Primaries today.

I'm going to be voting later today in the Maryland primaries. I'm a registered Democrat just for that particular reason.

Just to address the pink elephant in any post about elections these days, I'll say this: I will vote for Hilary Clinton.

I'm voting on the basis that it's a civic duty of mine as an American citizen, not particularly because I am so compelled by a specific candidate. Honestly, the Democratic candidates in Barak Obama, Hilary Clinton or Mike Gravel, are all fine choices for nomination. I view this particular day as a prelude to what should- no, what must- happen on November 4th: the Democratic candidate be elected.

The Presidency of George W. Bush over the last 8 years has done tremendous damage to the United States' standing in global politics. Despite being the most nominally powerful state in the world, we are being more and more reviled- this is quite a departure from global perception of the United States during the years immediately following the end of the Cold War. As we have seen from the last 6 1/2 years, a Neoconservative foreign policy has been detrimental to American foreign policy. The Republican party is no longer a conservative party but a Neoconservative one. Another 4 years of Neoconservative foreign policy may end whatever remaining legitimacy the United States can claim to represent the new liberal world order after the Cold War. This is why a Democrat must win the coming election.

But since I have to chose later today, I chose to vote for Hilary Clinton. Why am I voting for Hilary and not Obama? It's fairly simple: as you can tell by the paragraph above, I'm very concerned with American foreign policy. Hilary Clinton simply has more of a record and history with American foreign policy. Clinton was probably the second most influential first lady in American history behind Elenore Roosevelt. She watched as her husband first left foreign policy to his staff and watch it begin to unravel in front of them. She watched and aided her husband as he did his best to establish the United States as the leader of the liberal world with humanitarian efforts in his second term. She must clearly understand the importance of a coherent and active foreign policy for the United States' well being. She has shown, if not at least seen, how diplomacy can be utilized correctly. She understands the importance of establishing and maintaining the United States as the leader of the free world rather than the unilateral jingoist state that it has become.

Why I am voting for Hilary Clinton and not Barak Obama is because I believe she understands the axial nature of what I feel in the most important issue in this coming election. Honestly, I won't be upset if Barak Obama wins the party's nomination. Although Obama doesn't have first hand foreign policy experience, I have faith that he'll understand the importance of restoring American foreign policy to what it should be.

At this point, there are no bad choices except for Republican.