I would say to the Florida and Michigan Voters

Like probably a vast majority of we traditional Democrats (over age 55), I do not vote according to what a candidate says, but according to what he or she has represented in the past.

Whether agreeing with his views, or not, I cannot challenge Mr. Obama's honesty. However, it is clear that Mrs. Hillary Clinton, ever since her participation in the Nixon impeachment (1972), has shown ingeniously clever deceit along with total lack of scruples, in her quest for power. Like the winds, she has changed her views according to the opinion polls, never according to principle or any conviction. Why? Obviously because she believes she can acquire ("buy") votes through such chicanery. As Jerry Zeifman, Chief Counsel of the House Judiciary Committee in the Nixon Impeachment, has pointed out, acquisition of power is the only goal, the obsession, of Mrs. Clinton.

Erroneously, some have labeled Mrs. Clinton a communist due to her sometimes intermittent support of socialist objectives. Irony: Few people recall that Hillary Rodham was a strong supporter of Senator Barry Goldwater, an unmistakably ant-communist, in his bid for the presidency. This reveals to any logical person that Mrs. Clinton has no convictions, either in the direction of socialism, or the total opposite direction, the absolute antithesis of socialism, our democratic philosophy. She is ingenious in her capability to "fit herself into" any format that opinion polls indicate the majority of people support. Obviously this is an orchestrated effort in that she will do and say whatever is required for her to reach the pinnacle of power.

 

Think on this very clearly: Venezuela was one of the most democratic civilizations in all of South America. However, the people there voted Señor Hugo Chávez, a pretend Democrat, into the presidency. Only then did Chávez show his true colors as he began "nationalization" (confiscation) of much of organized industry, and supporting drug lords and revolutionary guerrilla organizations; demonstrating that his ultimate (hidden) goals are power and money. Now Venezuelans are in a deadly quandary. They cannot simply go back to their democratic civilization by a nationwide vote. Like Chávez, Hillary will promise anything, although contradicting much of her previous 40 years of activities, to get your vote. Also, remember, once centralized power is achieved, as was done by Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Mao Tse Dong, Vladimir Putin, and others, though not necessarily by elections, you cannot simply vote again to regain your democratic civilization. Your Americans freedoms, the rights to do with your life as you please, are fragile. Once centralized control is achieved by power hungry monopolists, it is next to impossible, without bloody revolution, to end it. Elections in regimes of centralized power, as the recent ones in Venezuela and Russia clearly demonstrate, are rigged to maintain the status quo. The people, although pretend elections may be held, really have no voice, no effect, in governance.

Talk with people who have emigrated from countries in which small cabals hold centralized power under their control. These immigrants can relate the experiences that could befall these United States if we fail to respect our Constitutional philosophy of absolute de-centralization of power. The placement of the ultimate political power "in the hands of the people themselves" , as Thomas Jefferson so eloquently put it, is the American blessing that has since been very, very slowly spreading around the world. Still only about 50 of the 191 member "states" of the United Nations allow any semblance of authentic democratic civilization within their borders, making our system of human rights and individual freedom a minority political influence on the planet.

As an Internationalist Democrat of over 45 years, I would never vote for any candidate, such as Hillary Clinton, whose only objective is personal power.

The Republicans very obviously made a wrong choice in selecting John McCain as their candidate. He has next to no chance of beating Barack Obama in November.

A. Benton Edmons, editorialist, The Centrist Democrat International: TCDI is not in any way affiliated with any political faction of any nation.