Monday, February 12, 2007
I'm with you, Roger Tilton of Nashua, New Hampshire. From the date she cast her vote I have been writing to my senator asking her to explain how someone from New York could have been so wrong. "If I knew then what we know today," isn't good enough-- what did you think you knew then, that the European Union and the UN and all those other people (including me) didn't think they knew?
Mr. Tilton asked her “right here, right now, once and for all, without nuance” to call her 2002 vote “a mistake.” “Until we hear you say that, we’re not going to hear all these other great things you’ve said,” Mr. Tilton said.
Faced with a choice between Senator Clinton and any of the Republicans out there, I will vote for Senator Clinton. Short of that, my first question of any Democrat running is going to be, where were you when the most important question of the last ten years came up? How did you vote when America's standing in the world was on the line? And if you got it wrong, why should we believe you'll have the courage to get it right next time?
I feel a little sad about this, actually. I want to like Hillary Clinton-- I like the idea of Hillary Clinton. But this was a simple call, I think. It shouldn't have been hard for a New York senator to have gotten this one right-- and yet, somehow, they both dropped the ball. Schumer gets a pass from me-- he's been there on judicial selection, and he remains the sole elected official I have ever voted for who promised to do something that would have a direct, positive effect on my life-- and then did it. Senator Clinton has really not distinguished herself in any way that benefits me. She has proved to be a capable player in the Senate, which is nice for her-- but what it means as a practical matter is that she has established that although she may be principled, she has the same backbone as John Kerry. Who needs that? What do your principles even mean when you lack the fiber to cast a simple vote?
Edwards, Richardson, Obama. Probably not in that order. Dodd, Biden, Clinton-- only if that's all that is between us and President McCain.
Mr. Tilton asked her “right here, right now, once and for all, without nuance” to call her 2002 vote “a mistake.” “Until we hear you say that, we’re not going to hear all these other great things you’ve said,” Mr. Tilton said.
Faced with a choice between Senator Clinton and any of the Republicans out there, I will vote for Senator Clinton. Short of that, my first question of any Democrat running is going to be, where were you when the most important question of the last ten years came up? How did you vote when America's standing in the world was on the line? And if you got it wrong, why should we believe you'll have the courage to get it right next time?
I feel a little sad about this, actually. I want to like Hillary Clinton-- I like the idea of Hillary Clinton. But this was a simple call, I think. It shouldn't have been hard for a New York senator to have gotten this one right-- and yet, somehow, they both dropped the ball. Schumer gets a pass from me-- he's been there on judicial selection, and he remains the sole elected official I have ever voted for who promised to do something that would have a direct, positive effect on my life-- and then did it. Senator Clinton has really not distinguished herself in any way that benefits me. She has proved to be a capable player in the Senate, which is nice for her-- but what it means as a practical matter is that she has established that although she may be principled, she has the same backbone as John Kerry. Who needs that? What do your principles even mean when you lack the fiber to cast a simple vote?
Edwards, Richardson, Obama. Probably not in that order. Dodd, Biden, Clinton-- only if that's all that is between us and President McCain.
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