Hoping for Hillary
As an avid voter, if there’s a magic formula for deciding who to support, I haven’t found it. Based on my past record, I don’t vote gender, race or religion specific—nor am I totally issue oriented although it depends on the issue. Instead, deciding who will get my vote occurs through a strange confluence of my heart, mind, guts, and lately pragmatism. (It seems the older I get, the more practical and less idealistic I become.) About a month ago, Todd Domke wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe where he used a “Candidate Comparison Scorecard” to rate the GOP field. Domke scored the Republicans in 10 areas, such as credibility, catalyst for change, compassion for the downtrodden, convictions, commander-in-chiefiness, and courage to “take political heat for unpopular decisions” among others. According to Domke, John McCain had the highest overall score. I agree with his assessment of McCain’s credibility and conviction, but I would never give McCain my vote because he wants to overturn Roe v. Wade, he’s hawkish, and he’s too conservative overall—as are all the Republican candidates. When considering Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, whose positions on the issues are similar to each other and mine, I must rely on factors other than the issues to make my decision. In my heart, I love Barack’s fresh voice, irreverence, inspiring speeches, and talk of hope, but my experienced gut tells me we don’t have time for him to figure out how to change the real world—where democracy is about compromise and consensus building that tends to blur lines. Our nation needs immediate progress to address the needs of our children, our schools, the war, healthcare, the economy, and the environment. These are issues and battles Hillary has been fighting for decades. She has been consistent in her beliefs, and she knows how to play the game. (I don’t have insider fears because I see democracy as a team sport.) I guess I’m adding a rating criteria of my own here: Who can hit the ground running and get the job done? Hillary Rodham Clinton is a strong, smart, tough, assertive woman—all admirable qualities despite what some say. She will clean up the Bush mess and lead us all to a brighter future. Hillary’s got my vote. What about you?