“It’s déjà vu all over again.”

Yogi Berra, the greatest living Yankee, said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

And that what it was like speaking to a group of Clinton supporters this weekend. Just as they were back in the fall of 2007, they were appalled that anyone could support Senator Obama for president, and openly hostile to the thought of supporting him, should he be the Democratic nominee.

For my part, I supported Gov. Bill Richardson early on. However, in the debates he had the charisma of a small vile of used motor oil, and never rose to the level of my expectations for him. So, when he dropped out, I decided to support Senator Obama. And as Senator John Edwards’ campaign lost momentum, many of his people floated over to Obama, too.

Now, I must declare that should Senator Clinton be the Democratic nominee, no one will work harder for her than me in Flemington. I will donate to the campaign, canvass for her, and surrogate speak for her if called upon. And that is whether she gets the nomination at the hands and votes of the SuperDelagates or not. Having said that, let’s move on to the Clinton supporters and my problems with their stated problems with Obama.

All statements are actual statements made to me over the weekend by various Hillary Clinton supporters. I do not share their names, because, after all they are friends and fellow Democrats.

“It’s not his time. He should not be running. He lacks the experience she has.”

This assertion seems to be ageist on one level, and perhaps racist on another. And whether or not it’s “Obama’s time” to run is essentially a political question. He puts out there what he has to offer, and he is measured point for point against all other comers. “Experience” is not the only criteria by which a candidate is judged. Indeed Gov. Richardson, Senators Biden and Dodd each had more experience than Edwards, Obama, and Clinton put together. So, “experience” was not the capital by which voters gave the greatest weight.

“He’s just running as a black man. His support comes from blacks and naïve 20 year olds.”

Again, perhaps ageist and definitely racist. Why the Clinton supporters choose to disqualify the African-American vote that way is a curiosity. It’s as if that voting block is somehow not as valid as the white vote. And just what is wrong with being so inspirational as to motivate 20 years olds to go the voting booth? The coalition that Obama has supporting him ----college educated Baby Boomers, young people, African—Americans are large in number. Certainly when African-Americans supported Bill Clinton, that voting block was not so disdained.

“She has more experience than he does.”

Mrs. Clinton has been in the Senate exactly four years longer than Senator Obama. Then the Clinton supporters lay claim to her years in the White House as “experience”. Also, when you cite as part of her “experience” her support for the War in Iraq, their assertion is alternately that she [1] had to support the war because that’s what her constituents wanted, or that she [2] did not vote for the war, but just gave the president the power to use force, if necessary or [3] it’s been five years and that does not matter now. Certainly there are many Democratic Senators who did not support the war. Our own former Senator Corzine was one of them back in 2002.

So, given all of this I still will be a strong supporter of Mrs. Clinton, should she be the nominee. I hope that the Clinton supporters show the same support for Obama.