Andrew Jaffe: Leaves on the Line

Living abroad, I’ve been following the American Presidential campaign (podcasts of This Week and Meet The Press help). But I’ve got this far without making a choice. I still vote in California, in one of the most liberal (i.e., American parlance for left-wing) parts of the country: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s district, smack in the middle of San Francisco. So I need to send in my absentee ballot before the February 5 “Super-Duper Tuesday” primary.

According to this poll, I should be voting for a no-hoper such as Dennis Kucinich or the even less likely Mike Gravel, but of course the real question is: Obama or Clinton (or, still, Edwards)? Change (but Obama’s been a politician for a dozen years) or experience (and Hillary’s only been in elected office since 2001 — I find it difficult to take eight years as First Lady too seriously as “experience”)?