In Response to Froggoddess; or, Why I'm Voting for Obama on Tuesday

[chieur]

I started posting this as a comment to Frog, and decided I actually need to post it publicly.

I usually agree with Paul Krugman. In this case, though, I think he's extremely wrong.

Comments

[in_parentheses]

But if Obama's hope is half as powerful as Bush's fear, a whole lot more will go on in Washington in 2009 than the partisan acrimony that Hillary Clinton promises to give us.

Yes yes yes! Absolutely.

I do want to quibble with the "for the first time in my life..." stuff -- do you remember when Clinton, B. was elected the first time? I was in junior high (and, um, better informed than I am now in some ways, I'm ashamed to admit), and I clearly remember how exciting it all was. I remember balloons falling and people cheering and "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" and a Democratic president for the first time in my life since Carter left office when I was still in diapers. My family was so inspired and invigorated that we trekked to DC to stand outside in the cold and watch him get inaugurated on the JumboTron. I get choked up just thinking about it. I'm a hell of a lot more cynical now, but I would go to DC to watch Obama get inaugurated -- the emotions feel the same.

[chieur]

I think our age difference is just enough to make the 1992 inauguration of Clinton the first not part of my meaningful life experience but part of yours. It could also be that I went to very uppity private school in the only reliably Republican part of Massachusetts; nobody was getting excited about a Democrat in the White House in Hingham in 1992, so I couldn't get swept up in it.

Also: I hate to admit it, but I was a good little conservative boy until, about, my, um, I'm trying to remember, junior? senior? year in high school. So yeah. For the first time in my politically meaningful life experience?