Kristyne McDaniel Opinion Blog

Sen. Hillary Clinton

As an avid Hillary supporter, I was very pleased with the caliber of her Tuesday night speech at the Democratic National Convention. She made a great case for Barack Obama and against John McCain without going back on any of the things she had previously said about either of them.

The reality for me is that a person can support Barack Obama without necessarily believing that he is already up to speed on being the next president. For me, the moment I decided was the moment I realized that people rise to the occasion when it comes to them, and not necessarily before. One guidance that has been given to hiring managers has been that if they have a current employee that possesses at least half the expertise required for a job, that they can grow the other half and meet the challenge.

Obviously, Barack Obama will have a ramp-up time required to move into the White House. What each of us needs to consider is whether we believe he has the capability to do a cram course on it between election day and inauguration day or not. John McCain would also have a lot of learning to do, as he has been a senator, but has not run a corporation or a large department in government either. No matter which candidate we vote for, there will be a learning curve involved to step into the presidency. Each of us must evaluate which of them will grow into the job with the characteristics and goals we want in a president. For me, Barack Obama is closer to my ideal than John McCain. That realization is the reason behind my choice.

Honestly, I am still not convinced about whether Barack Obama is the right choice for me. I’ve been an avid Hillary supporter since she appeared on the scene with Bill Clinton nearly 20 years ago. She was a good fit for me in many ways. On the one hand she married Bill while she was still young, and on the other hand she never entirely took a back seat in the marriage. For many years, she facilitated Bill’s dream of being the Governor of Arkansas by earning the majority of the family’s money.

I could relate to the way that Hillary supported Bill financially while Bill took the center stage in politics. That felt to me like an excellent partnership-style marriage. Nobody was subservient, and each was supportive of the other. That, to me is the way that marriages were meant to be.

There are actually some of the same things going on with the Obama’s that I liked so much about the Clintons. Both Obamas are very intelligent, with superior educations. I would have like to see more experience under Barack’s belt before running for president. However, even though his experience level is not what I’d like to see, his intellect is right up there with the best of our former presidents. He does not simply pop off with one or two word snappy answers, and instead is a thoughtful decider. Few events happen in the world without at least a few hours of warning, so there are seldom any occasions where a snap judgement is required from our leaders. Barack is well equipped to provide thoughtful responses to the problems our next president will face.

At this moment, I still can’t say whether it is certain that I will vote for Obama. I do think I am leaning in that direction, however. I’ll keep watching both of the major candidates before making a final decision.