Garling Gauge

Bill Clinton Seeds Doubt in Barack Obama

Clinton: I waited, Obama should too

Discussing the 2008 presidential election with Charlie Rose, former president Bill Clinton articulated his views on senatorial whippersnapper Barack Obama while touting his wife’s candidacy. Clinton compared his own timing for a presidential run with Obama’s, suggesting the fresh-faced senator is too green to be president.

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Bill Clinton on Barack Obama

Clinton may be right about Obama. While nominating the first woman or black candidate is historical and exciting in its ramifications, given the last six years of Republican leadership, the current array of ignorant Republican presidential candidates and the expected replacement of Supreme Justices by the next president, electing a Democrat in the White House has become imperative.

That begins with the nominating process, and we need to choose a winner.

Even with Sen. Hillary Clinton’s endorsement by the Des Moines Register, she still has a ceiling on her popularity, is incredibly divisive, could rally Republican opposition and has the extra hurdle of breaking ground as the first woman president.

Obama’s youth (compared to the other candidates, not, for example, JFK), his inexperience, and his race all present glaring opportunities of attack from a strong Republican nominee. Just look at Harold Ford’s failed Tennessee Senate run against Caucasian Bob Corker, who used what many have called a racist ad against young Ford.

Thought America was beyond such low levels of scum campaigning? Not the Republicans.

Even with these front runner weaknesses clearly the Democratic presidential field has pizazz.

A new CNN poll shows former Senator John Edwards bests all the Republican front runners, most likely due to name recognition from the 2004 election and his populist message.

Sen. Joe Biden is the shadow candidate in Iowa who clearly has the best foreign policy experience (Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called him before President Bush when declaring Marshal Law: who else can boast that type of leverage?), and his plan for Iraq has basically been backed by the known universe. If you want a strong Democrat in the general election, this guy’s got weight.

Gov. Bill Richardson’s ‘no residual troops in Iraq’ message has earned him support in the early States as well, but his debate performances have been lackluster, his answers meandering and sometimes questionable. He also has a penchant for making lists for each answer by counting on his fingers which is quite distracting, though perhaps it’s just me. But he’s certainly got the presidential resume’.

Chris Dodd… There’s nothing wrong with Chris Dodd. Everything he suggests would improve America and he always has a polished, well thought out answer to each question. He would be a wonderful president. He just seems to be missing a sparkle the other candidates have; like a beautiful poem verbalized in monotone, his message isn’t sinking in.

While Dennis Kucinich could potentially do more to improve our civilization than any other candidate, people just don’t take him seriously. Perhaps it is the shape of his ears or his far-left leanings. He’s got the fire in the belly and is right on the issues, but his cry just seems to be in the wrong key to resonate.

Mike Gravel has been a godsend this campaign cycle. With strange videos that touch the latent artist in all of us, his Young Men and Women video remains the one of most powerful this election cycle. However, with his guest appearance as Santa Claus on Red State Update, it should be apparent now to even his most blind supporters that even he has given up.

So is the former president correct in suggesting Obama would be a risk? Perhaps, but Obama certainly is connecting with the residents of Iowa.

Even so, with a strong field of Democratic presidential hopefuls, the party shouldn’t get carried away with itself. Democrats would be wise to focus their energies on the clear winners: Joe Biden or John Edwards.

We’ve lost enough elections. All the candidates will make you proud. Vote for a winner.