There's your problem

Now that Clinton has suspended her campaign and has endorsed Obama, the Democratic party has an uphill battle to mend the damage caused by the primary and win the White House. Politics often takes on an us-versus-them stance that is not healthy when you have to switch horses for the final leg of the race. The following quote from this article illustrates my point:

Clinton backers described themselves as sad and resigned. "This is a somber day," said Jon Cardinal, one of the first in line. Cardinal said he planned, reluctantly, to support Obama in the general election. "It's going to be tough after being against Obama for so long," he said.

Just because you are for Clinton, it does not follow that you have have to against Obama, but that is exactly the kind of mentality that has arisen in this primary. That is the exactly the type of damage that the prolonged tooth-and-nail primary fight caused. Some of this could be avoided if the candidates spent more of their time campaigning on their own merits rather than their opponent's shortcomings. But even without negative campaigning, the electorate will still tend to polarize. I think it's human nature.

In my own case, I drifted into the Obama camp specifically because I do not like Clinton. But there is no way in hell I'll vote for McCain. In 2000, I voted Green as a protest vote against the Clinton era of selling out liberal values and principles, epitomized by the asinine "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Had I been living in Florida and not California, I might feel worse about this vote than I do. People often say that voting is a matter of picking the lesser evil. There is no doubt in my mind that Clinton would have been the lesser evil and I would have voted for her in November.

Had Clinton not been in the race, I am sure that most of those who supported her would have supported Obama. These voters need to get past the "against Obama" mindset they have been in for the past 9 months and get behind the fundamental principles that drew them to Clinton in the first place. A vote for McCain would be counter to the Clinton policies of universal health care, ending the war in Iraq, etc. And yet, there will be those who will for McCain out of spite or bitterness, just because Obama defeated their candidate. And that's what's wrong with this country: people voting on petty, pointless, emotional issues instead of actual policy.