Hillary Plays Dirty
I used to think that I would be equally happy with either [Democratic presidential] candidate, but the things Hillary has done to try and stay in the race have pissed me off. Pushing to get the Michigan and Florida delegates seated? What a load of crap! Party leaders see the traditionally early voting states as more accurate bellwethers of the national climate, and Michigan and Florida were threatening to damage that balance by breaking the rules. Both candidates accepted the decision to strip the states of their delegates and agreed not to campaign there. Obama actively removed his name from the Michigan ballot, but Hillary left hers on. ?She gets roughly 60 percent of the vote (40 percent undecided) and declares herself the winner? ?In a competition against who, exactly?
Now that she's clearly behind, she wants those states' delegates to count? Obama has magnanimously offered to split the delegates, even giving Hillary the lion's share. She's saying she'll carry on this fiasco to the convention if she's not satisfied with the results.
?Rewriting the rules when you're losing is something I've come to expect from the other party, but I thought we had a more developed sense of fair play.? If we do manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, I will consider Hillary's pigheadedness, unbridled ambition and sense of entitlement partly to blame. The rest I will blame on Diebold, the corporate media, public ignorance, and the deep pockets' sleaze machine.
?Before?anyone out there suggests I don't like Hillary just because she's a woman, has it occurred to you that maybe you only like her because she's a woman, regardless of whether she's the best candidate? ?And before anyone suggests that I wouldn't penalize a man for having "unbridled ambition," I say, if the situation were reversed, I would be pissed at Obama. Maybe even more so, for undermining the chances of the first woman candidate with a real shot at the presidency.
Sven Huggins
Northampton
Pot Story Lauded
I wanted to thank you for the outstanding article on the marijuana laws and the 2008 decrim ballot initiative ["Prison—For Pot?", May 29, 2008]. I've worked as a volunteer activist in Mass. since 2000 on marijuana reform. It's very rare to see an article that presents such detailed and accurate information. This article was exceptionally well researched and organized. The issue is complicated and I don't think the mainstream media even has the capability to cover it anymore. We typically see articles from larger media outlets that are 90 percent lifted directly from a government-issued press release. Thanks again; keep up the good work.
Scott Mortimer
Drug Policy Forum of Mass.
Correction: In "The Climate Change Think Tank" (May 22, 2008) we incorrectly referred to Congressman John Olver as U.S. Sen. Olver. He is U.S. Rep. Olver.
