Clarion Content

This is his time.

The Clarion thinks that there is a strong case to be made that Hillary Rodham Clinton would have made a better president than Bill had she been the candidate in 1992. And the Clarion is quite certain that John McCain would have made a better president than George Bush the II had he been his party's choice in 2000. This election season has offered three candidates with presidential timber. But even good things can get screwed up by bad timing, though a person is right for one time, they may not be right for another.

There is an urge to say that this is a momentous time. And perhaps it is, but to children of the Cold War, global thermal nuclear war was a bedtime story. A dear, old, NorCal friend of the Clarion's editorial staff has long been fond of reminding us that, "The crossbow was billed as the weapon that was going to wipe out the world." Whether or not the times are huge, there are ominous portends. The sense of crossroads is in the air, real or ephemeral. An open-ended War against an ill-defined enemy, an extremely turbulent economy, and much closer to the metaphorically ever popular kitchen table, the soaring costs of health care and paying for college, the aging boomers heading towards social security like a bowling ball...immigration...the environment...

The list of policy points we will return to, because ironically, it is where we have the most disagreement with the man we endorse for President of the United States, Senator Barack Obama. We will use it to highlight why although we endorse Senator Obama, we will not be campaigning for him, nor donating funds to his campaign.

Like many, the Clarion editors first became aware of, and enamored with, Barack Obama during the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. Obama was transcendent. It is important to note that he was sublime not just on theme and tone, but on the content. This was not a policy speech, even if it was mainly seen by wonks and party honks. This was a speech introducing a man for the ages. Using the Declaration of Independence and the national motto to talk about things larger than himself. Obama made clear his understanding of and intimate connection to the ideas and ideals that ultimately matter to all Americans. [We have excerpted big chunks of this speech to further illustrate the point. Follow this link.] The rhetoric isn't the Kennedy-esque stuff Obama is so often compared to, instead it is more Lincoln-esque. He uses his personal story to illustrate his ideas, and he speaks extremely compellingly about how America is built on the premise that humanity can rise above itself individually to make something greater. American meritocracy and immigration are the flames endlessly burning in the beacon of light that is liberty's torch. Long before he quoth the slogan, "Yes we can!" this speech epitomized it.

As an independent 'zine with Libertarian and Green streaks the Clarion elected not to endorse a candidate in the Democratic party primaries. We got busy reading Obama and McCain's books. Meanwhile: we liked the Apple commercial parody that supported Obama early on, and we enjoyed and appreciated some of the efforts from hip-hop to support Obama, we followed the New Yorker cover controversy with interest...but the next moment we were truly pulled into the campaigns was Obama's epic speech on race in Philadelphia.

Again the central emphasis was unity of the American community, that our dreams are not a zero sum game, "your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams...This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election...we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all."

The Clarion Content accepts that the American project of forming a more perfect Union was not and is not a finished accomplishment, or even necessarily a finish-able accomplishment. It is an on-going struggle. And not a struggle to impose democracy and our version of capitalism overseas, but rather an on-going daily, writ large and writ small, struggle for each of us to be better neighbors, better citizens, and thereby better human beings. This is a mission of daily small acts of grace and kindness, attempting live by the golden rule, that the Clarion whole-heartedly, in the core of our being supports. The issue of race, like the issue of class cannot be pushed behind the curtains or hidden under the covers. If we do we risk rending the fabric of the entire project of America. Obama as a former community organizer knows this personally and is not afraid to confront it head on. It is impossible to imagine Obama saying, "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job."

[Again we have excerpted big chunks of this speech to further illustrate the point. Follow this link.]

As we warned at the beginning of the piece we do not agree point for point with Obama's policy proposals or the Democratic party platform. We think that they are generally too protectionist and unwilling to embrace globalization, too willing to buy into jingoistic and unrealistic arguments against it. We are steadfastly opposed to state sponsored capitalism of the sort espoused by France. We think that the agricultural subsidies policy of America is a train wreck. Though we prefer Obama's budget scalpel to the hatchet of McCain's spending freeze, we believe that government is more often part of the problem than it is part of the solution. When in doubt, we defer to the principle that argues the more local a government is the more responsive it is. (This makes us nervous about Obama's health care plans, but we do believe that access to a certain level of health care is a fundamental human right.) We were surprised to hear Obama say the in the final debate that he favored tort reform, this is definitely a cause near and dear to the Clarion Content's heart. We would be very worried about health care reform that wasn't accompanied by tort reform. We believe that the economics behind Social Security's coming actuarial crisis have to be faced down. (The Clarion has only heard McCain admit this.) On energy policy, we oppose even the limited use of nuclear power. We oppose increasing off-shore drilling. We agree that we can't drill our way out of the importation of fossil fuels, that we must do everything we can to increase wind, solar and natural gas usage.

In so far as the war goes, we agree with Senator Obama that United States should begin a phased withdrawal from Iraq immediately. (Sadly a civil war and possibly even a regional conflict is coming, but our troops are not in a position to be able to prevent it.) We disagree with Obama on Afghanistan. We don't think more troops will solve the problem. We think more troops will backfire and increase the hostility of the local populace. We also do disagree with the principle of unilaterally attacking the sovereign nationals of Pakistan in their homes and villages. (The argument that folks are attacking your troops, when your troops are in their country, rings hollow indeed.) We would like to hear Obama denounce the doctrine of preemptive war in his inauguration speech.

In sum on policy, we agree with Obama on half of the biggest issue of our day, the war, and various things, but we disagree on more. Our bedrock convictions are conservative, government must be limited. Why then is the Clarion Content endorsing Senator Obama?

The Clarion is endorsing Barack Hussein Obama because we believe he exemplifies and verifies the American dream in several important ways. What he has already accomplished will go down in history whether he wins or loses. His election would be a huge step toward the fulfillment of Abraham Lincoln's vision, and Martin Luther King's dream, a more perfect union for all. The very fact of his name, which is so different than the 42 white Anglo-Saxon protestants who proceeded him, that America could elect someone with his name in a time of strain is an amazing demonstration of its principles, its commitment to its values. The best is what America values most. Secondly, that America could elect a black man gives hope to the rest of the world's belief in the American dream. Anything is possible for anyone in America and by extension, anything is possible in this world. Larry Page and Sergey Brin already prove this, but Obama's election says it in a way that makes it about all Americans. Page and Brin made it on the meritocracy of ideas and money. Obama is walking through the corridors of public acclimation to immense power. The other non-WASP, Kennedy, through his youth and Catholicism made a statement about America, but Joe Kennedy was an ambassador and a former Chairman of the SEC. By comparison Obama's grandfathers were an enlisted man and a Kenyan goat herder.

Senator Barack Obama, the black man with that name, with his achievements, with his persona, and through his comportment and decorum makes evident the lies told by so many zealots and tin pot dictators about America. From the extremist madrasses blaspheming the true meaning of the peaceful Koran to the populist thuggery of Hugo Chavez, from the KGB men of Vladimir Putin, to the monarchs, oligarchs, and tyrants of the Middle East, all will have to face Obama and the presumptuous lies they tell about America will be so much more evident to the world (but especially their own citizens.) America is a land of opportunity and Obama is the living beacon of American freedom. He demonstrates most ably that success in America can come in any size, any color, any gender, and any sexual orientation. He reminds all the America is not only for the sons of priveledge. Unlike Bush the II or Kerry, Obama is not a member of the secret Skull & Bones society. He did not attend Phillips Academy, St. Paul's School, or St. Albans School, in fact, he would be the first American President to attend Punahou School, once known as Oahu College.

Obama is a human being, an individual, a person who has made it to this place in history. Yes he is actualizing the dreams of many others, but he is also living out his own life. He didn't get into Columbia and Harvard on the legacy of his forebears. He didn't graduate with gentleman's C's. He got into Columbia University and Harvard Law through the dint of his own accomplishments. He was made the editor of the Harvard Law Review, which any insider will tell you, is not a popularity contest. It is rather given to the best of the best, the brightest of the bright.

Senator John McCain is a good man, who would have made a good president had George Bush the II not evilly tarred him in 2000 South Carolina primary.

Now, the Clarion hopes with all our collective might is that this is the dawning of a new day in America, when the doors to the highest office are finally thrown open to all. President Obama, "Yes we can!"

Labels: 2008's President, Politics