pretty strong about Obama. BUT...yesterday Sarah and I went to the Hillary Clinton rally at Monona Terrace. Much different. There were about 17,000 people at the Obama rally. There were about 4,000 at the Clinton rally (but it was held in a much smaller venue, so it was still packed). Obama's rally was full of excitement and "glitz". While there was definitely cheering at the Clinton rally, it was a bit more subdued (in my mind). However, after leaving the Clinton rally, Sarah and I both discovered that we really appreciated it. Comparing her rally to Obama's, hers was MUCH more informative. It made me feel much more comfortable about her as a president.

I don't think that Obama ever discussed his actual policies at his rally. He just talked about "hope" and "change." The more I thought about it, the more that really bothered me. Not that I have a problem with hope or change, mind you, but it all just seems so...I don't even know. Grandiose. In an annoying way. Too general. I mean, the whole Obama appeal is....well, appealing...but is it realistic? He's one dude. Can he really change Washington? I somehow doubt it. Not that he doesn't have other things going for him, but he doesn't do a good job of touting those other things. Hillary did a great job of talking about things that were important to her (other than nebulous terms like 'hope'). It made me realize how her campaign is much more geared at her actual political stances, which I really appreciate. So, basically, she was a good enough speaker to change my mind to lean in her direction. Plus, I completely ODed on Obama TV ads. Seriously. Obviously he outspent Hillary in Wisconsin. And Hillary did a much better job with the local radio station interview with Connie and Fish (on Z104!). Which was surprising to me. Obama sounded...awkward. Hillary was both funny and informative.

Earlier today I found myself leaning a bit towards Barack again. I was literally standing in the voting booth with my pen poised, not sure who to vote for. I just decided to go with my gut, and voted for...Huckabee. Hahahaha!!! Ok, kidding. No, I ended up voting for Hillary. But I'm fine with them both, really.

Apparently, Wisconsin has already been called for Obama (which I knew would happen). Right now, it's 55% Obama and 44% Hillary. I'm not sure what percent of votes are in, because the site I'm looking at doesn't state that. I'd be interested to see the various city breakdowns (like Madison and Milwaukee and smaller cities). And, thank God, McCain is beating Huckabee.

So. That's that. Surprised? Not surprised? Thoughts? Feelings? Dreams? Aspirations?

1 Comments:

At 2/20/2008 11:51 AM, Blogger Candy said...

I agree with you that Hillary seems to have her policies much more fleshed out. One day I sat down and read this table online comparing her ideas to Obama's in regards to a number of environmental issues. When it's all in black and white, they are extremely similar, except that she's a bit more specific and has more stringent goals than he does. It tempted me to vote for her, too. But then, I wonder if it is all that important to have everything nailed down ahead of time. The president is only one person. I want my president to bounce ideas off other people once they get into office. Obama said something once in an interview I watched about not wanting to surround himself with "yes men" and I thought it was a good perspective to have. We don't need another president busting in telling people he (or she) is the "decider" again...

I guess it all comes back to me thinking having a polished Washington insider isn't what I want.

Sorry I'm so rambly in all these responses...

Oh, and by the way, Liz, if you're reading this, I'm sure you know enough about what's happening to weigh in. Really...so much of it is what you intuit about a candidate. It's all opinion, really. And as long as you're not an idiot yelling things like, "Obama? al-Quada!", I appreciate hearing other people's perspective.

 

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