Sen. Barack Obama is running on a promise to change "politics as usual" in Washington and fix everything that is wrong.

Sorry, Senator, been there, done that. In 1976, after Watergate, we elected Jimmy Carter. One of the nicest men ever to hold the office promised to change Washington, kick the lobbyists out and give the government back to the people. Sound familiar? But Carter had no understanding of how Washington worked. By 1980 we had double-digit inflation, home loans at 15 percent to 20 percent interest rates, and hostages in Iran. Ronald Reagan won easily in 1980, and Southerners who voted for Carter in 1976 have seldom voted for a Democrat since.

In order to play the game, Obama has to learn the rules. You can't just go to Washington, wave your magic wand and expect everything to change.

Obama needs to go back to the U.S. Senate and learn how to get programs through the current system. The only candidate with enough experience to deal with Washington is Sen. Hillary Clinton. She has unique experience from both the executive and legislative branches of government, and I believe she will bring us back to a strong economy and finally provide affordable health care to all Americans.

Rebecca Overstreet

Raleigh