I know these comments come late, but 8+ inches of rain took precedence over the weekend.
Regarding Hillary Clinton's "suspension" speech on Saturday--
I did catch it live.
She was late. While waiting for her to take the stage, we speculated about the color of her pantsuit.
Would it be the powder blue one or would she opt for the sunny yellow jacket?
Or, would she choose to wear funereal black?
She chose the black.
While I was cleaning up my soggy basement from the weekend storms, the New York Times reported:
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton brought her campaign for the White House to an end on Saturday with a rousing farewell to thousands of supporters here and an emotional and unequivocal call for her voters to get behind Senator Barack Obama, the man who defeated her for the Democratic nomination.
For 28 minutes, standing alone on a stage in the historic National Building Museum, Mrs. Clinton spoke not only about the importance of electing Mr. Obama, but also about the extent to which her campaign was a milestone for women. She urged women who had supported her — who had turned out at her headquarters, flocked to her rallies and poured into the polls to vote for her — not to take the wrong lesson from her loss.
“You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States,” she said. “To those who are disappointed that we couldn’t go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.”
At that point the cheers, mostly from women, swelled so loud that Mrs. Clinton’s remaining words could not be heard.
Mrs. Clinton first mentioned Mr. Obama seven minutes into her speech. But when she did, she swept away any doubt — created by her speech on Tuesday night, when he claimed the nomination — that she was ready to concede or that she had any hesitancy about endorsing him or his qualifications to be president.
Read the text of her speech.
She definitely did stress the importance of electing Barack Obama.
However, I don't agree with the Times' take that Hillary "swept away any doubt... that she was ready to concede or that she had any hesitancy about endorsing him or his qualifications to be president."
If she wanted any future with the Democrat Party, she had to say what she said about Obama.
I think it was clear that Hillary was terribly disappointed. I don't think she was ready to give up. She had to give up, but she wasn't ready to admit defeat.
I think her first words made that very clear:
Thank you very, very much. Well, this isn't exactly the party I'd planned, but I sure like the company.
I don't think her use of the word "party" to describe the gathering and the occasion was an accident.
I think it was an intentional slam at the many Democrats and former allies who abandoned her.
She was planning on the support of the Democrat Party. She didn't get it. They turned on her and she's pissed.
Watching her speak, I felt sorry for her. "The Inevitability of Hillary" is just a memory. Defeat hurts.
Now, was it right for her to play the gender card?
I think it was right to mention the historical nature of her run, but she overdid it a bit.
Now, on a personal note, when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for president, I always gave the same answer, that I was proud to be running as a woman, but I was running because I thought I'd be the best president. But...
But I am a woman and, like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us.
I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter's future and a mother who wants to leave all children brighter tomorrows.
To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and their mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect.
Let us ... Let us resolve and work toward achieving very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits, and there are no acceptable prejudices in the 21st century in our country.
You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories ... unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends.
To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.
Always aim high, work hard and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you're knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on.
As we gather here today in this historic, magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.
Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it ... and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.
That has always been the history of progress in America. Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes.
In this portion of her speech, Hillary was attempting to personally pen her chapter in history books.
She literally said that when a woman does become president that individual will owe her a debt of gratitude for blazing the trail.
She was saying, "Thank ME very much."
Hillary cast herself as Susan B. Anthony.
I think her reference to the "18 million cracks" in the highest, hardest glass ceiling was more of a way to punctuate her own accomplishment in garnering voters rather than sharing the trailblazer role with her supporters.
It was somewhat self-serving. Of course, that's politics.
Hillary was demanding that her place in American history be acknowledged.
It wasn't very gracious.
Nevertheless, Hillary has earned a place in the history books. She did blaze the trail.
Her tenacity is admirable. She's a fighter.
Aside from the fact that I disagree with her on nearly all the issues, I think she showed that she's tough enough to be president.
If I had to choose between Hillary and Barack Obama, it would be no contest. Hillary would get my vote.
No comments:
Post a Comment