(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama and DailyKos)

As a Clinton supporter, I think I had it wrong for a long time.

I heard Obama supporters talking about a new kind of politics - a kind which incorporated hope and change. For some reason, I decided this was a silly notion; I scoffed at Barack Obama's message: It was too idealistic, too vague. What did "Vote Hope" really mean? How had Obama rallied such a massive base of support around the nebulous concept of "hope"? Maybe that's part of what used to frustrate me - I simply didn't understand. Did his supporters believe his campaign would always stay positive? Every politician has to fight back against the opposition. They all get down in the mud, so didn't that make Obama just another typical politician?

It took me a very long time to formally "come to Obama," and an even longer time to understand his message of hope. I was looking at it the wrong way - I was trying to turn hope into something concrete and measurable, and I'd forgotten that some things can't be clinically analyzed or quantified. Hope isn't a static or tangible thing because it means something different to everyone. I do have hope for a new type of politics and a new kind of president in Barack Obama. I have faith in his ability to win the general election. He believes in the 50-State Strategy, and he perfected and implemented it with remarkable efficacy during the primaries. I have no doubt he'll use similar tactics in the fall as he makes the GOP fight for every stronghold. I have faith in his ability to govern and lead. He built his phenomenal campaign from the ground up and, with the help of his enthusiastic supporters, turned it into an unstoppable force.

Ever since Hillary endorsed Barack on June 7th, much has been made on this site and others about the newfound unity among Democrats to combat John McCain and the Republicans. Yet, according to a new CNN poll (pdf), it appears that in the month since existing the race, Hillary has actually garnered more among Democrats as a whole than she had before she left. The numbers among Hillary supporters are even more stark. Last month, 60% of Hillary supporters said they would back Obama if he was the nominee. Now that number has dropped to 54%. At the same time, the Hillary supporters who say they won't vote for either Barack Obama or John McCain has gone from 22% to 32%. This poll may explain why Obama has yet to establish more than a 5% lead over McCain, even though the generic Democrat beats the generic Republican by 20%.

If Hillary Clinton were still running for president, who would you rather see the Democratic party
choose as its nominee?

   * Barack Obama 54% (59%)
    * Hillary Clinton 43% (35%)

(Among Hillary Clinton supporters) Now that Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, who is your choice for president?

   * Barack Obama 54% (60%)
    * John McCain 10% (17%)
    * Would Not Vote 32% (22%)

Survey of 431 registered Democrats was conducted June 26-29. Results from the poll conducted June 4-5 are in parentheses.

I have a confession to make. I'm not a Clinton supporter turned Obama backer.

I'm just a lowly concern troll.

And yet, I'm a diabolical genius because I tricked nearly all of you. Naïve fools! But don't worry, I'm going to tell you how. I wouldn't want you to make the grave error of mistaking concern trolling for genuine support ever again. For all you Clinton supporters out there, let this diary be your guide to concern trolling. Obama supporters are all 13 years old, so even though I'm sitting here, flat out telling them I'm a concern troll, they still won't get it. Their young, puerile, undeveloped minds still won't process it - kids have poor reading comprehension, you know, and they all have ADD nowadays, anyway. Thank god we're all old, wizened, spinsters. So pull up a chair, put your 30 cats in your lap, and read carefully.

(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama)

Some of you are going to be surprised to see these words coming from me, and I implore you to read the entire diary before you begin throwing flames.

I've been defending Obama at every turn since late March. I defended him against the people who were using Wright to attack him; I defended him against bittergate; I scoffed at fingergate. I defended him until I pissed off at least half the Clinton supporters on this site. I made myself pretty unpopular with people I once liked, but I didn't care. I felt I was doing the right thing by defending him because I thought it likely that he'd become the nominee. I was trying to be fair, attempting to be moderate. I probably spent more time criticizing Hillary than Obama because she was my candidate, and I held her to a higher standard. So through my efforts to remain rational and speak in measured tones, I gave Obama the benefit of the doubt - always - for approximately three months. I stuck my neck out for him on MyDD and in my personal life, much to the displeasure of my Hillary supporter friends and my Republican parents (who came to grudgingly respect my admiration for Hillary, but felt nothing but disdain for "the empty suit"). I defended him and didn't mind doing so. I kept my doubts to myself.

But I'm profoundly upset right now, and I refuse to lie or mask my disappointment.

Senator Obama,

You were on a roll.  For the last 8 - 10 major decisions of your campaign you were making sense.  You were defining yourself with the best of America.  You were being a leader of the Democratic Party with a vision for a lasting Majority.

Then you lapsed back into left-wing land:

There is now way to square this circle:

You believe marriage should remain an institution between 1 man and 1 woman. (really radical, by the way!)

but... you announced in a letter to a gay rights group:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg i?f=/c/a/2008/07/01/MN8J11I731.DTL

that you oppose the "gay marriage ban"?

What does that mean?

The courts --who aren't the people.  Who aren't elected by the people.  Who aren't appointed by the current people elected by the people necessarily--- said that California must recognize same sex unions.

This was a horrible decision because it is not their place to tell the people of California what their cultural mores and subsequent laws should be except for very narrow constitutional issues.  This isn't one of them.

I would say that even if the court said, the state was forbidden to offer same-sex marriage licenses.

This is a political issue.  Now the people in California get to speak.

Obama calls them voices HIS OPINION: divisive?

We the people through our government have a right to define right-wrong, good-bad.  That is democracy.  Sometimes we win and othertimes we lose.

I support vouchers, others don't.  They win, I lose.  It's not a constitutional issue for a court to decide.

The people should decide, and politicians should offer leadership.

Obama should have restated his position against these same sex marriages if that is his position, and moved on to another topic.

If Obama supports SSM like Arnold, then state that and move on.

But don't out Clinton the Clintons'.  I supported Hillary because I felt she and Bill would find ways to deal with issues like this.

obama's way, this time makes no sense.
It is wrong.

Though, I'm still happy overall that he is our nominee and was making sense until today.

I'm not as interested in Obama the politician, as I am interested in the movement that is forming around him. He's a politician who has astutely tapped into a tremendous amount of political discontent. He's done a lot of things that I'm not happy about. But, I see his candidacy as just another stepping stone towards a resurgent 50 state Democratic Party. That renaissance is bigger than any one candidate.

As some of you may know, I was the strongest Clinton supporter. I wore myself out fighting for her at the orange Big Brother. I think anyone who follows names around here knows that I was almost violently anti-Obama.

So here's what I want to say to you, Hillary-loving brothers and sisters. GET A GRIP.

This is not about the strong fabulous white woman or the cool smart black guy. This is about one thing only. THE PLATFORM. Health care. Iraq. Iran, Taxes, etc.

No one's perfect. Maybe Barack is 60% perfect. But wouldn't you like 60% of health care rather than McCain's 0, 60% of out of Iraq and not-in-Iran, rather than McCain's?

I love you all for the cause, but please remember that this is about the quality of life. Not personalities. Hillary will have her day. She's made a strong impression. Trust that, and root for America, please.

Where are the apologies from the Primary Obama supporters who decried my politcs as rightwing, republican sounding, and worse?

I ask because as this march towards an Obama landslide keeps building momentum, Obama is sounding much more like me than his supporters throughout all these months.

His recent statements about:

patriotism
faith-based policies

are just the latest.

Had I wrote diaries expressing the same sentiment and saying that we democrats should move that way, (which would be in line with my policy ideas presented here), the attacks would have/are brutal.

I hope obama continues on this path and pushes the left-wing from this and other internet sites into a small corner.

I love the politics of not going to the DLC meeting, yet promoting policies that everyone here would identify with the DLC for the past month or so.

Obama has shown that he is qualified to become President, because he is willing to do whatever it takes to win and what's in the best interest of the country.  

That was the main reason I supported Hillary Clinton because I thought she would say or do anything to win.

It turned out that she had her limits against Obama and let him off the hook.

And it turned out that the Obama campaign in the primary and now were the camp that wanted to win the most.  They have done shameless things (in the Primary), and appear ready to move to any position necessary to win.

These are all positives to me.
When I trumpeted Hillary's propensity to play hardball, people thought it was odd.

I never thought Obama could/would be this good of a candidate so quickly.  If he was this guy in the Primary's I would have been way more predisposed to support him.  

But then again those here, probably wouldn't have.

There is less talk about "new politics", and "change", and more clear direction of his values.

Obama is a really good conventional politicians riding a wave that he created.

I hope he keeps sticking it to the left, and do what's right for the Democratic Party and this country.