Follow Hillary

Tonight was the night everyone had been waiting for.  The night Hillary Clinton the former presidential candidacy hopeful would speak.  The night she could help or hurt the party.  The night she could make it about her and her historic run or about Barack Obama and his historic run that still continues.  I think a lot of people thought she would make it about her.  Well, they thought wrong.

Tonight Hillary Clinton was everything those of us who believe in her, know her to be.  Tonight she was not Hillary Clinton presidential hopeful, she was not Hillary Clinton the sore loser, she was not Hillary Clinton the spiteful bitch.  She was, Hillary Clinton the former first lady who knows what it takes to win.  She was, Hillary Clinton the Senator who knows what she and the party have fought for.  She was, Hillary Clinton the woman who inspired so many women to get out and vote.  She was Hillary Clinton the one person who could sway her supporters back to Barack Obama.  She was Hillary Clinton the Democrat.

I’ve made no secret of my support for Hillary during the primaries.  I was pulling for her state after state and supporting her decision to not throw in the towel when she was only down a couple hundred delegates.  And tonight she proved to be everything I supported.  I’ve known from the beginning that if she lost she would rally behind our nominee and the party.  I had no fears on that.  And tonight she made it very clear why we must elect Barack Obama.

I think one of the most important parts of her speech was reminding people what it was she has fought for and what she would fight for had she become President.  And then reminding people that those things are what all Democrats want for this country and that the only hope of getting them is with a Democrat in the White House.  Sure he’s going to need help from the Congress and the Senate but, I don’t think that will be an issue in the first few years.

Tonight Hillary made it clear to all her supporters that you need to support Obama.  Maybe you can’t get out and support him as visibly and vocally as you did Hillary.  That is okay because when he needs your support most is 2 months from now when you mark your ballot.  That is when he and this country need your support.

She was right to ask if oursupport was only for her or if it was for change?  If it was for our future, our childrens future, if it was for our health, or was it just for a woman President.  As for me it was and is about the future.  It is about hope and change.  I wanted Hillary because as I’ve said before I am a woman and I want a woman president.  I’ve always believed either of them would to a great job as President.

So now it is time for all other Hillary supporters to join with me, join with Hillary, join with those who already support Barack Obama, and show that you want change.  Say you will give your vote to the Obama/Biden ticket because you want your children to have the hopes and dreams you had as a child and the belief that those hopes and dreams can come true.

Why Decry The Truth

So we have another “controversy” over statements made by a big wig in one of the Democratic presidential candidates campaigns. (Please note that I have not seen the video so I don’t know how it actually game off and have only seen edited quotes so I do acknowledge that sometimes things don’t come out as well as they seemed when we formed the thought in our head.) This time it’s Geraldine Ferraro saying that Obama’s race is partially responsible for him being in this position. And him and his campaign have flipped out about it. My question is: Why is everyone so afraid of the truth? And why are they acting like it’s a bad thing to acknowledge it?

Considering the fact that in South Carolina Obama spent a good chunk of time playing to the more religious part of the African-American community (not the overall Democratic religious community at large [at least that's how all the media showed it]) it’s a little disingenuous and less than honest of him to now be all offended at the notion that his race has anything to do with the tightness of this primary run. The fact that when people look at both him and Hillary they see something vastly different than what we’ve had before is a huge part of this years nomination. It’s why people who haven’t participated before are getting out there and voting. It’s why the youth of American are excited about this years potential candidates.

America is suppose to be a country where our differences are celebrated. Where those differences are what makes a strong and great nation. At least that’s what we are taught when we’re young. And that is what the idealists among us believe about this country. It is the uniting of all our differences that is a big part of Obama’s platform. Denying the differences doesn’t help bring us together. So why is he acting like his race has nothing to do with his success in this process? No one is saying it is the only reason he is where he is, whether it be in the Senate or as the current leader for the nomination. You must be able to acknowledge the differences to accept them.

Until now when people have looked at the front runners for either party during the nominating process all they’ve seen are generally old (with a few exceptions) white men. And they are normally very well off white men. (Let’s face it no poor or lower middle class person would stand a chance at the moment.) But, this year we have a white woman and an African-American man duking it out for the Democratic nomination. So lets all just accept and admit the truth, things are this tight because of gender and race.

I really don’t know how things would be if this was Edwards and Obama or Edwards and Hillary. I doubt it would be as tight with either of those two versions of nominees but, I honestly don’t know which one would be ahead in either version.

However, if you took the three of them and made them into the same thing. Whether that be making them all women or all men of one race, you’d be looking at a primary where I believe Edwards would be ahead. The reason I say that is that his age would be younger than that of Hillary while his experience would be more than Obama.

Obama said that Hillary would be offended if someone said she’s where she is because of her gender. If they said that, that was the only reason she was where she is yes she might be offended. But, I highly doubt she’d deny that her gender plays some part in her success. So lets just be honest for a minute. If Obama was white his speech at the convention in 2004 probably wouldn’t have been as powerful. And people would just see another white guy saying the same things now.

I for one am extremely proud as an American, as a Democrat, and as a woman that this year we have two very viable candidates that are not white men. I am proud that we are showing the country and the world that the American dream of being anything you want is actually true. That neither your race nor your gender will keep you from having a real chance at being President. I do not think we should in anyway deny the truth. We should embrace the truth because once you do, that is when it truly becomes a non factor.

I Wasn’t Complaining So I Don’t Have To

So yesterday I left a comment on a friends blog that wasn’t really intended to come off as defending Hillary. At least that wasn’t the conscious intent behind it. That did end up being how it was and the person left a comment back. I enjoyed reading his response too my comment. Until I got to the point where he said that I should have backed up my words and passion by going to the cacus for her. All I have to say to that is Bite Me.

I don’t really care that he voted for Barack in his states primary. And I don’t really care that Barack won my state. I wasn’t complaining in anyway about the turn out last night in any state. So I don’t need to be told to get out and go to the cacus. Had I been complaining then yes that comment would have been warranted. Because you don’t get to complain about how elections turn out if you aren’t doing your part in them. But, again I wasn’t complaining so I don’t need to be told to participate in something.

Again I don’t care which won of them wins the nomination. Yes I am pulling for Hillary. However, I have said since 2004 that the Democratic nominee in 2008 would be either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I have not wavered from that and I have now been proven right. All that remains to be seen now is who will be the Vice Presidential nominee. I think there’s a good chance it will be a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton ticket but, you never know. Whoever, gets the nomination might ask Edwards to join them or go with someone completely unexpected.

Also there’s an actual reason for not going to the caucus. While the process is interesting I don’t find it to be a fair process for the people. I think it leaves a lot of voters out in the cold. They are always at night so they leave a lot of people out. If you work nights you are out of luck. If you have to be out of town for work or some other reason, sorry no participating in the nominating process for you. And I’ve never liked the fact that Colorado doesn’t allow independents to participate in the process. When Colorado goes to a more fair process then maybe I’ll consider participating in the nominating process even if I don’t care who wins.

Down To 2

So the Democratic candidates are down to just two. I have to say I was a bit surprised John Edwards didn’t hang in there through Super Tuesday. The upside of him dropping out is that Hillary and Barack are more focused on establishing stronger stances on the issues rather than attacking each other.

I have to say previously I wasn’t real confident in Obama because it seemed like all the sound bites I was hearing were his standards or attacks on Hillary. After watching some of the debate last night I feel much more positive about him since I got a clearer picture of his issues and ideas for change. However, I’m still a Hillary supporter. Some of that is because I know the influence she had on her husbands Presidency so I know that with a lot of the same views there’s a lot of good she can bring about. Some of it is also that I am a woman and I feel there’s a lot of things (espeically in health care) that are overlooked for woman. I feel in those area’s Hillary can greatly impact for the better the future for the woman of this country both yound and old.

That doesn’t mean that I think Barack wouldn’t advance certain things for woman I just think Hillary would fight harder for it. And at the sametime there are things that Barack would probably fight harder for. That’s just how it is with politics. Who you are and where you come from will always influence the level you will fight at for different things.

Whether it’s a Clinton/Obama ticket or Obama/Clinton ticket I still think the Democrats offer the best chance for real change. This is because you’re getting a vastly different view than what the Republicans offer. All the Republicans ever have to offer are older rich white men. We are most likely going to over a ticket of a woman and a racial minority. Yes she is an older woman but, a woman none the less.

I think if America is serious about change they have to look at the difference in the views automatically brought to the table by the Democratic ticket. A Republican ticket that will be made up of people who clearly have no desire to break from the Bush Administration policies will only bring about more hardship for this country and it’s citizens. Perhaps what they have to offer will become more clear when it gets down to just two candidates for them and it certainly will become more clear once the candidate is chosen. However, I don’t really see them offering any real change or anything that will actually help fix things in America.