However, the Democratic Party is ironically not that democratic. There are a number of Super Delegates, comprised of the party elite, who will also vote. There are almost 800 super delegates compared with about 1300 regular ones. This Byzantine structure was only recently put in place.
There have been assertions made that the Democratic elites wanted Hillary to get the nomination, and raised a significant amount of money for her. Barack essentially came out of nowhere and raised his own funds. My political science professor said that it could very well be that the Democratic Party wants Hillary, but the voters choose Barack. The Super Delegates in the Party could very well give Hillary the nomination despite Barack getting the popular vote. However, that would disenchant a large number of voters, who might not turn out ... and give the election away to the Republicans. As I said, I could possibly live with McCain. But he would not be my first choice for President.
Hillary is a competent stateswoman. She will make a good President. But she has been in the system for a long time, and the system is tainted. I do not trust her, and I do not trust the Democratic Party. If Democratic voters elect Barack, but the Party elects Hillary, I will trust the Party even less.
I will not trust Barack, either. Mayor Gavin Newsome of San Francisco once allowed same-sex couples to legally marry. He was later overriden, but the marriages stood. He also held fundraisers for Barack. And he alleges in this SFGate article that Barack Obama snubbed him, afraid of being seen with him after his controversial actions.
In fact, early last year, Newsom alluded to the incident in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking to Reuters on Jan. 26, 2007, Newsom was asked about three potential Democratic candidates: Obama, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore.
He was asked about the flak he took after announcing that San Francisco would allow same-sex marriages - flak that included claims he had helped Republicans by handing them a wedge issue heading into a presidential election year. In the interview, Newsom admitted he'd been hammered over the decision. "And I'm not just saying from Republicans," he added at the time.
"One of the three Democrats you mentioned as presidential candidates, as God is my witness, will not be photographed with me, will not be in the same room with me," Newsom told Reuters, "even though I've done fundraisers for that particular person - not once, but twice - because of this issue."
80-20 PAC, an Asian American political action campaign, also asked presidential candidates to take actions to increase the number of Asian American federal judges; Asian Americans are woefully underrepresented, for no good reason, in the Federal judiciary. Barack Obama refused to answer until very recently. Hillary and John Edwards answered in the affirmative pretty early on.
After I got out of my last political science class, where we covered the dynamics of the American electoral system, I felt soiled. Do not be fooled by Hillary's alleged feminist credentials, or by Barack's charisma, or even by John McCain's occasional moderate stances. No politician is to be trusted. Citizens must stand ready to demand an accounting from all of them.
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:7, NRSV
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Peter 2:1, NRSV
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