Hillary fading and the Obama mob

The closer Obama comes to winning then nomination the more my conflict about this race roils me. I have been a Hillary Clinton supporter for years. I, like many others, thought she would surely be the nominee. She is the most qualified candidate. That fact can hardly be argued. It rarely is argued. Nevertheless, the fact is her time may not be now, or ever. As Obama rumbles through the rest of the February primaries all of us Clinton supporters have to come to grips with a choice.
Contrary, to Mr. Obama's confident (over confident?) statements that he would get all Clinton's support should he be the nominee I know no committed Clintonites that feel good about switching to him in the general. I'll grant you that amounts to ten people, all friends and family. So it isn't much. Of those I know 5 that state flat out now they won't vote Obama in the general election. 2 who say they would have to, given the choices we will be left with. I don't know what I'll do. Contrary to the popular meme - I CAN see a way for McCain to end the war and can easily see Obama's lack of experience prolonging it. I CAN see McCain ending the Bush cabals ghastly use of torture (and they are using torture).
That's it for the pros in the McCain column. Any Democrat would be better on every other issue. But Obama, with ample time and opportunity, has not earned my vote. Even when I earnestly ask for reasons from his supporters WHY should I vote for this man - I have yet to get a solid answer. Hopes. Dreams. Projections. Those are the answers. (That and a wild right wing misreading of Bill Clinton's time in office).
Hope and dreams are the bread and butter of American politics. I fully embrace the energies fueling Obama's rise. But the energies are not - as far as I can see - based in reality. This is not to say that all Obama voters thus far are fantasizing. Clearly they are not. They see in this man a potentially greater future that the grim profit driven darkness Bush has cloaked us in. The hope of Obama is fueled by the contempt many good Americans have for what Bush has done to us. And the damage of the Bush years to the American body politic is severe and deeper than most of us know. Can any of the Obama supporters state why they think he can repair this damage? Do any of the allegedly progressive Obama supporters understand or care about how imbedded he is in policies they find retrogressive?
The evidence suggests the Obamamania sweeping the land is a fad. As with all fads quality is not relevant. Mr. Obama may be a man of deep integrity (though evidence gone unreported by the media suggests otherwise) - but who knows. I am not even sure I fault him for this. If I wanted to be President and was winning over voters left and right by saying nothing, but saying it well - I would not suddenly START to replace form with content just to prove a point either.

Finally, two other things bother me. The speed of his ascent and the strident glee of his ardent fans. It is not too much to require of our candidates that they prove themselves by doing some heavy lifting. As Dan Ranger said weeks ago about Obama: He's been anointed, not elected. JFK and Ike were war heroes, FDR a governor. Lincoln? Well, if you think the country is about to be torn asunder by a civil war - then, sure, use Abe as your antecedent for Obama. Lincoln unified the country, too, in a manner of speaking.

His fervent supporters do not encourage me in his direction. Krugman used the phrase "cult of personality" in the NYT today and I see no reason to find fault with this. I have been yelled at, dismissed, and told I was stupid not to support him. Anecdotally, I know of other Clinton voters who have confronted the same fate recently. I would call his people a "happy mob" - but a mob nonetheless.
Can he right this ship should he become the nominee? Can he take the energies his campaign has unleashed and direct them back to earth? Maybe. I don't see any particular reason why not. He certainly has the political chops. If he does, count me in. Politics is the art of the possible. As the NYT stated when they endorsed Clinton - the potential for a great Obama administration is real.
But my queasiness persists. Why hasn't he seized his moment to demand universal healthcare? Or put forth a real plan to withdrawal our troops in his first term? Or insisted his judges will uphold Roe v Wade? Or struck a blow for the rights of Gays and Lesbians? In fact, as a progressive, I can say that he has not come down unequivocally on any major issue that I care about. Presidents who make me feel good do not necessarily make me proud. In her "crying" moment in New Hampshire a while back Clinton made a statement that no one seemed to notice. She said she was running because she "sees what's coming". Dig just below the surface of the reports on the financial meltdown or world oil production and anyone can SEE WHAT'S COMING. But Does Senator Obama? Do his voters understand the rough waters ahead? What will they do when they find out that the cake and ice cream party of American life has been called off forever by the financial hurricane coming on shore as I write?

If Obama becomes the nominee I can say now he probably has my vote. But only because the other guy's values are clearly not my own.