What a revoltin' development
The media are really pushing the idea of a Hillary revolt, looking far and wide for Hillary supporters who are so upset Obama won that they are going to vote for McCain. I've read stories from major newspapers, heard a story on NPR, and saw a bunch of talking heads discussing it on TV. McCain's in on it, too, with commercials attempting to divide the Democratic Party--one features a Clinton supporter endorsing McCain, while another uses Clinton herself, with comments about Obama from the primary fight.

I hope Hillary settles this tonight. She's already tried, to an extent: she has of course endorsed Obama, and in reference to the new commercials, she stated, "I'm Hillary Clinton, and I do not approve that message." But tonight is her chance to underscore and emphasize this with a major primetime convention speech that everyone will be paying attention to.

There are, no doubt, some Clinton supporters who are so anti-Obama that they'll vote for McCain--damn the consequences. But it's largely a media-hyped phenomenon. A Salon reporter found them to be a "miniature tableau of political discord" making noise all out of proportion to their numbers. My state senator Jolie Justus,a Clinton delegate who is blogging from the convention floor, wrote, "You can't take two steps in any direction at the Pepsi Center without a member of the press trying to provoke you into speculation about a revolt from the Clinton delegates. I guess the real story of party unity is not sexy enough."

Those few who would vote for McCain are, in my estimation, either deranged or woefully misinformed. Obama and Clinton had very similar voting records in the Senate; McCain's record last year was 95% in agreement with President Bush. How does voting for Bush Lite advance your cause? McCain has promised to appoint more judges like the ultra-conservative Scalia and Alito to the Supreme Court, hurting the country for decades to come; Obama will appoint more reasoned judges, as Clinton would have (I even have a small hope that he'll appoint Clinton). McCain scored a zero on the League of Conservation Voters' environmental scorecard; Obama and Clinton had very similar scores of 67 and 73, respectively. In the Human Rights Campaign's latest Congressional scorecard, McCain achieved a score of 33, while Clinton and Obama tied at 89. I could go on and on like this, but the point is obvious: McCain's "maverick" image is a fiction, and he stands in opposition to just about everything Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party stand for. Being upset that one's candidate is not the nominee is one thing, but voting for her antithesis instead of a candidate with similar values and goals is irrational and disastrous to one's own rights and to the nation.

I can guarantee that if the tables were turned, and Clinton had defeated the candidate I supported, I would accept and support Clinton as the next closest thing--the best of the viable presidential candidates--despite the distaste I gained for some of the tactics and statements that came from her, her husband, and her camp during the primary battle. John Kerry wasn't originally my guy, but I voted for him. Bill Clinton wasn't originally my guy, but I voted for him. It's the way things go. No way would I have even considered voting for George W. Bush in 2004 or George H. W. Bush in 1992! (I can't even remember if I had an alternate favorite before Dukakis took the nomination in 1988, but I ultimately voted for him, too.)

Clinton fought hard and got further than any woman before her, and she deserves respect for that. She'll have the roll-call vote (which is much more routine than the media have been making it out to be), and she'll have tonight's spotlight. So I hope she has her moment to shine, and I hope she knocks it out of the park tonight for herself and Obama. Go, Hillary!

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Michelle Obama did a great job last night. The girls were adorable. I somehow missed Claire McCaskill. Alejandro Escovedo is playing the convention tonight at 6:45 central time, which I think is way cool. Maybe it makes up for being on Bush's iPod!