Hilary vs Barack

So this is the debate for the last few months amongst Democrats (which is most people I know - I do live in Portland and went to Brown). At first it seemed like just an exercise for us Oregonians because we don't vote until May 20th for our primary. And this year, with all the primaries being moved up to January and February it seemed very unlikely that our votes would make a difference.

I have been teaching about the primaries every Wednesday morning in my senior class- counting the votes and delegates and caucases. It has been fascinating to watch. My students have been asking me each time "so what's going to happen?" And I honestly told them that I have no clue. One student (a Republican) has declared the race over about 5 times during the updates.

So my dad caucased for Senator Clinton in the Washington caucases, my sister voted for Senator Obama in the Washington DC primaries. My uncle said "of course Hilary" when I asked who he supported. My mom is becoming passionately supportive of Obama and says that most of her friends are as well. A younger female cousin has written an open letter to Clinton about her inspiration. Several Brown friends of mine are active Obama supporters (I can tell from their Facebook stuff), and at least one works for the Clinton campaign. So much for help from my friends and family.

I am finding it difficult to figure out how to decide this. Do I base it on who I see as the most qualified for the job? I do think that Senator Clinton has a lot more experience, but there are examples of inexperienced politicians becoming great Presidents. Do I base it on who I think could beat Senator McCain, the Republican nominee? Well that depends on so many factors which I will discuss later. Do I base it on which candidate will repair our relationship with the world? Probably all of them, including McCain would be an improvement. Clinton might be the least improvement because of her association with past events. So far again, no help.

I have heard some interesting theories about what should influence my vote. "We shouldn't have the same two families be in charge of the countries for such a long time. If Clinton wins, then that will be over 20 years." "Obama is inspirational in a way that we haven't seen in a long time." But are those good theories for voting?

It's probably a cop-out, but I am still not sure. I have two months to figure it out, and hopefully I can find my way. But damn it's fun to be a student of politics right now.