Yet bear this in mind – good things come to those who wait. If that means 2012, lets go there. Stronger, feistier and more steadfast in our convictions. As supporters, we know we are right in backing the best candidate running for President. It is simply that the hype has taken over the fundamental facts, which we never foresaw and we did not comprehend.
I have loved her since the tender age of 15 when I first started to become interested in politics, and was mesmerized by her ability to be a forthright and active First Lady and then an astounding Senator for New York. In “Living History” she wrote “My faith has always been a crucial, though deeply personal, part of my life and part of my family’s life. When I was confirmed into the Methodist Church, I took to heart John Wesley’s words” “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can..as long as you ever can.” I sat on a beach, with my diet Coke in one hand and Living History, slightly sandy, in the other. I gazed at the sunset and dreamt of what the promise of a second Clinton Presidency could hold and bring to America and to the world at large. This wasn’t just a woman, this was a leader. In 2007, she spoke the words the world had been waiting to hear. “I am putting together a Presidential exploratory committee.” My heart skipped a beat that day, and all the joyous feelings I had experienced at 15, my beach day, came gushing back to me. It was time for a woman President. It was time.
So in West Virginia after a 41 point victory on Tuesday evening, she once more infused my heart, mind and soul with hope and spoke confidently, passionately and courageously. She brought to the table the kind of hope that isn’t empty, that isn’t cheap and that comes at a great price. Her supporters poised once more, rose to the challenge she posed to them – to stay with her until the lady in the pantsuit says that its over. We have all prayed, in the face of a biased media and a reluctant democratic party, that the nation would listen to our calls and push her further towards the nomination. West Virginia, amongst the other crucial primary states, did not let us down. We’ll stand, we’ll fight, we’ll defend and we’ll continue.
“As long as we remember that there is no challenge we cannot meet, no barrier we cannot break, no dream we cannot realize. So, let’s finish the job we started. America is worth fighting for.”
This next part cannot be written without alluding to Senator Obama -sorry I am breaking my promise but it is essential to place my feelings into some kind of context.
At the White House’s Two-Hundredth Anniversary Dinner, Gerald Ford stated “Once again, the world’s oldest Republic has demonstrated the youthful vitality of its institutions and the ability and necessity to come together..the clash of partisan political idea’s does remain just that – to be quickly followed by a transfer of authority.” In response to this she wrote that this was proof that America’s foundations were stronger than individuals and politics. So what baffles me about Senator Obama’s ‘change in Washington’ politics is that it really is empty rhetoric. For a system that has worked for hundreds of years, albeit abused by the Bush Administration and in great need of re-establishing accountability and governance of the American people, not simply alluding to the ideals and preferences of those in power, it seems an awful lot of individuals are blindly buying into the ‘change we can believe in’ mantra. This is without really thinking through the fundamentals of what this entails, it being quite simply, unworkable and unnecessary in a system that serves American citizens each day, and with accountable political leaders having their best interests at heart, well.
The overwhelming advantage she has, has been her ability to really tackle head on, without reservation, the special interests that seek to curb positive change for the American people. Whether they be the drug companies, the insurance companies or the lobbyists. That resounding ability to rise to the challenge is what will lay the foundations for a remarkable Clinton Administration. She is unafraid, she is capable, she is ready and she is more than willing to be the fearless agent of change. That is why my thoughts are entangled within a web of uncertainty and moreover, frustration, at why this woman is not already the nominee, and why the Democratic party are so forceful in their rejection of continuing the race and keeping her Presidential bid alive. It is baffling to me, when here for the first time in a long while, America has been presented with the opportunity to elect an extremely able candidate, who also has a personality that oozes compassion and concern for ‘real problem’s. A candidate who not merely works for the people, but listens to their needs and acts upon their fears, dreams and desires towards a better future for all involved.
What is not to like about Universal Health care? A renewable energy plan that will pave the way towards tackling global warming on a worldwide scale? An Economic plan that will seek to end the home foreclosure crisis and allow America to once again have a balanced budget and a surplus, with employment opportunities? A plan that will make college affordable and early learning more accessible and widespread, allowing children to reach their god given potential? What is not to like about that John Edward’s, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd? Answer me that.
My conclusion is that they are not rejecting the policy ideas that have come with the prospect of a second Clinton Administration: they are perfectly visionary and exciting. They are rejecting the woman who would be the champion of such ideal’s.
But let me tell you about that woman: you know the one who said ‘Women’s rights are human rights”, the one who started the Cookie-Scandal holding a sign saying “put Broccoli back in the White House,” the first First Lady to ever have her own office in the White House, and testify in front of a Grand Jury. The Senator who stood with New Yorkers consistently, seven years after 9/11 fighting for health care, supporting their grief and holding their loved ones as they worked through their pain and anguish. Who stood by and not only fought politically as an elected official, but fought as a wife, as a mother, as a person. She is a beautifully warm woman by all accounts, but she is more than that. She found the strength within herself to forgive her husband, publicly and without shame of an extra-marital affair, managing to run a successful White House despite Michelle Obama’s contentions that she did not. She got re-elected into the United States Senate for a second term with a massive majority vote. Some despise her, some like her, some love her. New Yorkers fall into the latter category as do half of the United States it seems if one glances at the ‘popular vote’ statistics and the fall electoral college map. She is intelligent beyond comprehension. She is kind when kindness matters. She is tough when only toughness will do. She is inspirational.
It is not a case of loving her however. Its a case of recognizing she has the leadership credentials far beyond those of her opponent, and in love and in hate, acknowledging that she has what it takes to be the agent of change America so desperately needs after a destructive Bush Administration.
I just happen to love her. In case you were wondering, she is Hillary Rodham Clinton.
And she is still running for President. Madame President, that is.
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This is a special guest column written by Lauren Hammond. She may be reached via her Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171064270.
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