The Gist

My Endorsement...NOT

So here we are on Super Tuesday, and for a lot of us who are voting this decision has been a struggle. We have had a great slate of candidates over the months. The enthusiasm among Democratic voters is infectious. And now we have two remaining candidates, each of whom is smart, driven, and historic, making our choice difficult. We should always have this problem.

Many people have called the show to say that they want to know who I am voting for and want to know if I will endorse one of them. Too many of them have said they will vote for whomever I tell them to vote for. There's no way I'm making that decision for them, and so much of what the show is about, hopefully, is giving people the tools and information to make their own decisions.

We had a long discussion on the program last week about whether or not listeners want to know who I'm supporting. The conversation grew out of yet another heated discussion over my coverage of the campaigns and the candidates, as I’ve often been in the crossfire in the battle between Obama and Clinton supporters (and earlier, Edwards supporters as well). Clinton supporters, like Greg in Los Angeles, have in the past consistently claimed I am "anti-Hillary." Obama supporters, like Tom in New Bedford, MA, more recently have claimed I'm biased against Obama.

The truth is, like many people, I've been undecided through all of this and only made up my mind in the last 24 hours. Sure, at various points I was leaning one way or the other -- going back and forth over the weeks and months -- and that might have colored my opinions (or my opinions colored my leanings) at any given time. But I think I've been honest about that. I've said, "Obama is annoying me right now," or "Hillary Clinton just pissed me off with that comment." I believe the listeners always have a sense about what I’m thinking and feeling at various points and I try to be up front.

True, after a long time of calling Clinton on various issues, in recent weeks there was a lot about Obama – from his dealings with the "ex-gay" gospel singer Donnie McKlurkin to his mandate-less health care plan -- that had me concerned and sometimes angry. But then in recent days Clinton once again offered her disingenuous reasons for voting for the war resolution and, just over the weekend, she dodged questions on including transgendered people in ENDA during an interview with Logo. Not to mention Bill Clinton’s often offensive tactics in South Carolina, which I think affected a lot of us, rightly or wrongly, in thinking about Hillary.

None of these or other issues are truly deal-breakers for me for either candidate, even if some make me angry or annoyed with both of them. Each of the candidates has ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses, strong points and flaws. It's been about weighing all of them. But I can honestly say that if the candidate I have chosen is not the nominee, I will be fine with that and I will trust that all the rest of you made the right decision.

Contrary to a lot of the “electability” blather, I believe either of these candidates can beat John McCain -- and rest assured the right-wing will throw ugly and nasty smears at the Democratic candidate, whoever it is, and we've discussed what those might be with regard to both Clinton and Obama -- and I believe either of them could be a great president. But a lot of that is going to depend on us after this nomination battle is over: We are going to have a fierce fight in the general election, no matter the nominee, and I think we should save all of our best fire for that time.