Editorial

Barack vs. Hillary

By Jenny Junipurr

Barack Obama is a great orator.
This is the heart of why I support him more than I do Hillary.
Hillary is a lawmaker, and that's great, but the president doesn't make the laws. S/He can influence the lawmakers (aka Congress), and s/he can veto the stuff s/he doesn't like (as long as Congress doesn't agree enough to turn that veto on its head), but, except in Times Of Extremity, s/he doesn't get to make the laws (and even then, s/he is closely scrutinized, generally.)

People forget that all too often; this is why who you choose as your Representatives and Senators is just as important as who you choose as your President. The President is also heavily responsible for foreign affairs. Bush was a nightmare in large part because of this. Either Hillary or Barack will do much to mend the damage Bush has done. The other most powerful part of the presidency is the placement of judges onto the Supreme Court. Any liberal will do there, for those of us of a liberal bent, anyway.

The main role of the president is visibility and morale. S/He speaks (whether we like it or not) for the people. S/He speaks TO the people, interprets all that is going on and sums it up for the people. S/He influences, through this oratory, the mood of the people. This is why people loved the Kennedy brothers, why Roosevelt was elected again and again (arguably)...because these people could tell us what we needed to hear, could tell the world what it needed to hear, could be convincingly strong and respectable and good.

So, all other things being roughly equal, as they basically are, what matters is who is the greater orator, who can move and inspire the people, who can, with words and conviction, sway people to agreement or at least respect.
In this area, Barack wins hands down. And that's why I hope, with all my heart, that he wins the nomination.
Because only someone who can truly inspire even the disenchanted and disenfranchised is going to be a true catalyst for change.