Democratic National Convention '08

[Ghoulish Delight]

It's largely a bit of semantics and perception, and yes I agree that much of what I consider to be the good decisions he'll need to make are indeed the opposite of what Bush has done/McCain would do. But I think Obama will be able to do a much better job of framing those decisions as, "These are the correct decisions to put this country on a positive course for the future," instead of, "Bush was wrong, let's do it right!"

Yes, a semantic distinction, but an important one. As the last 8 years have shown, attitude and framing of communications are part and parcel to good leadership. I think Clinton would have a harder time of keeping her disdain for those that disagree with her from being noticed, and on top of that, remembering that partisan animosity requires 2 sides, the contingent of folks ready to loudly oppose anything she says or does is far more established than for Obama. You don't have to look any farther than scaeagles to see how ready, willing, and able her opponents are to smear her and her family at a moments notice. Not that there won't be a similar attempt against Obama, but those that would do that haven't had the years and years of material and practice they've had with Clinton. It's perhaps unfair to her as a candidate, but it is what it is and I am glad that we're not going to give that element fuel for the next 8 years.