Published: May 17, 2008 02:01 am            

OLSON: Hillary should stay in the race

Hillary, for the sake of the country that you and I both love, please stay in the race for the White House. Fight the good fight. You must defeat Barack Obama and gain the nomination of your party.

There, sadly, I must confess my loyalty to you ends. Though, I once worked for George McGovern when I was young and dumb, I am currently a conservative and a Republican, so I cannot imagine voting for you in November. You are simply too liberal on the abortion issue, I happen to believe the free-market approach can solve our healthcare issues without the massive new government programs that you envision, and most pointedly, I haven’t heard you mention the magic words “more drilling” even once when discussing the obscene gas prices we are currently enduring. So, no, sorry, but I won’t be voting for you in the general election.

Will I vote at all is the gut-wrenching question for me and millions of fellow conservatives in this crucial contest. Our candidates Romney, Huckabee and Thompson have already fallen by the wayside in the debacle that passed for the Republican primary, and the last man left standing is anathema to many of us.

I suspect Democratic across-the-aisle voting largely produced this unpleasant result, but we will have to live with it at this point, unless we can get McCain to “cross the aisle” and become a real Republican.

Will we hold our noses and vote, or stay home in principled protest is the struggle that many of my persuasion are working through now? But I digress.

To return to my point. Hillary, you must stay in the race for reasons that are becoming more abundant every day.

• REASON 1: Stay in because if you do, you just might win. If you drop out, you have no chance of winning.

How’s that for ground-floor logic 101? You won Indiana, you’ve won in some major states that really should be counted, and you will most likely win the next three contests coming up, so why drop out? Every state where you go up against Obama and win is an argument in your favor to the super-delegates. Give them a host of reasons to go for you by piling up a string of victories.

• REASON 2: Constitutionally, you’ve proven to this old white guy at least that you’ve got enough fire in your engine room to be president. I confess, I started this election cycle not liking you much either as a politician or a human being, but something happened about midway through the campaign (no dear, it wasn’t the near-breakdown, near-tear episode, that actually hurt you) Rather, it was the grit, the spark, the energy, the obvious intelligence and even a sense of humor that manifested itself on the Saturday Night Live episode and elsewhere. Did Nurse Ratchet totally transform herself to Florence Nightingale? Hardly, but you’ve shown a human side throughout the grueling primary marathon that I found surprisingly appealing. In short, I don’t fear you like I used to and I probably wouldn’t hide my wallet or my children if you were in my vicinity, might even shake your hand, exchange pleasantries and try to coax you into uttering those two key words “more drilling.”

• REASON 3: For the country’s health, Barack Obama must not become president. Can we afford to ignore the fact the man has practically no political experience?

He would be rolling into the oval office on training wheels, and the presidency cannot be an earn-while-you-learn proposition. At least you and Mr. McCain are seasoned gladiators in the political arena, and that fact weighs heavily in your favor.

Also, Obama is an off-the-charts liberal. With a mindset like this, he would wreak more havoc with the America I and millions of others care deeply for, and we have havoc enough to contend with these days courtesy of the “current occupant.”

Last, but not least, there is Obama’s 20-year association with his America-hating, nutcase of a pastor who he only renounced when it was political suicide not to do so. Twenty years of giving tacit approval (by his presence in the congregation) of a man that said God should damn America, that believes AIDS is a white conspiracy against blacks and who said America deserved 9/11. It makes me wonder about Obama’s basic sanity, let alone his qualification to be president.

So there Hillary, are some reasons from me, not exactly a supporter, of why you must fight on. Should you concede defeat, and Obama prevail, I fear we will not recognize our country in four years. God forbid you should allow this to happen.



Doug Olson is a Sellersburg resident.

        

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