Count me for Obama

I've sat on the fence for most of this primary season, for one big reason — I like both candidates. I think either Hillary or Obama would make an excellent president, and I agree with both of them on most policy issues. Lately, though, I've been leaning more and more towards Obama, and it's because of that E-word many of you are probably sick of hearing:

Electability.

Yes, I know — some of you will argue that Hillary is the more experienced choice, more of a known quantity. And you're right. But the press hates her, and as the 2000 election showed, that makes it very hard to win¹. Media preferences are going to be critical in this election because the press loves McCain. Even people who don't like him refer to him as a "media darling." Obama, though, is something else entirely. He has an amazing ability to make pundits all misty-eyed with his JFK-esque charm.

Public opinion about these candidates' personalities is inevitably going to mirror what the media tells people to think. It's not surprising, then, that in head-to-head matchup polls, Obama almost always beats McCain while Hillary almost always loses. It's possible Hillary could turn this around with a good campaign, but she'd be swimming against the current.

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[1] I know, it's entirely possible Gore technically won that election. Realistically, though, it was a tie. We don't want another one of those. If it's close enough to go to the Supreme Court again, we'll lose.