If Bush is a Chimp, Hillary's Human, but Obama is "Brilliant" (A "Don't Turn Back" Followup)

I still have so much respect for Hillary. And for my own peace of mind, I have to give her the benefit of the doubt. Like wives of powerful men everywhere I figure it to be so much torture to be that close to power, yet see it just out of reach. And Hillary supporters must see her like a big mama, there to rescue everyone in the sandbox from Baby Bush and the Obama bullies. I can't help but see a generation gap in all this.

Obama supporters like Obama for a number of reasons, no reason outstripping the validity of the other. But where generational thinking is concerned I see self-assured, self-reliant Latchkey-kid-mentality with Obama. He talks to everyone as if they are the adults. He's not calling for mama or papa to come. He'll talk all the kids into believing in their own ability to redeem themselves. It's the difference between appealing to our greatest potential and preying on our worst fears. And the latter we've had long enough.

In another time Hillary would have been the perfect president. Say what you will; even Michael Moore at one point had to give credit in SiCKO when he reminded us that Hillary did try like no other to bring about universal healthcare. She is an extraordinary figure in our collective history. And I cannot imagine what it is like to be in the position she is in, to be caught between doing the right thing and having all her decisions held to some feminine gender standard. Being soft on war, bowing out of the race, even owning up to mistakes—these are all things good girls do and not an exalted CIC. And to constantly try to balance that with being likable and gracious is a schizophrenic thing to do. It all presents her as a largely insecure person, not sure of who she is. And as human as it all is, it also means she's not ready to be president.

Yes, at another time Hillary would have been the perfect leader, when the size of your schoolyard weight was how well you could diss and bag on the other—The "Ooo she told you" juice she had on the boys' turf was awe inspiring. Or if this were not the era of youtube, Hillary would have been our girl. (Even four years ago, the ability to send a video clip around the globe catching you in a "misspeak" or advertising your less known, more charismatic opponent did not exist.) But our expectations are greater now. Our sense of what's possible expanded.

It has to be if we are to look in the face of the doom-and-gloom we have been promised is coming and imagine a future beyond it. Because if we cannot imagine that future, we all might as well just drink the kool-aid. Ludicrous that it sounds, it is no more so than the "realists" are beginning to sound to me. Your-housing-economic-environmental-medical-terror-nightmare-is-coming-and-you-can't-do-a-thing-about-it-so-vote-for-me logic is over...

No, with each passing day I am becoming more and more convinced that everything that has happened has been for the good of this moment, that every lie and betrayal a growing pain so-to-speak, to rattle us out of a life of complacent mediocracy.

Would an Obama be without a Bush?

Would an Obama be without a Clinton?

There comes a time when hitting rock bottom is seen as a turning point. So that it's possible to say I needed that floor to fly. I thank Bush for being that floor. I thank Hillary for just walking on it.