''Change" alone cannot be a basis for deciding which candidate to support. Every candidate--from Dennis Kucinich to Mike Huckabee--favors change. What matters is the direction of the change, who is in charge of bringing it about--and who is supporting the candidate. When I cast my vote, I look not only at the candidate but at who is supporting him or her. Elections empower not only the winning candidate but the constituencies that helped to elect that person. I worry about the constituencies that are supporting some of the candidates.
For this reason, I favor the nomination of a centrist Democrat, one who is capable of attracting independents, moderates, and the growing number of anti-Bush Republicans. Hillary Clinton understands this and has not pandered to the extreme left of her party. She understands that this small but vocal faction helps to buoy candidates but then often helps to sink them in the general election.
I support
Alan Dershowitz is a professor at Harvard Law School.
Part one: Randall Kennedy
Part fourteen: Alan Dershowitz