BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Is the difference between the Democratic Party candidates something as simple as “I” and “we”?  I think it is, at least for the voters.  Perhaps, it is only a perception but it seems to be a widely accepted one, and one that seems to be reflected in the size of the crowds the candidates draw.

Many of us remember the secrecy that shrouded the Hillary Clinton universal health care plan of the early 1990’s.  Perception of the process was that First Lady Hillary Clinton moved into the White House with an idea that she had pondered for years.  She spoke of her health care agenda and then moved into the shadows to perfect her plan. 

When the first lady emerged from the dark and presented her plan we reacted like a child at Christmas who found a pair of socks under the tree rather than Elmo.  Maybe we needed the socks, but we wanted to tickle Elmo.  So, what was the problem?  The problem wasn’t that none of us were tickled with the health care plan.  The perception was that the First Lady had not even looked at our wish list. 

The health care plan may have been universal but the perception was that it had been unilaterally designed.  All we wanted to do was sit on Santa’s lap and recite our wish list.  For some reason when I was a kid I wanted a penguin.  Don’t ask why.  I have no idea.  Maybe it was because I already had a pony.  Anyway, for at least three years I vaguely remember my mother taking me to see Santa and each of those years I told Santa that I wanted a penguin.  I had it all figured out of course.  The penguin would live in the bathtub.  (They need to be surrounded by water.)  And, each year Santa would allow me to sit on his lap and tell him that I didn’t want just any old penguin.  I wanted an Emperor penguin.  (Don’t ask…) 

Well, two years went by and no penguin appeared under the tree or in the bathtub.  After my third request, Santa called me.  Oh, yeah.  He called and he explained to me why I shouldn’t want a penguin.  I won’t cover the reason, but it made sense to a kid so I settled for a stuffed penguin and live Scotty Terrier.  The point is that Santa listened.  And, in the end we compromised.  It was a win-win situation.  Get it?

So, when Hillary unveiled her 1990’s health care plan, it was rejected, not because we didn’t want health care but because we had not been a part of the process.  I would never have settled for Fred (the terrier) if there had been no explanation of why he was a better choice for me… and penguins in general.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, gives us the perception that we are a part of the process.  He is like my Santa Claus.  We know we aren’t going to get everything we want from the next president no matter who it is.  But, we perceive Obama as the Santa who looks at our list and listens to our arguments, and includes us in the dialogue.

Well, maybe that’s the difference in the two candidates, the perception of how each responds to us.