The Un-niceness of Presidential Politics

In the beginning Hillary and Barack were playing nice. Then it started to get nasty. It became a black candidate running against a white candidate. Race against race. Then gender against gender. But that soon settled down. And the election got back on track. It became more issue based. Jobs,health care amongst some of the issues and the biggy The WAR. I have been watching both Senators very closely. And I won't be ashamed even as a journalist in writing this I am for Senator Clinton. And just to prove that I also want this election to be issued steered. I am an African-American. I am an independent. A former democrat and at times voting in my local elections for some republican candidates not playing partisan politics if I agreed and saw eye to eye with the candidate. But on the record I am an indie free at least in my state able to vote for a GOP or DEM candidate. Currently, I am all the way in support of Senator Clinton. Historically being a former veteran. A member of the American Legion. And having some conservative opinions. I probably should be voting for Senator McCain. Who I have immense respect and admiration for. But that is where my allegiance and commitment ends. I did my time for my country too. I served in West Germany in 1984 some of the worst terrorist bombings. Let me recount Berlin Disco bombing and lives were lost. I could have been killed. Bombings were so rampant by the Red Brigades. Army General Dozier was kidnapped by the Red Brigades while I was in Germany. A GI was killed just out partying and he was ambushed in an alley his throat was cut and his ID card was taken. You could die and lose your life. Though Germany in 1984 was not Vietnam (like the tragedy of Senator McCain in the infamous Vietnam death camp in which the naval officer survived as a Prisoner of War) we were fighting terrorism and terrorist even before September 11th and the start of the war on the terrorism in the middle east and before the Iraq war that is taking a horrible and terrible on our country in loss of life. I say all that to say I gladly defended my country especially in Germany and then I even took a two week trip to Spain when I was former Special Operations with the 919th SOG. I don't want the draft and hopefully this war will soon be over. But John McCain wants to supposedly keep our troops in Iraq for the next hundred years if it comes to that. I hope he's not serious but coming from a war hero I fear he is probably deathly serious. So even present and former veterans like me and black, white, Jewish,Gentile or what-have-you will stay focused and put Obama or Clinton in the whitehouse. Of course both are very tough people. Both are great Senators. But only one can win the nomination to face Senator McCain. Privately I want to see a Clinton and Obama ticket. I can only be hopefully optimistic on that thought. And John McCain can write another book and we can avoid another war which would probably be in Iran or somewhere else. Back to Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. Unfortunately as both Senators get closer and closer to a possible term in the oval office. The race will I prognosticate get even more "un-nice" but you can't always be nice. You don't want to hate your rival or cut to their soul. But you do want to be the person that will go to war with the support of your country, you do want the American people to have confidence in you and you do want to represent every American no matter the color, the financial status,social status,gender status and so on. I believe that person to our next President Hillary Rodham Clinton. But this is America not China and the choice is yours. No vote is a wasted vote.