Hi Suma.
I have to respect the dues you paid and how that plays into your choice for President. If enough of you carry the nomination for her I hope that she can somehow win in November and then govern without having to constantly deal with the seepage from old wounds. In fairness to her, many of those wounds were not of her choosing but she carries the scars and the bitterness.
And I don't think she'd be a bad president. I could support her with enthusiasm except for two things; she's a hawk and there's a very special candidate running against her.
Of those two I think I'm equally divided in terms of which has the most influence.
Contrary to the refrain that she just went along with the crowd on Iraq when it was popular to do so, (Kate?) she did more than that; she gave statements supporting the war and the occupation, as did Bill Clinton. When you are the major spokesmen for the opposition party and you then lend your voice to a war that needn't have been fought, a war that had objectives that couldn't be met and a war that was initiated for less than principled purposes, and then men and women kill and die needlessly, you must be held accountable.
And, if her vote on Iran meant anything, her basic philosophy seems to have remained unchanged.
So the BEST that can be said for her is that she was too political or too meek to stand up and be counted when our soldiers went to fight a war that cost us so much in terms of international standing, world alliances, the good will of third world nations, the trust of the world, trillions of dollars and an obscene amount of involvement in the deaths of so many Iraqis as well as our own soldiers.
The worst that can be said is that she is on board with George Bush on the war but has changed her articulated position slightly in order to win an election.
Either of those options are not appealing but they still leave her more of a dove than all of the Republicans except Paul and Huckabee.
And there's a special candidate running. Hillary cannot do with hard work what Obama does effortlessly; she cannot shatter the image of America as a nation run by stubborn, white, arrogant and aggressive leaders. She cannot recreate our view of ourselves and the world's view of us as cooperative, honest, and idealistic. And she cannot generate the goose bumps that could get the young and the young at heart enthused and involved in ways that really may have a slim chance of changing this country into something more than a "this is my stuff" country.
But she may win based on Bill's record, her Herculean resolve and the simple fact that the women who constitute more than 50% of voters look at Hillary and see a chance to change leadership styles to something they understand, appreciate and identify with. That makes a lot of sense and I can't argue with that.
It's an interesting time. Ed |
