When Good Friends Argue about Politics

Whitney M. Duck

With almost a week gone since Senator Clinton suspended her campaign and threw her support to Senator Obama, many of my friends are still throwing barbs at each other about the Democratic primary race. Some of the comments are not pretty and are downright mean. My friends, the primary season is over and now we must drive forward to victory in November.

Talking or arguing over politics is a very, very old sport. Generally the sides are fairly dug in and rebuke any negative thrown at them. For the Democrats and the Democratic Party, this past primary season has been very difficult. The original field of 7 to 8 slowly got weeded down to 3 and then to 2. Opinions ranged from high to low and everyone had a favorite. There seemed like there was very little wiggle room for change. Little did I know that towards the end, arguing would turn to name calling and closed minds. It sure has changed to be a Democrat!

In my group of 10 to 12 friends, most are heavy duty Obama supporters. It is about a 9 to 2, or a 9 to 3 Obama - Clinton split. I am the terrible waffling vote because I just had so many questions about all three Presidential candidates that I could not make up my mind! My friends who are Clinton supporters are not giving in just yet. They are the disenchanted women voters. These voters feel that Clinton was treated unfairly in the press and that she is the stronger candidate. My other friends are the Obama voters. They are the change seekers and have fallen for the Obama persona. They see hope and grace with Obama. If you ask me, both sides are correct!

During the primary, Senator Clinton was not the darling of the media and frankly she did not want it that way. Somehow this does not give the press and TV "talking head" shows consent to go full out mean either! The name calling and reading of Senator Clinton’s mind 24/7 made me cringe! Doing most of the barb throwing were men. Oh, there were a few women out there throwing their own form of nastiness, but many women in primary states did not like this endless name calling.

Obama also had his slip ups and was dissected at times by the press. Obama has two positives that run in his favor, he is still a relatively unknown and he does not have a former President as a spouse. The political right could keep reliving the Clinton presidency everyday and have something to complain about. Obama still has an air of innocence about him that the press and political foes have not destroyed yet.

This is a wonderful time to be a political junkie! I have never been impressed by the Republican side and their candidates. Maybe this year, the Republicans will change things up a bit and seek a new message. I am looking forward to learning and understanding the views of Obama. I can only hope that he will go outside of the DC area for advice and help. My friends and I will still argue and challenge each other until the last day. I love it!!! You never know what you will learn about yourself and those running!