Kyle Bell

Four years ago, a little known state senator from Illinois was the keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention in 2004 on behalf of John Kerry. He spoke eloquently about how there were no red state or blue state America, just the United States of America.

“Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy; our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal… … that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

That is the true genius of America, a faith…

… a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution; and that our votes will be counted — or at least, most of the time.”

That speaker in Boston was Barack Obama. He spoke at a time when our country was perhaps more divided than any time since the 1960s. The divisions of the Clinton and Bush years have torn our country apart. Neighbors can not have a civil conversation about politics. Talk show hosts yell at their guests and pundits declare victors before a single vote is cast. Hillary Clinton was all but declared the Democratic nominee before Iowa even kicked off the process.

Barack Obama proved them wrong. His message of hope and change transcended political lines, bringing Democrats, independents and Republicans together to support one candidate. But as quickly as victory was realized, the Clintons turned their sights on him. It was actually three or so weeks prior that the dump trunk began rolling back. Surrogates to the Clintons posed the question of whether Obama was a drug dealer, repeatedly distorted his record on the Iraq War, claimed that he went to a madrasa and had a Muslim heritage, and didn’t fail to remind people that his middle name was Hussein.

Americans aren’t stupid. They see exactly what the Clintons are doing and I expect them to punish them at the polls, starting in South Carolina. The Politics of Hope that Obama coined is under siege by The Politics of Fear. Former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary are tag teaming personal attacks on Obama, along with their classless surrogates in hopes that their tactics can bring him down.

It seems to have worked, if ever so slightly, in New Hampshire and Nevada. Yet New Hampshire and Nevada always were states where Hillary led by wide margins. It’s clear now that her crying performance helped her win women in both states, while the lack of independent voters hurt him in Nevada. If women continue to vote for Hillary in the numbers that they are, it will be impossible for Obama to win. Just as Hillary has had to give blacks reason not to vote for Obama, Obama has to give women reason not to vote for Hillary. I have several:

1. Obama’s appeal extends far past core Democrats. He can win independents and Republicans in a general election that Hillary never will.

2. The level of personal attacks and dishonesty on the part of the Clintons is on level with Bush and Cheney. They are using true Karl Rove tactics to win. Their greatest weakness may very well be that they will do anything to win.

3. Playing gender politics doesn’t advance women’s issues or the country. Not only will Hillary lose the general election, doing so will guarantee that we will not advance as a nation on important issues of race, gender and sexual orientation.

Obama has proven to be an inspiring leader the likes we haven’t seen since John F. Kennedy. In Iowa, people under the age of 30 made up 22% of the vote. 22%! They say that young people don’t vote and yet they did in overwhelming fashion. The Obama coalition of young voters, independents and anti-war Democrats was a powerful force in Iowa and will be on February 5. Kennedy didn’t have an easy road to the nomination. It took a win in Protestant West Virginia to prove that he was viable. It will likely take Obama winning women in a few states, like he did in Iowa, to win the nomination.