Reznet

SPARKS, Nev - Because of personal schedule conflicts, I was unable to watch the Democrat debate hosted by CNN/Univision that aired on Friday night. Right now, I am watching the edited, rebroadcast. And I am outraged.

First let me say that I have always been a Democratic voter since I was 18 years-old in the much-touted Gore-Bush election of 2000. When I first looked for a place to register to vote, I was turned away by the kind people at the Todd County School District, the small, mobile army of the DMV in Todd County, S.D. and countless other institutions that did not know where to register to vote. Finally, I found a place to register as a Democrat, online at MTV's Rock The Vote campaign Web site, I took full advantage of my right to vote. (It still boggles my mind that even after African Americans and Women's Suffrage, it took an independent act of Congress for our people to vote in the country that sprung up around us.)

Secondly, I will say that I have always been in favor of a candidate who believes in equal treatment of all American citizens of these United States.

Thirdly, I am apallled that in this primary season, the Democratic party has rend its soul in twain over a simple question of who is qualified to lead.

I am apalled because the choice is clear, the senator from Illinois who envisions a better future for America or the copy-cat senator from New York who sees a vote-getting idea when she sees it and latches onto it like it's going out of style.

The most recent question I've observed on the rebroadcast of the CNN/Univision debates was the immigration question. As an Obama supporter, I spent months fielding these questions from concerned, naturalized and American-born citizens in Nevada. I've often quoted from "The Blueprint for Change" handbook that was handed out to answer such questions. This handbook, a platform on all of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) stances on American domestic and foreign policies, is readily available to any concerned, able-bodied citizen, in primary states left in the race, who can go to their neighborhood Obama office and ask for it, free of charge; or any non-able-bodied voter or citizen whose primary or caucus already happened, with Internet access can see and download it at Obama's Web site.

In "The Blueprint for Change," compiled in 2007, Obama lists the following bullet points as his answer to illegal immigration:

1. Create Secure Borders

2. Improve Our Immigration System

3. Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally

4. Bring People Out of the Shadows

5. Work with Mexico

While our cousins to the south have many obstacles to overcome, should they want to join we Americans in the U.S., we know they have a long journey ahead of them. My own family has several Hispanic-Americans counted among its members, their father followed the path to citizeship. Unfortunately, not so many families were lucky in the recent raids. But Obama lays out the most comprehensive border defense in legality and practicality that I've seen in years.

This one section of Obama's plan to reform illegal immigration proves that he has the smart answer for the ongoing question of the foreign-heritage citizens who want to deny citizenship into this great country that we Natives have always known as home. And tonight, I saw Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) tout those ideas as her own.

In all seriousness, it's time for a change, and not for the change that can be Xeroxed and passed off as one's own. I grow tired, this late in the primary season of a game of one-upsmanship and copy-catting. It really is time to "get real" about politics in America. Do we choose the candidate with original answers, or the candidate who knows a good, vote-getting idea when they see one?

As Aaron Sorkin wrote, "This is a time for serious people ... your 15 minutes are up."