I already did! Yay Super Tuesday! and go go go Obama!

hey - I subscribe to you blog, and yeah, I did see this. I thought it was pretty trite and also pretty musically weak. I wrote a bit more about this over on my blog, actually. Probably best to keep politics and knitting separate but I'm a New Yorker, so my primary is today, too, and I am SO tired of all the uninformed hype on both sides. I certainly get that people are excited about Obama because he's with sexy and he's a great speaker, but if you look you'll see that his voting record is similar to Hillary's on most points and he's certainly just as up to his eyeballs in questionable funding (see the recent New York Times piece on his ties to the nuclear power industry in Illinois, for example, or his sponsorship of the Coal to Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2007).

It is exciting, isn't it? I haven't been this optimistic since '92 (with good reason, I suppose). ;)

Oregon's primary is one of the last, which is funny, because I grew up in NH where we were the first.I'll definitely vote as soon as ours comes around. I'm definitely not firmly in one camp or another, but I'll tell you this, I know exactly which party I'm voting with and I sure wouldn't mind if the second place candidate (whoever it is) becomes the VP. :)

High school friend checking in--remember how excited we were about Clinton and how we wished we could vote for him when we were just 14? I think Obama is great and wish my primary wasn't in May. I can live vicariously through you guys, though.

No need to keep knitting and politics separate. I've always thought the personal and the political were pretty entwined and it's these types of connections that blogs are all about!

Also, Scarlett Johanson should probably stick to acting.

I have seen this video several times in the last few days and it is very inspiring ...sadly I can't vote (only being a registered alien person here in the US)...but I will be giving my support by wearing an Obama t-shirt!

Nice. Scarlett should probably stick to acting. She looks decidedly uncomfortable. It is nice that she made the effort and showed some support, though.

There are things to like and dislike about almost any candidate, but I agree that Obama, flawed or not, is inspiring. I'm sure Hilary would make a fine president as well, but my bet is on youth and enthusiasm this time around. Sometimes when people are young enough to not have been told a hundred times that they won't accomplish something they can manage what others thought was impossible. Obama believes that he can make great changes, but at the same time he is not such an egomaniac that he thinks he can do so alone, without solid counsel and the support of the people. I think that if enough of us can set aside our cynicism after this wreck of a presidency, belief may push us into a much better reality.

Well said Julia. . .

To the poster who got nasty: More than WHO to vote for. . . I think MH urged us to vote. period.

I too won't take it for granted. . .

I had seen this video, and was also moved and excited by it! I feel like, for the first time in YEARS, that I am voting my heart, and not just the lesser of two evils. The excitement and energy around Obama's campaign is inspiring.

I also think it's insulting to assume that if someone's excited about Obama, they couldn't possibly be familiar with him. Put your axe away, Carla, after all that grinding it should be plenty sharp by now. I realize hope is a strange and new emotion for Democrats after almost 8 years of Bush, Don't be so caught up in cynicism.

Hiya. Respectfully disagree with last few refutations of my comment.

Julia: I am not cynical. Not sure if you were talking about me, but other commenters seem to think that you were. Would a cynical person spend many hours going through voting records at Project Vote Smart in order to make an informed decision and to help others make informed decisions? I just want people to be more than inspired. I want them to be informed. And no one who has looked seriously at Obama's voting record or platform has any reason to be any more inspired by him than Hillary Clinton. What is potentially inspiring about Obama is who he is and how he speaks, not what he does. And that's not enough to vote on, in my opinion..

Kuma: if as you say the intention of the original post was was just to urge people to vote, there would not have been an attached music Obama music video. Anything posted on a blog is posted to invite observation and comment. There's nothing "nasty" about expressing a desire that people vote in an informed manner, just as there is nothing nasty about not liking a song. Nasty is personal attacks and baseless accusations, neither of which are in evidence in my original comment.

Jen: I don't assume that an inspired person is not an informed person, though I can see how you might have deduced that from my post. Still, I fail to see how anyone who has taken a look at Obama's voting record would find it any more inspiring than Clinton's. Additionally, I had many conversations with on the street Obama supporters in the days leading up to the New York primary, and not one of them could say anything about Obama's voting record and none of them were aware of his bad environmental policy record. Not a scientific survey, I grant you, but still, discouraging and telling.

cheers.

Well, Carla, I've looked at both Clinton's and Obama's records, and I'd say that NOT having voted for the Iraq War, NOT having voted for the Patriot Act, and NOT having blindly approved the cavalcade of scary Bush nominees for high office is pretty damned inspiring to me. Senator Clinton did all of those things and more during her precious four years' more experience than Senator Obama in elected national office. And don't tell me what a model citizen she's been. While Obama was out community organizing and being a civil rights lawyer, she was serving on the board of WalMart. Nice.

So hell yes I find that inspiring.

...I'm also inspired by the cold hard fact that a good 50% of the country hates her so much that her electability is near-nil, and by the fact that she consistently loses to McCain in polling match-ups. You must be some kind of McCain supporter if you want Hillary to get the nod. I'll take the guy who might not be perfect but who isn't covered with mud already, thanks.

Hi Retroknit -

Everything you say about Hillary and Obama is true (though Obama wasn't in the Senate when he opposed the Iraq war, which made a huge difference in his freedom to express his opposition), though everything I said about Obama in my original post is also true, and if at this point I had the sense that you were interested in learning or conversation, I could list many more "good" grassroots things that Hillary has done and many more "bad" corporate things that Obama has done. However, the passion you and others feel for Obama has made you direct a lot of very aggressive language in my direction, and I think it's best at this point if I just accept that you are not interested in any kind of conversation.

I am also happy to announce that I am not going to post any more on this topic, regardless of how many more angry Obama supporters decide to kick me around the comments. I will read any further comments with interest, but I am actually a good solid sensitive upper west side liberal and I can't take engaging with any more virtual yelling and baseless, nasty accusations and insinuations with regard to my character and intentions. It does actually hurt my feelings.

all best.

Oh good solid sensitive upper west side liberal,

QUOTE: "I thought it was pretty trite and also pretty musically weak. I wrote a bit more about this over on my blog, actually."

Your tone and spirit, were indeed quite "nasty" despite your comments saying otherwise. I know a thing or two about feelings because mine were stirred when I read your comments.

Your desire to show off your "awareness" of politics indicates much to me about your true intentions.

You were correct about one thing in particular: You are not the only one happy about your "announcement" that you are no longer posting any more on this topic. I too, am elated but I realize I am only a humble, north side, middle-of-the-liner from the mid-west. My thoughts may not count for much.

With all due respect. . .

Carla - When I said "if enough of us can set aside our cynicism" I was referring to myself, MH, and the friends of ours who comment here. I know we've been cynical. I wouldn't presume to speak for you, so please do not feel attacked by me. It was not my intention in posting - I only wished to share my own views. The egomaniac I was referring to was George Bush, just so that there is not any confusion over that. I don't know <i>him</i> personally, but I feel confident in that assessment and I'll stick to it. As I said above, I think both Hilary and Obama make fine candidates, and I will vote for either of them (or if we're lucky, both) against any Republican they put up. Not because they are Democrats (I'm Independent), but because they are both simply better people and more capable of leading than anyone I've seen on the other side. I used to think McCain had more potential than I think he does now, but that is a whole other can of worms...

I think that your initial post set off sparks for a few reasons. If you re-read it again you may see that it could be taken as a personal attack. After looking at your blog, I saw that "blind faith" is an issue that has clearly bothered you lately, and assessed that any venom in your words was probably about just that - blind faith and not MH. The problem is that this is a small blog with a tight community of commenters - it makes sense that people who know MH personally would be upset. If you know MH the way I do, you understand that she is both optimistic and informed, and to see her in any other way is just, well, wrong. As I said before, it seemed to me that you were more likely venting at an issue, rather than a person, but it also seems clear to me that your comments could be read either way. Please realize that the people who have responded negatively to you are only defending MH, and would not have responded to you so strongly if they believed that you were only expressing personal political views.

I think the information that you have to share both here and on your blog is important, and that there are things to learn about both candidates through reading what you've written. I just think that if your goal is really to get more information out there, it is probably a better idea to do it in a way that is more likely to be palatable. It is very hard to convey all the facets of our sentiments over the internet. When I want to be heard I try to speak as clearly and as impersonally as I can, in addition to speaking with strength. Whether it is wise or not, people are more likely to listen to someone who comes as a friend, rather than one perceived to be an attacker or an enemy (whatever the intent).

Best to you. I freaking pray that one of our candidates will make it this time. Otherwise, Canada, here I come!

Si se puede!!!! Here's my favorite Obama song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fd-MVU4vtU

sincerely, another knitter for obama