Crossroads

{1} "Important elements of democracy existed in the infant American republic of the 1780s, but the republic was not democratic. Nor, in the minds of those who governed it, was it supposed to be. A republic – the res publica, or ‘public thing’ – was meant to secure the common good through the ministrations of the most worthy, enlightened men. A democracy – derived from demos krateo, ‘rule of the people’ – dangerously handed power to the impassioned, unenlightened masses. Democracy, the eminent Federalist political leader George Cabot wrote as late as 1804, was ‘the government of the worst.’ Yet by the 1830s, as Alexis de Tocqueville learned, most Americans proclaimed that their country was a democracy as well as a republic. Enduring arguments had begun over the boundaries of democratic politics. In the 1840s and 1850s, these arguments centered increasingly on slavery and slavery’s expansion and led to the Civil War."
--Sean Wilentz; The Rise of American Democracy; 2005; page xvii

After reading the first two pages of DU:GD-P, I thought it might be worthwhile to remind people that the 2008 election represents another of the historic crossroads in our nation’s history. Our votes will decide which of two directions our country will move in the next four years. The democratic ticket represents the possibilities of restoring our Constitutional democracy; the republican ticket represents a totalitarian corporate republic.

The Bush-Cheney administration has been able to become the most extreme example of an imperial presidency in our nation’s history, because of a weakened balance of powers in the federal government. This includes a broken legislative branch, and a judicial branch which is increasingly inclined to enable the imperial executive.

The next president will appoint people to the federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. Let’s take a quick look at how the republican-appointed justices view "democracy."

{2} "Part of Scalia’s objection to democracy, amplified a year later, was that it got in the way of a return to an eighteenth-century interpretation of the US Constitution. Speaking at the January 2002 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, he opined that as written in 1787 the Constitution reflected natural or divinely inspired law that the state was an instrument of God. ‘That consensus has been upset,’ he said, ‘by the emergence of democracy.’ He added that ‘the reactions of people of faith to this tendency of democracy to obscure the divine authority behind government should not be resignation to it but resolution to combat it as effectively as possible’."
--Kevin Phillips; American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush; 2004; pages 107-108.

We are at a crossroads, as a nation, as the democratic party, and as individuals. We are either going to elect a democrat, who believes in the power and worth of individuals as Jefferson defined in the Declaration of Independence, or the republicans will elect a man who views us as cogs in a corporate machine.

Our party is finalizing a decision between two strong, capable leaders. Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have the support of a solid base of dedicated citizens. But as our party approaches the crossroads, it is evident that we will be nominating Barack Obama.

Finally, as individuals, we are at a personal crossroads. Will we continue to take the low road, and have petty fights, where we look to insult the supporters of the other candidate’s supporters? Or will we take the high road, and make every effort to unite the party?

As a retired social worker, I am aware that our society produces individuals who are often more afraid of their best side, than their worst. Our choice is stark: If we do not work to bring forth our best, we can be assured that the republicans’ worst will prevail.

Think about it.

Thank you,
H2O Man

A United Front

(This essay is from the political discussion forum "Democratic Underground," which has been experiencing harsh differences between Clinton and Obama supporters.)

I want t take a minute to talk about the need for unity within the democratic party, and our allies on the progressive left. It is a topic that I gave a lot of thought this weekend. I am a "Kennedy democrat" who supports Senator Barack Obama. But I am aware that one of the most honorable people in our country, Robert Kennedy, Jr., has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton.

I have the greatest respect for Robert. He is the best environmental attorney in the country. I had the opportunity to get to know him in the early 1990s, when I contacted him for advice on a case that involved the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) attempting to put teeth into the federal Native American Burial Protection and Repatriation Act.

One day at work, when I returned to my office from a "community-based crisis," my supervisor gave me a phone message. She said, "This guy’s parents must have loved Bobby Kennedy." I asked, "Why?" She said, "Because they named him after Kennedy," and then realized who she had spoken to.

I remember Robert telling me that he recognizes that Traditional Native American and environmental issues are one in the same.

In the mid-1990s, Robert helped me on a case involving two EPA Superfund Sites that were poisoning a rural hamlet in upstate New York. He helped us get $200,000 in grants, and to hire the two top environmental consultants in the nation. When a bureaucrat from the EPA was giving us a hard time, I said that I was going to call Robert. I remembr her laughing at me, and making a joke, because she assumed that it was unlikely that I knew him. Surprise, surprise: I got the last laugh on that one.

With the case, we were able to re-open communications with RiverKeeper and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Robert was always interested in creating unity among people. Common ground.

This past weekend marked the ten year anniversary of a racist hate gang attacking and seriously injuring my nephew. They were mad that a brown-skinned high school student was getting state-wide media attention for his skills in sports. Their savage attack almost killed my nephew. He lost the hearing in one ear, and has injuries that will be with him for the rest of his life.

Robert provided support to my extended family. He wrote to NYS Attorney General Dennis Vacco, and requested that he try the case. Vacco refused. The gang leader, who punched and kicked my unconscious nephew at least 12 times, ended up with a $50 fine for having an open beer during the attack. When I thought about that this weekend, I was reminded of how much Robert’s support meant to our family, and to the hundreds of people in the area who attended the court cases of the gang members, hoping for justice.

Those people included members of two chapters of the NAACP, high school students, social workers, and a wonderful group of elderly white women. There were Christians, Jews, and Muslims. We had common concerns, common values, and we were on common ground.

Those who have read Robert’s first book, "The RiverKeepers," know that he is friends with Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons. I remember in the 1970s, when Oren told classes of white students to look closely how the government treated Indians today, because it was how the government would treat them tomorrow. People living near SuperFund Sites know that is true.

In the past seven years, the Bush-Cheney administration has attacked our Constitution in what should be prosecuted as a "hate crime." We need to present a united front in November, and vote for justice.

I am going to include part of an interview I did in October, 2000 with Robert Kennedy, Jr., for newspapers in upstate New York. I think that his answers can be applied to our situation today. While I support Barack Obama, and am confident that he will be our nominee, I think that supporters of all of the candidates from our primaries will enjoy it.

One request: rather than me saying how I think it applies to today, I am hoping that DUers will share their thoughts with the DU community. I appreciate your contributions.

Your friend,
H2O Man

Q: In an August 10 editorial in the New York Times, you wrote that while you respect Ralph Nader, his candidacy could siphon votes from Al Gore, and "torpedo efforts to address the nation’s most important environmental challenges." What environmental issues should be of greatest concern for central New York voters?

A: The contrast between Bush and Gore is enormous. People in New York need to look closely at Bush’s environmental record in Texas. Every appointee he has put in environmental regulatory positions comes from his business links to the oil industry. The result is that Texas ranks 49th in environmental issues, and has the highest levels of pollution in the most important areas.
For example, 700,000 children in Texas go to school every day where the EPA says the air is not safe to breathe.

Gore, on the other hand, is a spokesman for the environment. His record on environmental issues is the best of any politician in this nation. Al Gore wrote the book. People in this state need to think about which of these two men they want to make policies about the quality of the air, land, and water in our state.

Q: On what issues would Hillary Clinton better represent our families than Rick Lazio?

A: Rick Lazio is a decent man, and has a decent record in many areas. But he has never challenged the Republican leadership on important environmental issues. He was part of the 1995 vote to eviscerate the most important environmental legislation in the country. He even voted to cut funding for vital sewage treatment for the Long Island Sound. His votes have consistently been supportive of the Republican stealth attack on environmental legislation.
Hillary is a strong voice. She told me that she intends to be the #1 spokesman on environmental issues on Capital Hill. We need her to be there, because the other strong leaders, like Mitchell and Gore, are gone from the Hill. So, there are many issues that Hillary will give us strong representation on, but none more important than her being our champion on environmental issues.

Q: Your uncle and your father inspired a generation of young people to become involved in politics in the 1960s. What do you say to young people today, specifically about the power of the "Youth Vote"?

A: It’s critical in this election. This presidential election will be the closest in a generation. Young people play an essential role. I urge them not to throw away their ability to decide this election. A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush. A vote for Gore is a vote for their generation.

Memorial Day Letter

{1} "God, whose law it is that he who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God." --Aeschylus

This Memorial Day weekend, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the Kennedy family. In 2003, Thomas Maier published a fascinating book, "The Kennedys: America’s Emerald Kings," which is "a five-generation history of the ultimate Irish-Catholic family." Terry Golway, the co-author of "The Irish in America," noted that, "Thomas Maier reminds us of a story we’ve forgotten. The Kennedys are not simply America’s most famous family. They are an immigrant family, a family that struggled through poverty and oppression on both sides of the Atlantic. "

The news about Ted Kennedy’s health made time stand still for much of our country, and presented the opportunity to recognize how much this man means to us. My young daughters were amazed to hear that he was elected to the Senate before their mother was born. My sons spent time reading about his accomplishments, and we discussed why I believe he is among the most influential politicians in our nation’s history.

A comment by Hillary Clinton brought up the subject of Senator Robert Kennedy’s death, which reminded many progressive and liberal democrats of one of the most painful chapters in their lives. Because the 40th anniversary of his assassination is so close, it is a topic that many of us will continue to think about between now and the first week in June.

I believe that the focus should be on the amazing transformation of Robert Kennedy’s lifetime. I am convinced that the power of the lives of JFK and RFK is the important thing, and that includes being aware of how they viewed the experiences they lived through. There are a number of good books on both JFK and RFK, but one that stands out is "Make Gentle the Life of this World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy," by Maxwell Taylor Kennedy.

Much of Maxwell’s book came from a "day book" that President Kennedy kept, and that Robert continued with after his brother’s assassination. In the introduction to the book, Maxwell notes, "He would quote Aeschylus when he spoke to the poorest audiences that a presidential candidate had ever bothered with, and they cheered."

If we are to learn from Senator Kennedy, I would suggest that we not think that feelings of anger and hostility towards another group of democrats pays proper tribute. We can best honor RFK by attempting to find common ground with others, and working towards the goal of a compassionate society. And that leads us to my favorite RFK quote, which we should all think about this weekend.

{2} "Let us not be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills – against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence … Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.

"It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." – Robert F. Kennedy in South Africa; June, 1966

There are numerous contributions that we can make this summer and fall that will improve the quality of life in the cities and towns across the country. The range of contributions is large, indeed; however, it does not include insulting others who are attempting to make a contribution different from our own.

In response to Senator Clinton’s remarks, one television journalist said, "This year is already too much like 1968." There are certainly some similarities, and perhaps that allows us the opportunity to look back on that year, which stands out in our nation’s recent history. We have a chance to consider what went wrong, and also what was right.

The anger, fear, and violence was wrong. Let’s not repeat that. But the passion and drive of Senator Robert Kennedy’s brief campaign -- and the ideals of others, from Martin Luther King, Jr., to Eugene McCarthy, to the young people dedicated to changing society, who are remembering things from 40 years past – these are the things we should be concentrating on.
Let’s send millions of ripples of hope and daring, and build the current that RFK spoke of.

Your friend,
H2O Man

A Day in the Life

What a day. The primary’s in Kentucky and Oregon alone were historic. And then there were two other events that made May 20 one of the most significant days in the democratic party in many years. It was truly "the best of times, the worst of times."

{1} Senator Hillary Clinton won an important primary in Kentucky, that provided yet more evidence that she represents a significant portion of the democratic party. As spring turns to summer, and we approach the Democratic National Convention, it is clear that Senator Clinton will be in a position to exercise great influence on the party’s platform. What she has accomplished will be remembered as helping to redefine the options for deciding who can be considered as serious candidates for the party’s presidential nominee.

{2} Senator Barack Obama not only won the Oregon primary, but also made a significant gain in delegates. His speech last night defined the issues that will decide the November election. He has an amazing ability to communicate not only the differences between the failed republican policies and the strength of the democratic vision, but also the skill to translate the promise of the future into an organized program that the party can deliver.

{3} It was reported that Senator Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor. Elected to the Senate in 1962, Kennedy has had one of the most outstanding careers in American political history. After events in 1980 convinced him that he would never become President, Kennedy advanced the issues which are of importance to this country in a way that has had more of a long-lasting impact than the majority chief executives.

{4} Hamilton Jordan died of cancer. He is best known for coming up with the strategy that resulted in Jimmy Carter’s election in 1976, and then serving as President Carter’s Chief of Staff. He also ran in the Georgia democratic primary for a Senate seat in 1986, and worked for Ross Perot in 1992. Jordan was a sometimes controversial figure in democratic politics, who transformed that reputation to become a unifying figure in his work on issues relating to cancer. With his wife, he founded the Camp Sunshine Retreat for children with cancer.

As a democrat, I thank Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Ted Kennedy, and Hamilton Jordan for their service to our country.

Remembering Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born on this day in 1925. Malcolm avoided politics until he left the Nation of Islam, but in the last year of his life he advocated a program of voter education and registration.

While he recommended that black people register as independents, he was most closely associated with progressive democrats, such as Percy Sutton and Adam Clayton Powell.
Today, I thought it would be worth looking through a few quotes, both by and about Malcolm X. Here are a dozen I like:

{1} "Mrs. Handler had never met Malcolm before this fateful visit. She served us coffee and cakes while Malcolm spoke in the courteous, gentle manner that was his in private. It was obvious to me that Mrs. Handler was impressed by Malcolm. His personality filled our living room. …

"Mrs. Handler was quiet and thoughtful after Malcolm’s departure. Looking up suddenly, she said, ‘You know, it was like having tea with a black panther.’

"The description startled me. The black panther is an aristocrat in the animal kingdom. He is beautiful. He is dangerous. As a man, Malcolm X had the physical bearing and the inner self-confidence of a born aristocrat. And he was potentially dangerous. No man in our time aroused fear and hatred in the white man as did Malcolm, because in him the white man sensed an implacable foe who could not be had for any price …."
--H.S. Handler; Introduction to The Autobiography of Malcolm X

{2} "I’m the man you think you are. ….No, if we’re both human beings we’ll both do the same thing. And if you want to know what I’ll do, figure out what you’ll do. I’ll do the same thing – only more of it."
--Malcolm X; Militant Labor Forum; January 7, 1965

{3} "Without education, you are not going anywhere in this world."
--Malcolm X; Militant Labor Forum; May 29, 1964

{4} "I know often when people talk about Malcolm X, they make him seem larger than life, and that’s dangerous. Because young people, hearing about him – will be led to think they could never be like him, you see. He’s not accessible, then. The truth is, the man was as large as life, a man of great profundity, with a wonderful sense of humor and a loving sense of his people."
--Maya Angelou

{5} "We were willing to listen to Malcolm because, on one hand, Malcolm inspired us. Malcolm said things in New York, in Chicago, around the country, that maybe some people in the South and in other parts of the country didn’t have the courage to say."
--John Lewis

{6} "In Malcolm X’s shadow cabinet there were different people who had expertise on different subjects. I was the man in history and historical information and personality. There were other people in politics, another person occasionally on sociology. The diversity of people in this shadow cabinet, none of them Muslims, was equivalent to the faculty of a good university."
--John Henrik Clarke

{7} Question: "Are you going to go out to register people as Democrats, as Republicans, or what? Are you going to fight the party machines?

Malcolm: "We are going to encourage our people to register as independent voters. First become registered. … We feel that there are more unregistered Negroes in Harlem than there are registered Negroes in both parties. So that any grass-roots operation – and we already have the thing set up where we can register them house by house, we can organize them house by house, block by block ….

"…we intend to try to get a mass involvement, mass participation, and we believe that we can do this by carrying on an education program, where politics is concerned, among the masses to make them see what those who now control the political picture are doing to them. …."
--The Editors Speak; WLIB Radio, NYC; July 4, 1964

{8} "While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and the root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems we face as a race."
--Martin Luther King, Jr; telegraph to Malcolm’s wife, Betty ; February 26, 1965

{9} "Malcolm has become a sort of a tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which people of different positions can write their own interpretations of his politics and legacy."
--Robin D.G. Kelly; historian

{10} "I was the invited speaker at the Harvard Law School Forum. I happened to glance through a window. Abruptly, I realized that I was looking in the direction of the apartment house that was my old burglary gang’s hideout."
--Malcolm X; The Autobiography of Malcolm X

{11} "My greatest lack has been, I believe, that I don’t have the kind of academic education I wish I had been able to get – to have been a lawyer, perhaps. I do believe that I might have made a good lawyer. I have always loved verbal battle, and challenge."
--Malcolm X; The Autobiography of Malcolm X

{12} "…he would forgo doing homework and bury himself in the works of prodigious black authors who sought to explain or amplify the feelings of powerlessness and anger embedded in the hearts of black men: Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, W.E.B. DuBois. Of these readings, he said he most closely identified with the Autobiography of Malcolm X. Since becoming a politician, Obama has steered clear of quoting such a militant and revolutionary figure as Malcolm X. But in his book, he wrote that the activist’s ;force of will’ and ‘repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me’."
--David Mendell; Obama: From Promise to Power

Two Visions of the U.S. Supreme Court

John McCain and Barack Obama: Two visions of the Supreme Court
By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 19, 2008

Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.), in a speech two weeks ago, echoed the views of conservatives who say "judicial activism" is the central problem facing the judiciary. He called it the "common and systematic abuse . . . by an elite group . . . we entrust with judicial power." On Thursday, he criticized the California Supreme Court for giving gays and lesbians the right to marry, saying he doesn't "believe judges should be making these decisions." ….

Obama has thrown the charge of judicial activism back at Republicans.

"The nation has just witnessed how quickly settled law can change when activists judges are confirmed," he said last year. "In decisions covering employment discrimination to school integration, the Roberts-Alito Supreme Court has turned back the clock on decades of hard-fought civil rights progress."

He referred to the 5-4 decision that struck down the voluntary integration guidelines that were adopted by school boards in Seattle and Louisville, Ky. The same 5-4 majority also rejected a jury's discrimination verdict in favor of Lilly Ledbetter, a longtime manager for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. She showed she had been paid far less than men in the same job over many years. The court's opinion, written by Alito, said her lawsuit was flawed because she had not filed her claim within the time frame required by law. ….

"Sen. Obama certainly doesn't share Sen. McCain's remarkable view that the greatest threat to American values and traditions comes from our independent federal judiciary," (Harvard Law School professor Lawrence H.) Tribe said. "On the contrary, Sen. Obama would find it crucial to preserve judicial independence in part to hold in check the excesses of unilateral executive power that have threatened our democracy under the Bush-Cheney administration.

More at:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-scotus19-2008may19,0,6551508.story?page=2

(Note: The 2008 Presidential and Congressional elections will determine the nature of the appointments to the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. The cases that will be decided in the next four years will include those involving issues abortion rights, as well as numerous others involving the nature of citizen rights in our society. This is a good reason for all democrats to put minor differences behind them, and to unite to support all democratic candidates in November.)

Coal

"In May 2002 I flew over the hills of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennesse, and saw a sight that would sicken most Americans. The mining industry is dismantling the ancient mountains and pristine streams of Appalachia through a form of strip-mining known as mountaintop removal. Mining companies blow off hundreds of feet from the tops of mountains to reach the thin seams of coal beneath. Colossal machines dump the mountaintops into adjacent valleys, destroying forests and communities and burying free-flowing mountain streams in the process. I saw the historic landscapes that gave America some of its most potent cultural legends – the forests where Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett roamed, the hills that bred the soldiers who followed Andrew Jackson, the frontier hollows that cradled our democracy, the wilderness wellspring of our values, our virtues, our national character – all being leveled.

"According to the EPA, the waste from mountaintop removal has permanently interred 1,200 miles of Appalachian streams, polluted the region’s groundwater and rivers, and rendered 400,000 acres of some of the world’s most biologically rich temperate forests into flat, barren wastelands, ‘limited in topographic relief, devoid of flowing water’."
--Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy; 2004; pages 114-115.

Last night I watched the television premiere of "Burning the Future: Coal in America" on the Sundance Channel. It is a powerful documentary that tells about the conflict between the people of West Virginia and the coal industry. I strongly recommend that people take the time to watch it.

In his book "Crimes Against Nature," Robert Kennedy, Jr., addresses the topic in Chapter 7: King Coal. I strongly recommend that book, as well.

Last night, the media covered the democratic primary in West Virginia in what I thought were strangely limited terms. Although I favor Senator Barack Obama, I felt that Senator Hillary Clinton’s win was significant. It wasn’t important in the sense that she is any closer to winning the nomination for president. Rather, it was worthy of our attention, because the people of West Virginia are experiencing the problems that are defining our nation’s struggle: community values versus corporate profits; the environment being destroyed for the benefit of the Cheneyites; children’s health being compromised by wastes dumped into community water supplies.

I have yet to hear any of the people on the cable news attributing Senator Clinton’s support to her positions on the environment. And I haven’t heard them mention that Robert Kennedy, Jr., who is known to poor communities as the most honorable environmental advocate in the land, has endorsed Senator Clinton.

Instead, I hear things that seem geared to place the story about the struggle for democracy in the communities in West Virginia in the margins, where it will be ignored. More, there are news reports that I believe are aimed at creating larger divisions in the democratic party.

If we are going to achieve a true democratic victory in the fall of 2008, it must include the voice of the people in West Virginia being heard. I support Brack Obama, and am fully confident that he will be elected president this fall. Yet I have respect for the struggle for democracy in West Virginia, including for the people looking to Kennedy and Clinton for leadership.

I hope that others will consider these issues as we discuss what shape an Obama administration should take.

"I don't think it's possible"

"I don’t think it’s possible." – Senator Ted Kennedy on the possibility of an Obama-Clinton ticket; Political Capital with Al Hunt.

As the democratic party moves closer to making Senator Barack Obama the nominee for the 2008 presidential election, there has been speculation on who he is considering for his running mate. Some people, including former representative Harold Ford – who is now the DLC Chairman – have suggested that because of the split between the Obama and Clinton camps, it may be necessary for Obama to chose Senator Clinton. Others have noted that this could allow for the Obama campaign to retire the huge debt that the Clinton campaign suffers from.

Senator Ted Kennedy, who endorsed Barack Obama in late January, has been quoted as saying that he does not think an Obama-Clinton ticket is a good idea. Without naming an alternative, the Elder Statesman of the Democratic Party stated that Obama should select someone who "is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people." Kennedy also said that a VP with a national security background would be a bonus, but not essential, because Obama has proven that he has a good grasp of foreign policy.

When questioned about Senator Kennedy’s position, his spokesman Anthony Coley said it was based upon the "tenor of the campaign" in recent weeks. I thought it might be interesting to review this in the context of events from January, when Senator Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama, to the surprise of many.

As always, when he consider political campaigns, we break the public into three general groups: {a} those who support you; {b} those who oppose you; and {c} the undecided. We will keep these three groups in mind, as we examine the four reasons that Ted Kennedy decided to endorse Obama.

Internal polls indicated that Senator Clinton was unlikely to win the general election against a republican candidate in November. While she had high levels of loyal support in Group A, Hillary Clinton has very high "negatives." A Clinton campaign would unite the Group B republicans and conservatives who dislike her, and her husband. Her ability to attract Group C support was viewed as marginal.

Obama was showing the ability to beat any of the republican candidates in the general election. His ability to attract a growing Group A had become evident. There were concerns about the potential Group B opposition, but Obama was not a lightening rod for republican hostility in the way that the Clintons are. And Obama showed the ability to win Group C support when the public learned more about him.

Senator Kennedy was concerned that the Clinton campaign would create serious divisions within the democratic party, including a racial divide, by using negative campaign tactics in the primary. These fractures would be targets for the republican opposition to exploit in the fall. At the time, there were reports of a heated phone conversation between Senator Kennedy and former President Clinton regarding this issue. Since then, there have been a number of related reports, including the recent article that detailed Sidney Blumenthal’s use of rabid right-wing sources in an attempt to discredit Obama.

Senator Obama was attempting to run a positive campaign, which reflects his approach to dealing with the problems that have divided the American people, and allowed serious damage to be done to our Constitutional democracy.

In the time since Ted Kennedy’s endorsement, those four things have been reinforced. Senator Clinton has noted that if we were the republican party, she would have already won the nomination. The truth is that her campaign was run by people like Mark Penn, who indeed thought in republican and reptilian ways. The Obama campaign has reflected the strength of the democratic grass roots. Though Clinton has won some big states, Obama has won twice as many states, and leads in popular vote, delegates, and super delegates. The Clinton campaign has relied upon large donors, and has incurred huge debts; the Obama campaign has attracted small donors, and has a significant bank account.

At this point, it is important not only for Senator Obama to win the November election, but also to head a ticket that reflects a new approach to leadership. The ticket will set the tone for the congressional contests, as well. There are many good democrats for Barack Obama to consider for his running mate. But I agree with Senator Ted Kennedy, that Hillary Clinton is not a good choice at this time.