to reduce defense spending, re-emphasize diplomacy in foreign policy, reduce the national debt, more tax fairness, more inclusive of non-white/non-rich in policy making, and "focus like a laser-beam" on specific domestic issues (derisively called "small-ball" by the Bush administration)
one gets the impression that what the Democratic voters are looking for is another Bill Clinton, with one key difference. they desire a President like Bill Clinton, that they don't have to constantly worry about being embarassed by.
until the campaigns began in earnest, the common perception was that Hillary was that candidate, because she was perceived as being smart enough, tough enough, and assertive enough to offset lingering doubts about Bill's role in another term. but as the early campaign unfolded, those doubts multiplied to the point where the "unknown" candidate became the frontrunner because he sounded very much like Bill did in 1992 and had unprecedented character and discipline for a young Democrat with charisma.
then the "guilt by association" campaign began.
Obama hangs out with:
a sleazy businessman
a momentarily angry black preacher
an unrepentant vietnam war protester
people who look down their noses at the working class,
church-goers, and hunters
people who drink orange juice instead of coffee,
and can't bowl worth a damn.
to the older, whiter, less educated, and less affluent voters, the "old" politics that has worked in the past, still works (but thankfully, not as well as it used to)
but just as with the studio system in the movie industry decades ago and the current music industry, a new way of doing business (mostly due to new technology) is ascending while the old way is fighting hard and dirty to preserve it's power.
and the results will be similar because after decades of "top-down" (dare i say "elitist"?) decision-making by elders corrupted by too much "experience", the younger generations now have the means and the numbers to insist on a different method of consensus-building, from the "bottom (the people) up".
