Well, back to one of things I blog passionately about ....Politics :)
After an arduous seventeen months, the democratic race culminated in a historic win for Barack Obama. Being the undergdog going into the race, Barack Obama outlasted one of the best political machines to ever - the clintons. As I watched the headlines with intrigue, ruminating about the possible political fallout for India , I was indeed taken aback to see that Hillary had still not conceded.
Well, for months now, people except ardent Hillary supporters knew that the writing was on the wall and Hillary's fate - all but sealed. But however, Obama had been a true gentleman by not askinig her to quit the race even after the democratic top brass was clamouring for Hillary to quit and back Obama for the sake of party unity. But however, Hillary showed signs of delusion by saying that she was still very much in the race, the exact same moment Barack Obama was giving his victory speech. I, for one was flabbergasted to see that the lady whom I had respected once, would stop at nothing to grasp power.
Here of some of the reasons why Hillary lost. To start off, it would be an understatement to say that she was complacent. She never expected Obama to pose a serious challenge and was found wanting in that respect. Secondly, she went after Obama with vitriolic attacks which Obama never resorted to. Thridly, she came a cropper in one of the major issues which turned the 'educated' vote in Barack's favor. Hillary copied a 'gas tax holiday' idea from John McCain (the republican candidate) and dished it out to the people thinking they would buy the idea. But however, on reading the fine print, it became evident that the idea was counter-produtive and would result in gas prices skyrocketing. Obama was the only candidate who spoke out against the gas tax holiday and therefore won over hordes of educated voters. Hillary on the other hand refused to accept lack of proper judgement on her part and continued to pedal the gas bill which left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. While Obama time and again made it a point to stress that he wasnt a perfect man, Hillary gave the impression of a headstrong woman who could never accept her mistakes and learn from them.
Now here is where the title of my post comes in. Because of this long drawn battle between Obama and Hillary, the party is totally divided right down the middle. Hillary commands a huge lead over Obama with woman voters (especially women over 50 years of age) and blue collared voters. But here is where delusional turns to sheer madness. Most of Hillary's female supporters threaten to vote for McCain since Hillary lost to Obama. Some of the claims made are,
"People conspired against Hillary"
"Obama stole the nomination"
"People are sexist...they can never tolerate a woman being in charge"
None of the above charges hold water because , Obama won fair and square. He ran a clean race, did not resort to slander and came across as more human than Hillary.
Abortion rights is a raging issue in the USA. The issue is about whether a woman has the right to seek abortion or not. While the democrats say that women should have the right to seek abortion (pro-choice) , the republicans say that even the embryo should have the status of a human being (pro-life).
Most of the women in USA are pro-choice. McCain is totally pro-life. So here is a jist of what these women stand to lose if they vote for McCain.
1) They stand to lose their abortion rights.
McCain , as president will pass laws that ensure that women will not have the right to choose.
2) McCain will ensure that the war in Iraq rages on for a hundred years thereby sending the economy down the drain. As I write, the DOW Jones is down by 400 points and unemployment is at its highest level.
3) Gas prices are skyrocketing and very soon, people will have to employ bullock carts
But inspite of a myriad of factors, these womn stand firm by their decision to vote for McCain.
Why ???
- because Hillary did not win.
Well, one thing is for sure. This is not going to affect Obama or Hillary in any way. Both of them will just return to the senate and continue their plum jobs. But however, it is these very women who will be sitting around the table at night wondering whether they can pay the mortgage or fill their fuel tanks for the next week.
Can they think rationally and not vote out of spite ? It remains to be seen
Most women here are indeed
