Obama

If I were asked to vote for president this very minute, I'd probably throw my support behind Barak Obama. It is of course early, but at this juncture I'm going to back the Democratic front runner. I cannot envision the nightmare that would evolve under the current roster of Republican prospects; my limited imaginative abilities weren't able to conceive the horror of Bush II, but I'm sure it will only get worse.

Arianna Huffington posts on her blog that the Reverend Al Sharpton is being particularly hard on Barak Obama. She posits that it may be out of jealousy or as some sort of fraternal hazing. She is missing the glaring point and perhaps the brilliance of an emerging Democratic strategy. If the Democrats are critical of their candidates, they control the criticism. Since Ronald Reagan -- at least -- the Republicans have controlled the political discourse in this country. The brilliance of Clinton I was that he was able to meet the enemy on their own field of battle and beat them at their own game. Clinton II has not mastered that game, and it's a little too late for her to learn on the job. I'm more convinced that in the absence of term limits, Clinton's value is to continue to groom herself to assume Kennedy's mantle when he retires.

Obama, however, is very wisely having political allies asking the difficult questions. It's a very sophisticated version of what Bush has done his entire political life with his town meetings. But Huffington's questions are rather dismissive of the political value of Al Sharpton. I thank God for Al Sharpton. The man has very limited potential for elected political office, but I think the next president absolutely must include Mr. Sharpton on his/her cabinet. America needs such intelligent, plain-spoken citizens advising our president.