The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

As Primary season 2008 wraps up, we are left to ponder the race. For Democrats, it has been a season of historical dimensions by all accounts. For the first time a Mexican American, a Woman and an African American mounted viable challenges for the top spot. And for the first time in a long time, voter interest and participation shot up to record levels.  Now as the final votes are cast, here’s my take on “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the race.

The Good…

First and foremost - the diversity and strong support of the candidates. The Democrats fielded the most diverse and best  qualified field of candidates that I can remember. For the first time in a long time, primary voters had a full roster of candidates that they could enthusiastically support, rather than reluctantly having to choose among the lesser of evils. This field was an embarrassment of riches and the only problem was that only one could win.

Then there was the full and vigorous participation of Women and the Hispanic and Black communities. Call it identity politics if you like, but the diversity of the field and the relevance of the issues, helped reinvigorate participation from these base communities to an unprecedented level.

Additionally, and maybe most importantly, was the inclusion, participation and stunning growth of the youth vote, a group that has been written off for decades. Spurred by necessity, technology, inspiration and perspiration, the activation of younger voters in amazing numbers topped all expectations.  Their participation rewarded both current candidates and all of the folks who have labored for years to stimulate more participation by younger voters.

And special mention has to be made of the Campaigns of Senators Clinton and Obama. Their ground-breaking efforts have clearly broken new ground for women and minority candidates of the future. Agree or disagree with their campaign strategies and tactics, issues and arguments, they have shown the way for candidates of the future and broken many barriers as they struggled toward the nomination.  Sen. Clinton has demonstrated that Women can compete and win on even par with policy, fund raising and campaigning heavyweights. She left a bunch of male competitors fading in her rear view mirror and garnered votes and contributions in record amounts. No mean feat!

Sen. Obama has also proven that racial minority candidates can compete at the upper most levels. In addition he and his campaign have helped craft a new paradigm for national elections of the future. He has paved the way for the broader use of technology, grass roots organizing and inclusion, as well as campaign fund raising techniques. He has also built a foundation for the future Democratic coalition, by organizing and activating millions of new voters. That contribution alone may benefit the Party for the next generation.

The Bad…

The resort to “idenity” politics, AKA racism and sexism. Although the use of race and gender bias was nowhere near as bad as it could have been, or has been in the past, there was far too much of it utilized, sometimes overtly, sometimes covertly. Given the history of this country this was not unexpected. But most disappointing was the failure of the campaigns to reject it explicitly and repeatedly. It might be asking too much of politicians to reject anything that may give them an advantage in a hotly contested campaign, but it is surely not asking too much of statesmen and women and leaders.

The length of the campaign also counts as a “bad” in my book. The Party surely needs to take a look at it’s rules and restructure/revise them to shorten the campaign season. I will leave the how to others, but the why is obvious. The long season, campaign rhetoric aside, is too costly in terms of money and energy and costs the eventual nominee prep time for the big dance. It also provides too much opportunity for inner-party division and not enough time for repairing such split.

The Ugly…

I know there is no surer way to start an argument than calling someone’s baby ugly, but I gotta tell you, the Clinton end-game is one ugly baby! As the primary season has wound down that campaign has become tone-deaf and defiant, with little benefit other than raising a ruckus.  I know almost 50% of folks disagree, but the benefits of Hilary’s run have already been accomplished and are already manifest and whatever small benefit that she can still squeeze out of this campaign by prolonging it for herself and her supporters, is outweighed by the damage she is doing to her legacy, that of the former president and the party.  She may be satisfying some urge or notion that staying to the bitter end proves for herself or women in general that persistence and tenacity and the willingness to go down fighting is admirable, but she is also hardening the divide within the party between base constituency groups that are all needed to win the general. Her faith in her ability to repair the damage may be admirable, but it may prove to be as elusive as her count of the popular vote. There are Hilary supporters that are now so embittered at what they perceive as gender bias, sexism and misogyny that even she may not be able to win them back. And say what you will, her rift with the Black community may never be repaired and may well have exacerbated race relations within the Party and more generally in some areas of the country.

Finally, the willingness of some folks to chance calling down the lighting on a competitor for the sake of momentary advantage and tortured argument is repugnant. Whether weariness, carelessness, thoughtlessness or lack of caring about the consequences, that particular piece of ugliness will linger for a lot longer than this primary campaign. And the subsequent justifications were weak and tone deaf! It may not be discussed openly, but you can take it to the bank that there are a lot of folks, myself included, who will not be able to forget that when push came to shove, Sen. Clinton’s gaffe, added poison (and an element of personal danger) to the water of this campaign and even the rapid negative reaction did not provoke either recognition of the danger or an apology to the person endangered.  

Like many, I am glad to see this primary season drawing to a close – So... What's your take??