Allison Good Columnist

So, besides John McCain’s almost inevitable nomination and a wrestling match between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, what does Super Tuesday mean? It translates into an unusually breakneck and unpredictable election, one whose results may leave historians and political analysts befuddled for years to come.

This election may be even more scandalous than Bush’s first win in 2000. The exposure of the Electoral College’s flaws is nothing in comparison to a possible exposure of the delegate system in a race that aims to replace a president who has caused significant damage to the American nation.

Everyone is talking about electability, and a number of experts have even said that certain groups of Republicans would vote for Obama over McCain. You know this country’s voters are confused and upset when Republicans are willing to vote for a forward-thinking and charismatic liberal candidate instead of one of their own. This means that people are finally ready for a change after years of failing wars and growing class inequality.

But why can’t the delegates choose between two amazing Democratic candidates? What makes it so hard to make a decision? It’s the diametrically different ideas about which changes to make and how to make them.

If you’re looking for a candidate who wants to reinforce civil rights and decrease the gap between the rich and the poor by introducing new legislation, the cult of Obama and his slogan of “Change” is definitely for you. With the economic recession in full swing and a relatively recent influx of poor Hispanic immigrants, the number of Americans living below the poverty line has severely increased to an astounding 37 million, or 12.6 percent of the population.

Obama wants to reverse this situation, and his proposed reforms include substantial tax credits and a higher minimum wage. This would indeed be a drastic change since our current president tends to leave the business side of things to the CEOs of corporate America.

If elected, Obama wants to introduce harsher hate crime legislation, which is an important measure, especially in the aftermath of the Jena 6. As a Southerner myself, I can say that hate crimes and racial profiling are still a significant problem.

“Experience” is considered to be Obama’s downfall and the Clinton campaign’s favorite word. Clinton may not be JFK, but she does have 35 years of experience, a trait that is necessary for knowing how to best guarantee that reforms are actually passed into law in the capital’s chaotic and bitter atmosphere. Not only is she a Senator, but as First Lady she had first-hand experiences with foreign policy and diplomatic relations.

Clinton, the candidate for the avid feminist, is also a supporter of universal health care and a champion of the underdogs of American society. She has a very strong background in women’s rights, claiming in a famous speech that “Women’s rights are human rights,” and is probably Washington's most zealous pro-choice advocate.

Clinton also spearheaded an effort to make the morning-after pill available over the counter. If elected, she would introduce new standards for women’s health care, overturn the losses that Roe v. Wade has suffered in the Bush Years, and attempt to Equal Pay legislation passed in Congress.

The proposal to implement a universal health care system is definitely the gem of Clinton’s campaign. What sane person would not want an equal-opportunity health care system? Clinton’s universal health care would get rid of the discrimination caused by the insurance companies and would use tax credits to help people pay for their health care.

If you are a Democrat or very liberal Republican, this is a hard choice to make. It’s not necessarily a choice based on a preference of policy, but rather a gut instinct: Who can be the best leader, who can unite for the common good? But what, exactly, is the common good at this age and stage? Sooner or later, no matter how conformist it may seem, you, the voter, must be in solidarity with a candidate.

You have to figure out for yourself what is more important and act on that in the voting booth.

These are two truly phenomenal and talented candidates, regardless of what experience they have had and what legislation that have gotten passed in Congress. From two distinctly different cultural and social backgrounds, each has had defining moments that have persuaded citizens to vote for them in the primaries so far.

The most important thing is that they are proponents of change, no matter how different their two visions for it are. Each of their proposed reforms is crucial to reshaping America’s identity and improving the quality of life in this country. After all, it’s about time that someone started to care about the American people.

—Allison Good ’11 is writing a weekly column about American politics, focusing on the 2008 presidential election and the primary process.