I heart Hillary

The election process hits my home state of Indiana today. Recently, I was asked how I thought the vote would go for the democrat nominee there. Ai ai ai.  I haven't lived there for so many years, and the friends and family that I have there are too few to gauge anything across that very Republican state. But, of course, I do have an opinion...   

I heart Hillary. 

I want to see healthcare revolutionized.  I feel it is the one arena that this country must make a profound change. Quickly. Hillary is the person to make that happen.  She has been the visionary on this issue and put it on the political map. She knows it, inside and out. Her solutions, from what I have read, are more aggressive on this change than anyone else's. I believe that with tackling this single complex issue, the country's other systems of care will also improve.  

I have never understood anti-Hillary sentiment. To me, there is nothing to hate about her. Hillary Clinton is a very intelligent, capable person that is dedicated to a life of public service. She is also witty. Her humor is smart and ironic. (See her as guest on Jon Stewart and SNL.) And whether she is up or down, she is working just the same. To reject her severely and emotionally seems to be less about the facts and reveals more to me about the hater than Hillary. 

And what about Obama?  I enjoy Obama's speeches and think his campaign is good for the Democrats and even more for the rest of the country.  His record, however brief, shows me what I would expect from a Democrat. I admire his excellent marketing campaign and twenty-somethings all over the country clicking "Donate Now" on his website. His intense celebrity-ism is impressive. Still, I have yet to see significant authorship of content from him, which I feel is important in a leader, more important to me than the ability to sell it. And the media has started to turn on him, as they do with every celebrity. Once the romance wears off, the shiny penny is just a penny and you are still left with a load of work. We have yet to see how that will play out. But all that said, Obama is good. I like him, too.

I see the country as united in its desire for change, which both Democrat candidates offer. The question is how you get there. The greatest contrast between the candidates is leadership style.  Clinton's is very hands-on and Obama's is hands-off. Both methods work, in my experience. The first usually works faster, gets more done on a larger scale in an emergency (like now) and is more certain. I don't think Obama is up for the task of doing a clean-up like Clinton is. Not yet, anyway.

Another point to consider is their different styles of politics. We have a longer history to evaluate (and pick at) with Clinton than Obama, but it all washes out as politics in the end. Both candidates are practicing the art of politics and both are getting their hands dirty. Politics are human. The evaluating, communicating, negotiating, leveraging, and compromising are all part of the human paradigm. Taken into the public sphere, it defines civilization. Both of these candidates are skilled in this art. I am thrilled that our election process is engaging and raising high-concept conversation on election topics but moreover, on underlying cultural baggage like sexism, agism, and racism.   

I want Clinton to be the candidate now and Obama to be next. Sometimes, I fantasize about them working together. I know I won't get what I want but I will say so just the same. 

I wear my Hillary t-shirt and I get a lot of compliments. Mostly from young women but also a few middle-aged men.  I have had one heckler who was more funny than anything.  My friend, Lisa is in Indy.  Here is a photo of her with her son at a Hillary rally.  Another photo is of my friend Angie with Hillary (and another woman from Missoula between them) when she came to town.