There's a pretty good article on Oregonlive.com about Jeff Merkley. Here's the link, checki it out.


http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1209617710126400.xml&coll=7

        

The race for the Democratic nomination for President has been one without precedent in the history of the United States. Everyone knows this will be the first nomination for either a woman or a black man. I'm not sure if I should be surprised or proud that those facts haven't been much of an issue yet. One side of me says, "It shouldn't be an issue, it doesn't matter, as a nation we have matured past the point of assuming things about people based on identities." But, the other side of me says, "That's not the nation we live in. Everyday of my life I run into voting Americans who still hold prejudices."  This is the basis for the dilema I face, and all citizens face. We must decide which kind of world we want to live in. We are at the breaking point. We have to choose between becoming a progressive. creative government; showing that it's come of age, or an indolent adolescent nation still reliant on force to maintain functioning relationships. Which one do we want to be? 

Of course, this speaks more to the distinction between the Pro-Bush faction and the rest of the country, but as a whole we elected Bush twice. The 2000 election was one of the closest in history. There is a definite division within this country, one that I don't feel we can afford to have anymore.

That's why this election, and particularly this nomination, is so important.  We have to choose one or the other. if we don't make a decisive decision as a nation in November, we may look back on the 2008 election one hundred years from now and think, "That was the nail in the coffin, it was our last chance to pull our country back together and we blew it."  Maybe we'll be the 50 nations rather than the United States, who knows? But to think that's something that couldn't happen would be a mistake. We've only been a nation for 232 years. We're still growing. The question is, are we going to grow together or are we going to grow apart?

So, when I think about that, I wonder which candidate is going to be the best leader to take us into the future: Hillary or Barack?

Below is part one of Hillary Clinton's appearance at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon, 
and further below is part one of Barack Obama's rally at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.
Go to  http://www.youtube.com/thevotevandotcom to view more videos.

        

I attended the World Without War Rally on March 15 in Portland. While I was cruising through the unending lines of booths for different causes (imagine what we could accomplish if all these groups could come together and work toward one common goal for any sustained length of time), I happened by the man below, Democratic senate candidate Jeff Merkley.



I wasn't overly impressed with Merkley's impromptu speech. He showed some passion, but very little charisma or empathy. I didn't get the sense the ideas he spouted were his own. It sounded more like he was throwing things out hoping to get a reaction from the crowd.

I saw him speak again yesterday (4/27) at the debate sponsored by the Oregon League of Minority Voters. He played the part of senator better than any of the other candidates. He was well prepared and addressed both the live audience and the viewers at home. He seemed more confident and comfortable behind the podium than he did in the Park Blocks, but I don't get any sense of who Jeff is when he speaks. He mentioned twice on Sunday that his wife, Mary, is a nurse, but that just tells me he likes to be around caring women. Why should I trust he will follow through on all his politically polished promises? He's a little goofy off the cuff, and slightly robotic on stage; sticking to party rhetoric in both environments. I wonder if the Oregon Dem's put him up as an effort to steal Republican votes?