Fine. I Love You, Hillary

It's curtains for team Obama. Hillary has snagged an endorsement from the New York Times, albeit a tempered, qualified one.

And I have egg on my face. Again.

The spectacle that is this election, one that has captured the world's attention more than any other election I can remember, has been unfolding since November 2000 when the GOP elbowed its way into power. And then there was the fallout of 2004. Who really liked John Kerry? In the Pepsi/Coke mash-up that was the 04 elections voters went downmarket and stuck with their C&C Cola president.

Fast forward 4 years and the U.S. is atwitter with the prospect of participation, of making an impact. Finally, voters feel relevant. Thanks to YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, the blogosphere, the debate over the direction of this country is an all-consuming affair. We have the tools, and the desire, to grab the reins of this country and steer it back on the path of inclusion, reparation, and success.

And that's why I was all about Obama a few months ago. The Times says it best:

The sense of possibility, of a generational shift, rouses Mr. Obama’s audiences and not just through rhetorical flourishes. He shows voters that he understands how much they hunger for a break with the Bush years, for leadership and vision and true bipartisanship. We hunger for that, too. But we need more specifics to go with his amorphous promise of a new governing majority, a clearer sense of how he would govern.

When you think about the issues facing this country it's enough to make anyone crawl under the covers and not want to come out. It's enough to make you give up on the system. It's enough to make you say, let's let God sort it out, this is beyond us.

And then someone like Hillary Clinton comes out. Ready to take a beating from GOP bullies. Ready to make hard choices. Ready to admit failure. And start all over again and effect change. I'll never forgive Hillary for voting for the war in Iraq, but I will applaud her steadfast vision for an America where people have jobs, health insurance and purpose.

Some people say her camp is dragging the primary process back into traditional mud-slinging politics. Some will say that the "bickering" with Obama on CNN earlier this week was unseemly.

I say it's necessary.

We're heading into a recession. Americans re-elected a moron into office for a second term. Iraq is a nightmare. Pakistan is not our friend. Kids in this country are dropping out of school. Pro-lifers want to rescind reproductive health into the dark ages with our current President's full support. If you can talk politely about these issues while sipping Evian then you're not human and you certainly have no business running for the Dems' nomination.

And that's why I - gulp - love you, Hillary. You got the NY Times on your side. Now you have me.