Super Bowl & Super Tuesday
The citizens of New Jersey get to step up to the plate tomorrow and vote in the “Super Tuesday” Democratic primary. While the Giants victory over New England proved that an upset could happen when the quarterback gets knocked down a few times, political games are more complicated. If you go by delegates earned, Hillary Clinton is the underdog at the moment; she has 48 delegates and Barack Obama has 63. She has been knocked down a few times, mostly by her husband’s attack dog tactics. Of course that is not how this race feels. It feels like Hillary is still the frontrunner because she has the support of the democratic machine.
Obama has the support of the young people. It is wonderful that the “rock the vote” generation and their younger siblings are now flooding into the democratic process. That is great news for this nation. For a moving video on the youth movement, go here.
The last time there were this many young people involved in getting out to vote was in 1972 when the voting age was lowered to 18. I happened to be one of those first 18-year-old voters. I had to see my hopes dashed when a sour-faced, morally bankrupt president by the name of “Tricky Dick” Nixon won reelection in a landslide. Somehow, the bumper sticker on my Pinto, “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted For McGovern” provided little comfort. The resignation of Nixon in 1974 following the Watergate scandal, however, did feel like vindication.
The most important advice I can give new voters is, “vote with your heart.” Wait until you get older to become cynical about the whole process. Believe that we are a nation “of the people, by the people and for the people.”
I hope for change no matter who winds up in the White House. I am concerned that campaign speeches are little more than fairytales spun to earn votes. (Sorry, but cynicism is mandatory for those of us who were introduced to the voting process in the Watergate era.)
As a film critic, I can’t help but recall a movie that excelled at presenting the cynical side behind the façade of hope. That movie was called The Candidate. Released in 1972, you can rent it from Netflix. Robert Redford stars as young liberal lawyer, Bill McKay, whose father is a career politician. McKay is asked to run for the U.S. Senate. He rejects the idea of running, but is convinced to do it when he is assured that he can’t win. He can use the campaign as a forum to get his ideas out in the public. However, as the campaign continues and he begins to get young people and women on his side, and is cutting into the huge lead of the frontrunner, his handlers start toning down his speeches. He can’t just come out and say he supports a woman’s right to an abortion, for example. He starts to say less and less in his speeches and speak more in vague generalities. When he wins the election, he passes along a note to his campaign manager (played by Peter Boyle) with a simple question: “What now?”
My fervent hope is that whoever takes the oath of office on a cold day in January 2009, knows the answer to “What now?” and proceeds to do what is expected “of the people, by the people and for the people.”