This post might be sacrilege in these parts, but I'm comfortable being in the minority when my sense of personal integrity is at stake.  I was in the seven to ten percent who disapproved of Bush after 9/11 (I knew they were lying as soon as Condi said they never imagined people using planes as weapons, it having been common knowledge about the 90s plot in the Philippines to crash US airliners).  I was amongst the 30% who were against the Iraq War, and even protested it, before it started.  I've been in the majority at times, too, but more often not.

At any rate, I often see discussion here about what current Clinton and Obama supporters will do once after one of them takes the nomination and I have to share what I plan to do as a current Obama supporter should he lose the nomination. I hear Hillary supporters express bewilderment when Obama supporters show uneasiness about supporting her in the general election and I'd like to explain why that might be. I certainly can't speak for every Obama supporter. Indeed, I probably do not speak for those who are lifelong Democrats, and I can't begin to speak for so-called Independents and crossover Republicans. Nevertheless, I would venture to guess that I am not alone in my thought processes here.

I haven't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in the general since '92. (I have voted Green in safely Democratic California.) Bill Clinton was a giant disappointment for those who cherish progressive values more than party politics. His hard tack to the right in his first term greatly turned me off to the Democratic establishment, after having so much hope when George HW Bush lost the Presidency ending 12 years of Republican rule in the White House. Bill Clinton was bad on gays (Don't Ask Don't Tell, Defense of Marriage Act); bad on foreign policy (hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died due to sanctions); bad on taking the office of the Presidency seriously enough, and underestimating republican's desire to "get" him (Monica); bad on the death penalty, privacy and civil rights (Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act); bad on labor/trade (NAFTA); bad on health care (caving on universal care when he had a Dem Congress); bad on poverty (welfare reform); and bad on fair use/copyright law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act). I could go on and on...

Sure, there are excuses for each disappointment, but the fact remains that Bill Clinton's administration largely conducted itself as if it were Republican-lite, a kinder, gentler, sort of Republican.

Ever since '94, and even before, Repugs have been dictating national policy and the best Dems have done is react, and often very weakly at that. Both Clintons have been in that mold for nearly 15 years now. Just look at how hard Hillary has been trying to be seen as tough and "prove" her national security bonafides since she came to the Senate (Iraq in 2002, Iran in 2007). Not to mention her recent fear-mongering about terrorist attacks on "Day One."

At least Obama offers the "hope" of real change in the Democratic party and the country. It's a chance at something new. Maybe it will turn out to be a false hope, but I have absolutely no hope that Hillary will do anything dramatically progressive as President. There's nothing in her or her husband's history that suggests otherwise to me.

I will definitely vote for Obama in the general election if he wins the nomination. Even he is a bit too conservative for my tastes, but I will take a leap of faith once again, believe in the Democratic Party again, like I did in 1992, and vote for the Democratic nominee if Obama is that nomimee.

Hillary is clearly running on Bill's history as President in the 1990s -- and I couldn't bring myself to vote for him a second time -- so, if Hillary wins the Democratic nomination, I will likely vote Green again. [About the only reason I can foresee that I wouldn't vote Green if Hillary is the nominee, would be if pre-election polls show that she has under a ten percent lead over McCain as the presumptive Repug nominee in California. I would never vote Green and throw a Presidential election to a Republican.] If she is the clear California front-runner I will vote Green both to vote my heart and to send a message, just as I did when Bill ran for re-election in 1996, and in 2000 when Kerry did not run as a strong anti-war candidate. Hillary as President can and likely will ignore that message but it's what I have to do to vote in good conscience.