Letter 2 to Senator Clinton
clinton, Letter Series, obama 11:50 PM
Senator Clinton,
I saw you speak at FAU in Boca Raton last month, and I was moved. I'd vote for you all over again if I had the chance. You worked so hard for us 18 million and lots more without voices during the primaries, as you have for four decades (though you would want me to shout no way it's been that long). I know you continue to stand for us - the people - and we can tell that fighting for us is personal to you. Thank you for that.
I'm writing today because I'm deeply concerned. I try every time I see him, but I'm having a very very hard time getting behind Senator Obama. To be clear, I'm not a long time Clinton fan. I was 17 in the year 2000, raised in a Republican household just like you, and turned into a Democrat on my own. I'm now a 25 year old gay man living in South Florida, and and I'm deeply and personally concerned over the direction of our country.
I fell in love with your causes during the primaries as I saw you campaign across the great nation, and by Iowa I was hooked. It was crystal clear who the best president would have been, and I'm personally still hurt that we didn't succeed together in that mission. Though I wasn't able to travel from state to state, I was involved in talking to my family and friends around the country. I helped raise money for you and changed a few hearts and minds too. I urged people I'd barely met to go stand up and make a difference, and many of them did.
Now that the dust is settled, and we go full speed ahead to November, I'm still confused and I'm still hurting. The journey we went on together was deeply personal, but I'm not holding out due to bitterness or resent over defeat. I'm actually scared of the journey Senator Obama wants to take this nation on. There are many reasons I didn't get behind Obama in the primaries, and you know them well.
After hearing him speak across the country, I still feel like I don't know what to expect from the Senator. He says one thing about Middle Americans in Scranton and another in San Francisco. He campaigned against you on NAFTA, then crossed the border to Canada to assure them it was just rhetoric. He campaigned on the idea of public campaign finance, then backed out once he secured the nomination. At Saddleback Church, he described the question of 'life' as above his paygrade. My fear is that in trying to appease everyone, Senator Obama stands for no one. From his law school beginnings to his community organizing in Chicago, from his work in the state Senate to the US Senate, Barack Obama hasn't been standing up for ordinary Americans -he's been practicing running for president.
Finally, you continuously warn us against John McCain with the notion that he's a far worse alternative than Barack Obama, and you may have a point. In truth, on many of the issues that matter to us, you are more closely aligned with Obama by a lot. But that argument doesn't really resonate with me. The "he's not as bad as the other guy" argument doesn't send me running to my polling place to pull the lever. I need more.
As I said before, I'm deeply concerned over the direction of our great country, and I'm looking for an inspriational leader. I found one, but that journey ended in June. Though I'm terrified of another 4 or 8 years down the same road, I'm not exactly excited about being taken for a ride on the Obama bus either. The question for me as for many Americans is not about bringing change for he sake of change, but rather for making sure that we do things better than before. It's not about whether we can, but if we really will. I have my doubts.
Reluctantly yours,
Nicholas Stone
Voter, FL 20th
I saw you speak at FAU in Boca Raton last month, and I was moved. I'd vote for you all over again if I had the chance. You worked so hard for us 18 million and lots more without voices during the primaries, as you have for four decades (though you would want me to shout no way it's been that long). I know you continue to stand for us - the people - and we can tell that fighting for us is personal to you. Thank you for that.
I'm writing today because I'm deeply concerned. I try every time I see him, but I'm having a very very hard time getting behind Senator Obama. To be clear, I'm not a long time Clinton fan. I was 17 in the year 2000, raised in a Republican household just like you, and turned into a Democrat on my own. I'm now a 25 year old gay man living in South Florida, and and I'm deeply and personally concerned over the direction of our country.
I fell in love with your causes during the primaries as I saw you campaign across the great nation, and by Iowa I was hooked. It was crystal clear who the best president would have been, and I'm personally still hurt that we didn't succeed together in that mission. Though I wasn't able to travel from state to state, I was involved in talking to my family and friends around the country. I helped raise money for you and changed a few hearts and minds too. I urged people I'd barely met to go stand up and make a difference, and many of them did.
Now that the dust is settled, and we go full speed ahead to November, I'm still confused and I'm still hurting. The journey we went on together was deeply personal, but I'm not holding out due to bitterness or resent over defeat. I'm actually scared of the journey Senator Obama wants to take this nation on. There are many reasons I didn't get behind Obama in the primaries, and you know them well.
After hearing him speak across the country, I still feel like I don't know what to expect from the Senator. He says one thing about Middle Americans in Scranton and another in San Francisco. He campaigned against you on NAFTA, then crossed the border to Canada to assure them it was just rhetoric. He campaigned on the idea of public campaign finance, then backed out once he secured the nomination. At Saddleback Church, he described the question of 'life' as above his paygrade. My fear is that in trying to appease everyone, Senator Obama stands for no one. From his law school beginnings to his community organizing in Chicago, from his work in the state Senate to the US Senate, Barack Obama hasn't been standing up for ordinary Americans -he's been practicing running for president.
Finally, you continuously warn us against John McCain with the notion that he's a far worse alternative than Barack Obama, and you may have a point. In truth, on many of the issues that matter to us, you are more closely aligned with Obama by a lot. But that argument doesn't really resonate with me. The "he's not as bad as the other guy" argument doesn't send me running to my polling place to pull the lever. I need more.
As I said before, I'm deeply concerned over the direction of our great country, and I'm looking for an inspriational leader. I found one, but that journey ended in June. Though I'm terrified of another 4 or 8 years down the same road, I'm not exactly excited about being taken for a ride on the Obama bus either. The question for me as for many Americans is not about bringing change for he sake of change, but rather for making sure that we do things better than before. It's not about whether we can, but if we really will. I have my doubts.
Reluctantly yours,
Nicholas Stone
Voter, FL 20th
Posted by Nick Stone
on 11:50 PM.
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Posts
Clinton hasn't gone away anywhere. She's still a senator. A great senator. And if you want a presidency like the last that will veto anything she proposes or supports, then you go ahead and vote McCain.
Obama is far from my favorite, but that he is "ducking out" of debates and "asking for more votes" is irrelevant. A Democrat in Presidency will be responding to a Democratic constituency and respond to our needs. He will be appointing the right judge in the Supreme Court if God-forbid it's necessary. He will not be veto'ing bills supported by Democrats like Hillary Clinton.