Can we be the tolerant party again? Or do we prefer to be Toast?

Let's face the truth.  It is much easier for me, an Obama supporter, to want to join with my fellow democrats this morning and let bygones be bygones.  However, my bias stated, I believe Clinton people also want to join together, so I offer my hand in friendship and unity.  I won't gloat and you have the right to be disappointed.  Hillary's campaign was powerful, if not powerful enough.

Any realist knows the math demonstrates Obama is the nominee and if Hillary loves this country as much as I believe she does, she needs to let her Ego go.  I am sorry she was described as 'toast' this morning, but even though she is a formidable candidate and may have been the first great female president, she has now lost.  Sometimes the referees need to kick the losers out of the ring before they hurt themselves further.

Democrats need to get serious and join as one if we intend to take our country back.  That is the only way we can effectively move forward, which the world wants and needs us to do.  I tend to think the November election is perhaps the most important in my lifetime.  A democratic win in November is crucial, so we have to be smart and stop shooting ourselves in the foot. 

Obama has been attacked both from within and without, and he has shown his stuff.  Yes he is charming, charismatic, witty and half-black, as he is also half-white, strong, tolerant, inventive and a leader with the fortitude and intellect necessary for these trying times.  Truthfully?  If he were purple or four foot eleven I wouldn't care.  He can bring people together and for the common good.  Americans can remain independent and individualized, but we must repair our society.  I am not responding to his rhetoric, I am responding to my own beliefs.  We need to bring our country back to its great beginnings where it is one for all and all for one, no matter how modest or vulnerable that one is.

Barack may ambitiously want to be president, but our country needs what he brings to the table a heck of a lot more than he needs us.  Common sense coupled with intellect, compassion, understanding, kindness, strength and character are about the best combination you could find in a president.  He's the real deal and thank God he is patriotic and wants to put up with all the crap a candidate must endure.  I could never have tolerated the personal attacks... which I would appreciate you remembering, by the way, if you comment on this article. 

The moans of those claiming Obama could not win have been debunked, even though some blue collar workers, old white women and voter-lights have been more comfortable with Hillary Clinton.   Hey, I respect their right to have wanted Hillary to be president.  I liked the policies of Dennis Kucinich - particularly getting out of Iraq and the impeachment of Bush/Cheney - but I didn't think he had the leadership qualities required to take this country forward.  Many of you may have felt Hillary was a better November candidate.  Again, I respect your opinion, even if I politely disagree.

Sadly, great people may not make great presidents. Heck, some great people even make lousy husbands, wives, fathers and mothers.  If my vote is going to make a difference, which I still believe it does, I have to be realistic and tolerant of others but I also hope to convince you to think this way too.

Prior to this primary campaign I didn't like Hillary, but I would have voted for her in the general election were she the nominee.  Why?  Because I would not have wanted McCain for too many reasons to discuss here other than to say, more of the same.  I also believe she would have done most of the things that would have mattered to me personally as a patriotic American.  The Iraq War vote, however, was a big concern.

I would now ask her supporters to hold their noses if they must, but please come over to our side.  I confess to having been so pro-Obama that I have been obnoxious and undoubtedly annoyed some of my Hillary-supporting friends and perhaps many of you as well.  It was certainly awkward for anyone who disagreed to hear me rant and rave, for which I now apologize.  Not the ranting, of course, just the fact that I was obviously a tiresome bore.  

I do respect others' right to vote for their candidate, I only hope Clinton-ites won't become McCain supporters by default, without giving Obama a closer look.  Remember, it is now a fact that Hillary cannot win the nomination unless there is some super-delegate shake-up against popular vote or Barack is run over by a truck, neither of which I expect to happen.  Nobody else does either, so we have to move forward.  Gratefully I will thank Hillary. She should remain a national voice. 

Now for congrats where they are due.  Hillary was the first viable female presidential candidate, and little girls across the country can now realistically hope to become president too.  It is no longer a question of if it could happen, but when it will happen.  That is a triumph of its own, Hillary.  I thank you and the 21st century thanks you.

However, not only do we have international problems accentuated by global terrorism, but our economy is in shambles.  For the majority of people this may become one of the worst economic periods since the depression.  Sadly, our societal infrastructure cannot be the safety net it was in the past as families are segregated geographically and fractured in ways that are not easily remedied.  If something isn't done to help many people now and others soon-to-be on hard times, more children will forfeit medical care and even more of them will go to bed hungry.  The reality of hunger here is a national disgrace as every democrat knows, so I will move on.

The world has been waiting for America to grow up since these last eight years have imprisoned us in a regressive, Republican-dominated semi-McCarthyism.  We've learned to point fingers anonymously, suspect others by even mild association, judge others guilty until proven innocent, tolerate torture, think we are have-nots if somebody else has, and legitimize the loss of habeus corpus as we turn angrily against each other. 

It may feel awkward at first, but we can make the decision to reach out to try to improve the common good.  Humans may be warring tribal people, but if one believes we have the ability to evolve into higher beings, it is time to let those ugly behaviors fade and die.  An old Chinese proverb cautions if you are seeking revenge, dig two graves.  One for your enemy and the second for yourself.

It is my hope that my fellow Democrats will be able to return to more thoughtful domestic and international approaches that will park the warrior and utilize our entire arsenal of better skills.  Hopefully these will include a new emphasis on compassion and diplomacy, both of which have been lost-in-translation in the Bush administration's quagmire of failures and failed policies. 

Our militarized  manner of solving problems throughout our country's history can no longer be the first option we try.  The proliferation of nuclear technology has changed the game plan and requires that cooler minds be allowed to dominate the Oval Office in the future.  The problems we face internationally have been grossly exascerbated by the Bush Bunglers and Exploiters in a frenzy of Global Carpet Bagging.  We will be paying for these sins for decades as evidenced by our annual national deficit and increasing international debt, not to mention the loss of trust and destruction of our reputation throughout the world.  America is seen as a greedy, hypocritical warmonger, intent on gobbling up any of the world's resources that we do not already hoggishly consume.

It makes me weep to think that other peoples are afraid of America, but as even I am afraid of America under this administration, who can reassure them?  George Bush's automatic shoot-em-up, Texas-style reflex has failed miserably along with its horrid exportation of jobs, profits and growing global militarization.  These mis-guided policies are the most aggregious threats to our borders since Pearl Harbor.  Not only have we antagonized our non-allies but our allies as well.  All of Europe is holding its breath to see if we do elect Senator Obama. 

This militarization is evidenced not just in Iraq and other hot spots, but in this administration's attempts to convince Mexico to use their military to do the police work needed against the drug trade.  Throwing money across the border for arms since the Reagan days has been deemed simpler than dealing with the source of demand, our homegrown addicts.   (Ed H. of Gather has a Drug Chronicles article published this week about how we are offering a half billion dollars to Mexico in military aid, while we continue to criminalize our sick and weak.  In his article the Mexican intellectuals' and politicians' present opposing reactions and thoughtful concerns about our strong-arming.  Whether you agree or not, it will present a completely different viewpoint you will not find anywhere officially.)

How can financing the weapons industry be a better solution to drug addiction than setting up treatment centers and other medical facilities addicts need?  One must ask how smart a policy it is to arm another nation that could one day turn those same weapons on us.  If we can ever learn from history, perhaps we should review the chapter about how our government supplied military aid to Saddam Hussein shortly before he invaded his neighbors, poisoned and gased competing ethnic groups and murdered and imprisoned so many Iraqi civilians.

Every Narc knows drug demand and the lure of huge profits continue to fuel that industry and cause an ever-increasing burden on our society.  Any lay person familiar with addiction issues also knows there is a more humane approach.  Addicts need medical intervention and help, not jail time.  Dealers are another story, but the real demand is from those who have fallen victim to addiction.  Resources can be better spent on solving that problem rather than punishment after the fact.

Democrats and other thoughtful people recognize taking away our rights does nothing to assure 'homeland' or global security.  We cannot  live in fear terrorized by the future or haunted by the past.  Before we continue our empire-building, the nation building needed is here at home.  How many bridges, runways, highways, school systems,medical delivery systems, reservoirs, train tracks and other parts of critical infrastructure have been allowed to deteriorate while our soldiers and financial treasure are uselessly squandered abroad. 

Had 1.2 trillion dollars been directed toward all types of alternative energy technologies, there would have been no incentive for the Bush/Cheney team to go to war against Iraq.  Ooops.  I forgot.  We are not supposed to now say we went there to steal their oil, even if it turns out that was the Bush administration's secret plan all along.  Shame on us for allowing the saber rattling to set fire to an entire region.  Some of us knew better, but nobody listened because we were too afraid to risk once Colin Powell lied through his teeth in front of the United Nations. 

Our trust has been sorely abused, but like an old dog I am coming back, tail wagging, limping to the campaign office, all the while hoping Obama will be the one who will keep his word.  I don't expect him to be perfect; I do expect him to keep his administration's policies transparent and to tell us the damn truth.

To accomplish anything at all we need to stop bickering and pleasuring ourselves when one democratic candidate bleeds or winces because of wounds inflicted by the other.  We must join hands, rise above our pettiness, and move forward like the amazing group of involved and invested voters we have become.  There is a lot more Americans have in common with each other than not.  I thank Barack Obama for reminding us of that, among many other things.  We are one people and we can have one mind.

In the meantime, I choose to believe  Americans will do the right thing.  Democrats, Republicans, Greens and Independents can all support Obama.  In November we may not need to reach across the aisle because there may not be one.  I'll give a little if you will.  Honestly, I've been married somehow for 31 years so I know it is possible for extremely stubborn, opinionated people to get along and have a great life.

My hopeful post may be considered foolish by some,  but I have faith in my neighbors, my countrymen and myself.   It can and will be a better world in January because you and I care and we are willing to sacrifice for the common good.  Why?  Because the majority of Americans are great people with hearts the size of Wisconsin. 

Welcome back, neighbor.

God Bless America!