Obama Needs To Salve The Wounds Of Clinton Supporters

Now that Senator Obama is the nominee he will have to move to show Clinton supporters just why they should support him over John McCain in the fall. The best way for these wounds to be healed would be for Senator Clinton to endorse Obama and a good first step would be for Senator Clinton to concede, which reports suggest will happen Saturday.

Senator Clinton’s speech last night didn’t do that, but her defense of Senator Obama at the AIPAC conference was certainly a good first step towards uniting the fractured Democratic party. Cynthia Ruccia, who is a Democratic activist and was a supporter of Clinton’s campaign told the AP:

“This is about feeling that the party completely disrespected us, let us down, and we don’t feel that we want to be with the party,”

I can understand why Ruccia would feel let down given that the candidate she supported lost. However, if she supported Senator Clinton because of her stands on the issues then Barack Obama is the obvious choice. He’s against the war and McCain isn’t. His health care plan is far closer to Senator Clinton’s than McCain’s status quo position. Senator Obama supported Senator Webb’s GI Bill just like Senator Clinton did while Senator McCain opposed it because he thought it was too generous. Senators Obama and Clinton are pro-choice while Senator McCain believes women don’t deserve that choice.

The General Election Begins

Now that the primary contest is over, Senators Obama and McCain have started to campaign against each other in earnest. Senator McCain challenged Senator Obama to join him in holding 10 townhall meetings during the General Election. McCain’s campaign of couse chose this specific format because McCain flounders when he has to give an electrifying speech as seen by the speech Sen. McCain gave last night which was even panned by Fox News. The Obama campaign responded by saying that they definitely find the idea appealing but that they would prefer to have less formal meetings which are held in the style of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. This of course enables Obama to give the inspirational speeches which have become a trademark of his campaign.

Senator Obama also spoke to AIPAC today where he outlined his foreign policy and why he believes it is in the best interest of both Israel and the United States of America. He impressed some at the meeting such as Leonard Eisenfeld whose son died in a Hamas bombing:

“He had me in tears, this feeling for an understanding of Israel’s predicament,”

However others were less receptive because they were disturbed by Obama’s proposal of tough diplomacy rather than the hawkish positions of Senator McCain and President Bush. Senator Clinton also spoke at the same conference and supported Senator Obama.