I supported Clinton for a long time, until she voted for the Kyl/Lieberman amendment. That was a horrible affront to her constituents in my opinion. The thing that bothers me the most about Clinton is that she does not ever adequately make up for her mistakes. I think that making mistakes is fine, but then you have to acknowledge them and attempt to rectify them in some way. I don’t see that with her. I see a strong, stubborn woman, which is admirable and I certainly think she is a good role model but I don’t know that obstinate is something we need to deal with for another 4 years.

Obama just doesn’t appear to me to have the experience needed for the job, I think that he would be an excellent vice president and in 4 or 8 years he would probably be first on my list. He’s smart and magnetic though so he could possibly fill the presidential shoes very well. He just comes across as a sullen little boy to me at times.

None of the three have stellar voting records although they are reasonably consistent and on areas where they have changed their minds and votes it is usually understandable and even commendable. I do not dislike any of them which makes this even harder. I think that whichever person becomes our nominee will do the Democratic party proud.

Starting tomorrow and beginning with the Iraq war, I am going to write in depth stories on the big issues we’re facing and how each of the three stand on them. This will be a daily feature, until I move onto something else.

As to Kucinich withdrawing, I am truly disappointed but I appreciate his voice and the way he never stops fighting for what he believes in. He may not be a future president but he has brought many liberal issues and ideas to the forefront.

Campaigning is reaching a fever pitch in most camps and the voter turnout expectation is growing. 130,000 Democratic voters are expected and 80,000 Republicans. Candidates have been mostly positive in their recent efforts at attracting voters, at least on the Democratic side. Republicans Romney and Huckabee are still going at it with Huckabee maintaining that he is not going to fire back at Romney’s critical ads, and then previewing a commercial in which he does just that. (He did tell reporters the commercial would not air in Iowa.)

Democratic voters have reported receiving phone calls from “pollsters” in which certain candidates were painted in a not so nice light. Hillary would cost the Democrats the election in November if she won the nom, Edwards plan for Iraq would be disastrous, and Obama would deny health insurance to millions of Americans. There were even calls reminding voters of the very important Orange Bowl that was airing on Thursday. So far no one has claimed responsibility for these calls.

My favorite candidate, Kucinich, has urged his supporters to throw their votes toward Obama if he does not meet the cutoff point for voting in the caucuses. The reason behind the support of Obama? His message of change. Obama has shown an amazing ability to garner new supporters from groups that traditionally do not have a high voter turnout. He is a charismatic speaker but his idealism and naivety make him hard for me to support.

William is an ardent supporter of Clinton, and there are times that I agree with him. She has come out strong in the past few days pounding her message home that she alone has the experience needed to start off right as President, she would move decisively on the issues that matter most to Americans, such as her incredibly good health care plan, and she really does come across as a nominee who really cares. To combat this, Obama had a former Clinton supporter introduce him at an event, stating that the “positive” tone of Obama’s campaign is what drew him in.

Personally, I haven’t found Obama’s campaign to be positive overall. In almost every debate and speaking engagement there is a point in which it feels that he is campaigning solely around the fact that he has always been against the Iraq War and Hillary wasn’t. Now, I find it refreshing that there are candidates who have always had better sense than to support this illegal war, however; being against something in the beginning and having a good plan to end it now are two very different things. I have not always agreed with the way that Clinton has handled the fact that she did vote for military action in Iraq, I felt strongly that she should have apologized. I also stopped supporting her when she voted for the Kyl/Lieberman amendment.

Every time something bad happens in the Middle East (which is quite a bit it seems) Obama finds a way to blame it on Hillary’s vote for force. It is very important to keep in mind the context in which Congress voted for the use of force in Iraq. It was at a time when the majority of their constituents supported the proposal, America was grieving, the president was enjoying high approval ratings, and not many people thought that our administration would outright lie to us. The job of a Senator is to represent their constituency, something that she did to the best of her ability at the time and a majority of Congress did as well.

I feel strongly that Obama would be best served by showing us that he in fact has the experience, diplomacy, and fortitude to be our next president. I am not convinced that he has any of those things at this point and I am not one who is convinced merely by rhetoric.

So how is Edwards dealing with his third place position? By a drastic new plan to end the US occupation of Iraq of course! In an interview yesterday Edwards called for the withdrawal of almost all US troops, including those training the Iraqi military and police, within 10 months. This has been a topic in which Edwards’ view has evolved over time, much like the rest of America. He also voted for the use of force, later apologized for it, recommended a gradual reduction of troops over time, and now, citing the failure of the Iraqi government over the last four years, wants to pull virtually every US troops. He would make allowances for 3,500-5,000 troops to protect the US Embassy and possibly some humanitarian workers. (( Edwards Calls For Pullout of Troops Training Iraqis ~ MSN ))

Democrats Joseph Biden and Chris Dodd have already mentioned dropping out of the race if they do not garner enough support in Iowa, which would narrow this bitterly contested playing field in time for the New Hampshire Primary.

I am excited to see that the political process is generating so much enthusiasm and involvement this time around. There isn’t a single Democratic candidate that I believe could not be a good President. I do support Kucinich above them all but I could feel comfortable voting for any of them in the November election. Stay tuned for our continued coverage of the Iowa caucuses and the ongoing election process and let us know your thoughts.

~ Summer ~ WWJV4.com

I wrote a story here about my quandary. I wanted to support Kucinich I was just too afraid that even if he won the nomination he would not win the presidency. I felt as though he was too left to win a popular vote and that the danger that posed, i.e. another Republican president, was too great to risk.

I received some scathing emails, some comments that I had let my idealism die and I was a sell out. At the time, just 3 weeks ago, I felt entirely justified with my position, there was just too much at stake to support a candidate who could not win the White House.

Now I realize that I was wrong. In fact, I was the embodiment of a self fulfilling prophecy. I’ve been struggling to come to terms with my evolving opinion and have decided to pull my support from the local Clinton campaign and turn it to Kucinich. I saw a video on You Tube today that sealed the deal for me. It was Dennis Kucinich’s “hot wife” talking about the issue of unelectability and what it really means. I would encourage you to watch this video.

Dennis Kucinich has shown us what it means to be a leader and stand up for what is right. He had the courage and the character to push for impeachment of Cheney. He knows the value of diplomacy and promotes “Strength Through Peace.” Please go and check out his stand on the issues HERE. If, like me, you did not support Dennis Kucinch because he was “unelectable” please evaluate your feelings on the issues alone, compare them and then vote for whichever candidate best fits your views and and this country’s needs. Let this be a true democracy and don’t settle for less than the best. I am sorry that I ever did.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEHbXa6QjLs[/youtube]

*The views expressed in this article, namely Summer’s endorsement of Kucinich for president are not necessarily those of WWJV4.com. WWJV4.com does not have an official endorsement at this time.

Our nation is perhaps more polarized between red and blue than ever before. Kucinich represents the antithesis of conservative republican values. He is too “left” to win if he was the Democratic nominee. Therefore I have joined the local Clinton campaign and have thrown my support to her camp. Why? Because she is more moderate. I am a far left liberal; however, I think that our next president needs to be somewhere to the left of Republican but not by too much. We need someone that the majority of America can relate to.

With Clinton we may have a large number of troops in Iraq for several years, she may encourage and expand controversial trade deals, and she may invade Iran on shady intelligence and greed. She has lots of money and political power that we’ve too often seen corrupt our leaders. She is not shy about taking money from pretty much anybody, although to her credit it doesn’t seem to have an impact on her voting record.

I know; however, that she will push for better education, universal healthcare, expanded gay and lesbian rights (although not equal marriage rights which I support), and a stronger environmental protection policy. She is an excellent speaker and diplomacy is her forte. (Not to mention Bill’s.) She has devoted much of her professional life to helping children and families and champions women’s issues.

William just wrote on Friday about the harm that expecting failure from our government has brought to this nation. Perhaps that’s what I’m doing by endorsing Hilary Clinton. I expect Kucinich to fail so I don’t even try. I will have to live with that. Perhaps if everyone who felt as I do, and there are plenty, would fully throw support his way, we’d have Dennis Kucinich as our next president. I doubt it.