Super Tuesday is coming up and I want to do my part to make sure the right candidate is selected for the Democratic nomination. I decided that before the primaries on Tuesday I would write a post about why I support Hillary Clinton. Just before I sat down to write, blogger Scott from Scott-o-Rama asked me if I would do a guest spot on his blog, a post about why I support Hillary Clinton. With the recent withdrawal of John Edwards, Scott has decided to support Hillary and wanted to get a group of bloggers who he knew to support Clinton to write guest posts on his blog before Super Tuesday. After you read my post I encourage each one of you to head over to Scott-o-Rama and read the other viewpoints. Most importantly, if you're state is holding a primary on Tuesday PLEASE VOTE!! If you don't know if you're state is holding a primary on Tuesday visit any of the candidates web pages to find out.
Here is why I support Hillary Clinton and why I think you should too.
It's a bitter pill to swallow, but America is wounded. The blow we were dealt at the start of the decade was just beginning to heal in 2004 when the Bush administration, in an effort to divide and conquer, dredged up wedge issues to secure another four years of executive abuse. It worked for some time, but now that the playing field is wide open in this year's general election the nation needs someone to reverse the damage that has been done to our reputation overseas and realign the United States onto a track that leads us away from these seven dark years and finally bring us into the light of then new millenium.
The person who can deliver that task to us is Hillary Clinton.
Plainly, the reason why I support Hillary Clinton is that I am confident that she can do the job from day one. She has the knowledge and experience to make her plans happen. She may not be the most charismatic speaker, she may not give us a warm fuzzy feeling in her speeches, but this isn't a contest for America's new best friend - this election is about selecting the next President of the United States of America. We've already experienced what it's like to have a president who people thought was "just like you and me" and made you feel good. It didn't work out so well, in fact it got us into a big mess. Hillary Clinton can clean up that mess and take us further as well.
Other democrats may not feel as passionately about the candidates as I do, they are loathe to see how Clinton and Obama differ. Turn off your TVs, take some time to read the material on each one's website and you'll see the differences clearly. Take for example the issue of health care. On Clinton's website you can access a fourteen page PDF that clearly outlines her American Health Choices plan. It's an unambiguous and detailed twelve pages, two of the pages are just pictures, that sets clear and definitive courses of action for providing affordable healthcare to EVERYONE in this country. Not only does she present what she wants to change, but she also explains how she intends to pay for it, and on the final page there is a balance sheet showing the total amount of savings under her plan, $110 billion. Clinton's plan is incontrovertibly about bringing healthcare to the people and SHARING the responsibility of healthcare among ALL citizens, a plan that has good intentions AND feasible courses action to bring those good intentions to fruition.
Another reason why I'm enthusiastic about Clinton is that I am confident that she can win in November. Hillary has been through the ringer with the republican attack machine and she has proven, even recently, that she is not one to lay down and give up easily. Hillary Clinton believes in her cause and the people behind it and she's prepared to fight for it with strong resolve and dignity.
Not only am I confident that Clinton will win, I am also confident that after she takes office she will produce results with minimal sacrifice to her original goals. When Clinton is president it is expected that she will have to reach across the aisle to work with Republicans, if Obama were to win he would face the same challenges. However, Clinton will not be overly conciliatory to Republican ideology in the vain of amity. The Republicans have had the past years to do as they please with little or no oversight and I cannot support a Democratic candidate who says that he would want to reach out to Republicans on matters such as foreign policy. They tried, they failed, their foreign policy has landed us with a tarnished reputation and a quagmire in Iraq.
The next president must have conviction in his or her abilities and ideologies from day one, the time for ham handed amateurs has come and gone. Hillary Clinton knows what she stands for and possesses the conviction and knowledge to the be next president of the United States. Although I won't be voting in a Super Tuesday primary I wanted to express my reasons for why I support Hillary Clinton to those of you who will be making a decision on Tuesday. It's been a long, dark seven years and I am not immune to sweeping speeches that make me feel good and inspire me to love my country again.
I understand the ache that my fellow democrats have to want to see a president who was cut down in his youth resurrected in another young senator. The choice to me is between perceived substance and actual substance. What inspires me about Hillary Clinton, more than a speech, is that she has been a force of change in this country for years and she will bring that force with her to the White House. The current situation dictates the need for clear direction and experience in making government work for the people. The current situation dictates the need for someone who can expedite reversing the damage that has been done and someone who won't back down to confront those who did the damage. The current situation dictates the need for someone who can restore our credibility and goodwill with the global community.
The current situation calls for Hillary Clinton.
