An Obama Supporter Who Might Vote for McCain

Let me preface this by saying that I am an ardent supporter of Senator Barack Obama. I have made hundreds of calls on his behalf, helped people to register to vote, wrote dozens of letters to newspapers, and raised money for his campaign. I was not always a supporter of Obama. I am one of the many that converted from Senator Hillary Clinton's camp. I was once one of her biggest supporters, but her actions and those of her surrogates have turned me off her. If she wins the nomination, I will be voting for Senator John McCain.

Don't get me wrong. I am a card-toting Democrat. I have stood by many nominees that I had to grit my teeth to cast a vote for. My jaw still aches from the ballot I cast in favor of John Kerry. It is not that I particularly care for McCain. I don't like his politics. I dislike what Clinton has become lately more than I dislike his politics. I cannot see myself casting a vote for her under any circumstances. These are just some of my reasons:

1. Clinton has done little or nothing about the derogatory comments made by people that are connected to her campaign. Whether it is her husband, former President Bill Clinton, or political strategist James Carville, she has stood idly by while they make offensive remarks. Not only are their remarks offensive, they diminish the image that she has tried to build for herself. In my opinion, she no longer looks like a strong political force, but a person is incapable of even reigning in renegades in her campaign.

2. Clinton has yet to prove what diplomatic experience she has. An account that she made about a 1996 trip to Bosnia proved to be false. That puts into doubt anything else that she claims as examples of her diplomacy tactics. The only thing she has produced so far are glorified photo ops.

3. Clinton's decision to run a negative campaign is what ultimately turned me off from her. She was the doting mother hen when she was leading the race. Now that she is behind in the delegate count, she has turned vicious. She has staged more public temper tantrums than my toddler. Her behavior brings into question how she will interact with the other leaders of other countries. Will she stomp her feet, cross her arms, and spew ugly words at the president of Russia if he doesn't want to play in the sandbox with her?

4. Clinton's claims of transparency are completely false. I have listened to her hem and haw her way through interview after interview when asked about simple issues. She has yet to release her tax returns even after Obama released his. She dragged her feet so long about releasing her schedule during the time she was first lady, I forgot that she was even asked for them. Her lack of transparency is frightening. What is she hiding? Any backroom negotiations that may be revealed in her income tax returns?

5. I still haven't figured out how eight years in the White House translates into executive experience. Based on her claim to "experience," Laura Bush should be ready to go in 2012. Perhaps Nancy Reagan would consider a run in the next election.

6. Clinton's record as a senator is not as glorious as she wants others to believe. Promises that she made were not fulfilled. I know that is typical of most politicians, but she continues to distort her senatorial record even when there is evidence to the contrary.

Clinton represents the same old politics to me. Her ideas are borrowed and sound the same as any other politician who is trying to be elected. Her campaign has made Karl Rove's tactics seem kindergarten. That is why, as a lifelong Democrat, I will be voting Republican (grimace) if she gets the nomination for our party.