Mark Sanford Emails

June 25, 2009

The State, a South Carolina newspaper who first broke the story of the missing Governor’s true whereabouts, has posted the following emails between Governor Sanford and his mistress, Maria.  I had to give some thought about even reading them, let alone posting them, as these must certainly tear at the heart of his wife, Jenny Sanford, who was once a very successful investment banker and later became her husband’s campaign manager for both congress and his governorship, and stood solidly by his side as he gained in his political career — even as he was being considered as John McCain’s running-mate, even as he entered into this extramarital relationship.

I decided (as many did) that the story of import here is that this man, the most powerful person in the state of South Carolina, had the temerity to go missing, not even telling his staff where he went.  This is utterly irresponsible for any governor, regardless of politics and policies, and he has shown that he cannot be trusted to tell the truth even to his close staff.  I realize that politicians routinely lie and have to maintain a certain level of political privacy in order to play the politics game, but these are not the actions that any citizen should expect out of any leader.

The fact that he was having an affair, while despicable, is truly between him and his wife.  Men and women in politics quite often have flings, and while I am personally revulsed by this, it does not necessarily affect the effectiveness of a leader.  The actions by the person are what matters, and the fact that Governor Sanford lied to his staff and then disappeared from sight for a week so that he could get his rocks off shows that this man cannot be trusted in the future to tell the truth and to not disappear to fulfill and hide his own selfish needs.

His affair has become political fodder because his actions expose his nature, which is to hide his embarrassing decisions at the detriment of those he serves.

Here now are his emails.  It’s sad to see that he lost the struggle to do what is right, and that he tore up his own family for his own libido.  My heart goes out to Jenny Sanford and her sons, and I hope that she can work through this horribly difficult time.

Exclusive: Read e-mails between Sanford, woman

Sanford-Maria e-mails shed light on governor’s affair

posted by The State newspaper, from TheState.com

———————————————-

From: Mark Sanford

To: Maria

Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 03:09:44 +0000

Dearest,

You are glorious and I hope you really understand that. You do not need a therapist to help you figure your place in the world. You are special and unique and fabulous in a whole host of ways that are worth a much longer conversation. To be continued …

Have been having a few email problems as I am getting email through an aircard at the farm, where access to computer world is more than tough. Please let me know if you have gotten my last two eamils (sic) so I know it is working in getting to your part of the world …

Another glorious day outside. Hope you are doing well, and am anxious to hear about your week. Know that I miss you. Unbeleivably (sic) hard to imagine it has been a week. Please also send your mailing address as I want to send you an insignificant something next week when I am back in civilization that I think you might find interesting given our conversation.

Want to write an indepth note with some thoughts on our visit when I know you are getting these emails. Hugs and much love. M

———————————————-

From: Maria

Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 4:26 PM

To: Mark Sanford

Subject: RE:

My beloved, (hope you also change the dearest …)

I’am (sic) reading your last two mails sitting outside with a great seaview here in Ilhabela, a beautiful island near Sao Paulo. Have been thinking of you while watching the beautiful blue sea (a) great part of my day and remembering with a great smile on my face, the time we had spent together. As I told you before, you brought happiness and love to my life and (I) will take you forever in my heart. I wasn’t aware till we met last week, the strong feelings I had for you, and believe me, I haven’t felt this since I was in my teen ages, when afterwards I got married. I do love you, I can feel it in my heart, and although I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to meet again this has been the best that has happened to me in a long time You made me realized (sic) how you feel when you realy (sic) love somebody and how much you want to be beside the beloved. Last Friday I would had stayed embrassing (sic) and kissing you forever.

Don’t know why you think you bore me with the description of your farm. I am an urban girl but that doesn’t inhibit me from loving other things, specially if they are the ones you love. I was able to imagine the place with every single detail you wrote and had trassmitted (sic) me the love you have for your farm. It sounds to be a great and peaceful place and loved you had shared it with me.

Thanks for your beautiful words, I don’t know if I do need or not therapy but I have to find my new place in this new stage of my life. Life has been very generous with me and I want to return at least a little bit of what I have been given. I have time and think helping others who haven’t been as lucky as me will do me fine.

My address is (deleted by The State). It will be great finding at home once I am back, whatever you send me, I’ll keep it near my bed so as to feel you nearer.

Miss you so much… love you from the deepest of my heart. Sweet kisses.

———————————————-

From:

To:

Subject: RE:

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 01:42:46 -0400

Beloved back to you…

Got back an hour ago to civilization and am now in Columbia after what was for me a glorious break from reality down at the farm. No phones ringing and tangible evidence of a day’s labors. Though I have started every day by 6 this morning woke at 4:30, I guess since my body knew it was the last day, and I went out and ran the excavator with lights until the sun came up. To me, and I suspect no one else on earth, there is something wonderful about listening to country music playing in the cab, air conditioner running, the hum of a huge diesel engine in the background, the tranquility that comes with being in a virtual wilderness of trees and marsh, the day breaking and vibrant pink coming alive in the morning clouds — and getting to build something with each scoop of dirt. It is admittedly weird but one of my more favorite ways of escaping the norms, constant phone calls and formalities that go with the office — and it probably fits with my weakness in doing rather than being — though you opened up a new chapter last week wherein I was happy and content just being. Last point worth further discussion. Afternoon projects had me outside and by days (sic) end I pretty much looked like a homeless person … but in this case a very content one. Enough about my love of heavy equipment and woods at sunrise …

While I was getting exhausted with one project after another at Coosaw work week, you were basking (I’m certain gloriously) on the beach..

Sounds great, hope to hear more about what sounds a great spot.

Will now finally get some sleep and write you a longer note with a few more profound thoughts tomorrow or Wednesday. In the meantime I send my love and hope you know I am thinking of you.. M

P.S. I do not want to raise expectations, when I say I will send something insignificant I promise I will do as I say! It wont (sic) be worthy of bedside placement … was just going to find the movie the Holiday as we had spoken of it last Thursday. Its music was pleasant and made me think of you — its mood and the notion of a holiday (wrapped up in our case over two days) certainly fit as well … (though our visit in some ways for me was as well less of a holiday than it was uncovering and realization of some things and feelings that again are worth longer conversation)

Had also hoped to find the cd of a song that played as I was flying home and also20made (sic) me think of you. Who knows if I can find the music … so all you may be stuck with is a long released movie — and if you put it by your bed I really be worried! Love you, good night and kisses back to you …

———————————————-

From: Maria

Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 8:14 PM

To: Mark Sanford

Subject: RE:

My love,

I decided to rent a car and went by myself to the other side of the Island where it is located one of the best hotels. It’s name is DPNY Hotel and I find it quite interesting. I had lunch there in a restaurant on the beach with great seaview. I sat under a palm and ate a mixed green salad with grilled abacaxi (pineapple) and honey. in the afternoon I sunbathe and read on the beach. I ve started here “The age of turbulence” from Alan Greenspan which I highly recomend (sic) you. At five I left back to the small town had a coffee with pao de queijo (cheese bread which is something tipycal (sic) from Brazl (sic) and it’s delicious) read some magazines, walked around and finally back to meu Pousada that is hotel.

In the Island is taking place the sailing week and Rolex competition and this was the reason for choosing the place and also why luckily I am most of the time by my own. It may sound bad but it’s how I feel it. As I told you I shouldn’t have done this trip but I would have felt worst if I wouldn’t have come because it was too over the date, he is a very nice guy, great heart … but unfortunately I am not in love with him … You are my love … something hard to believe even for myself as it’s also a kind of impossible love, not only because of distance but situation.

Sometimes you don’t choose things, they just happen … I can’t redirect my feelings and I am very happy with mine towards you. Hope you have had a good day, guess with much work.

Send you all my love and goodnight kisses. Sweet dreams from down south. I’ll dream with you.

———————————————-

From: Mark Sanford

To: Maria

Subject: RE:

Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:24:54 -0400

Sweetest,

It was indeed a long day. I am most jealous of your salad under the palm tree.

Three thoughts in one note now that I have a moment. One the travel schedule is about to get real busy (and this distresses me for the way it may well make it more difficult to get your notes over the next few weeks), two unfortunately all the feelings you describe are mutual, and three where do we go from here?

One, tomorrow leave at 5 am for New York and meetings. Will think about you on its streets and wish I was going to be there later in the month when you are there. Tomorrow night back to Philadelphia for the start of the National Governor’s Conference through the weekend. Back to Columbia for Tuesday and then on Wednesday, as I think I had told you, taking the family to China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Thailand and then back through Hong Kong on world wind tour. Few days home then to Bahamas for 5 days on a friends boat for the last break of the summer. The following weekend have been asked to spend it out in Aspen, Colorado with McCain — which has kicked up the whole VP talk all over again in the press back home.

Two, mutual feelings. I have been specializing in staying focused on decisions and actions of the head for a long time now — and you have my heart. You have oh so many attributes that pulls it in this direction. Do you really comprehend how beautiful your smile is? Have you been told lately how warm your eyes are and how they softly glow with the special nature of your soul. I remember Jenny, or someone close to me, once commenting that while my mom was pleasant and warm it was sad she had never accomplished anything of significance. I replied that they were wrong because she had the ultimate of all gifts — and that was the ability to love unconditionally. The rarest of all commodities in this world is love. It is that thing that we all yearn for at some level — to be simply loved unconditionally for nothing more than who we are — not what we can get, give or become. There are but 50 governors in my country and outside of the top spot, this is as high as you can go in the area I have invested the last 15 years of my life — my getting here came as no small measure because I had that foundation of love and support so critical to getting up in the morning and feeling you could give and risk because you already had a full tank of love in the emotional bank account. Since our first meeting there in a wind swept somewhat open air dance spot in Punta del Este, I felt that you had that same rare attribute. Above all else I love that inner beauty about you. That gift of yours is going to make a tremendous difference in (The State deleted sons’ names) life — and in anyone’s life who is blest to be touched by yours — you need to rest very comfortably in that fact. As I mentioned in our last visit, while I did not need love fifteen years ago — as the battle scars of life and aging and politics have worn on this has become a real need of mine. You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that is so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificently gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curves of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of night’s light — but hey, that would be going into the sexual details we spoke of at the steakhouse at dinner — and unlike you I would never do that!

Three and finally, while all the things above are all too true — at the same time we are in a hopelessly — or as you put it impossible — or how about combine and simply say hopelessly impossible situation of love. How in the world this lightening [sic] strike snuck up on us I am still not quite sure. As I have said to you before I certainly had a special feeling about you from the first time we met, but these feelings were contained and I genuinely enjoyed our special friendship and the comparing of all too many personal notes (and yes this is true even if you did occasionally tantalize me with sexual details over the years!) — but it was all safe. Where we are is not. I have thought about it and in some ways feel I let you down in letting these complications come into a friendship that I hope will last till death. In all my life I have lived by a code of honor and at a variety of levels know I have crossed lines I would have never imagined. I wish I could wish it away, but this soul-mate feel I alluded too is real and in that regard I sure don’t want to be the person complicating your life. I looked to where I often look for advice and counsel, and in I Corinthians 13 it simply says that, “ Love is patient and kind, love is not jealous or boastful, it is not arrogant or rude, Love does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in the wrong, but rejoices in the right, Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things”. In this regard it is action that goes well beyond the emotion of today or tomorrow and in this light I want to look for ways to show love in helping you to live a better — not more complicated life. I want to help (one of Maria’s sons) with film guys that might help his career, etc. I also don’t want you walking20away (sic) from some guy (I take it the younger guy you mentioned a t dinner) because of me — and what we both have to see as an impossible situation. I better stop now least this really sound like the Thornbirds — wherein I was always upset with Richard Chamberlain for not dropping his ambitions and running into Maggie’s arms. The bottom line is two fold, my heart wants me to get on a plane tonight and to be in your loving arms — my head is saying how do we put the Genie back in the bottle because I sure don’t want to be encumbering you, or your options or your life. Put differently, given I love you, I don’t want to be part of the reason you are having less than an ideal week in what sounds like a cool spot.

Lastly I also suspect I feel a little vulnerable because this is ground I have never certainly never covered before — so if you have pearls of wisdom on how we figure all this out please let me know … In the meantime please sleep soundly knowing that despite the best efforts of my head my heart cries out for you, your voice, your body, the touch of your lips, the touch of your finger tips and an even deeper connection to your soul. I love you … sleep tight. M

PS. I will make it a point in NY tomorrow to drop by a store and get that movie I promised to send your way … I am encouraged to know you will not keep it beside the bed least we have tangible evidence of two pathetic figures missing each other far too much to live a few thousand miles apart!

———————————————-

From: Maria

To: Mark Sanford

Subject: RE:

Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:22:29 +0000

You have not brought complication or are not bringing complication to my life, on the contrary you’ve fullfiled (sic) me with happiness and made me aware how you can feel when you love somebody. I can think with my head but only feel with my heart so I can’t avoid it even knowing is hopelessly impossible. The guy is the one I told you ,just three years younger than me, but I am not in love and won’t fall in love with time so I have to continue my way … be alone for some time and if I am lucky enough will someday feel towards somebody, what I today feel for you. At least you made me realized it can happen.

I don’t know if I did understood (sic) well about what was unsafe or not safe. Before our mails use to have other contents … if you want to go back to that and don’t write love things and so on because is not safe for you it’s ok with me, i (sic) love you and by no way would do something that can harm you, so please let me know.

I don’t know how we figure all this out and I am not interested in knowing. I prefer to think we’ll see each other again somewhere sometime in this life and in next. Will be missing you till then… . .

Have a great trip with the ones you love … they are the kind of trips you will never forget and for your boys will be unworthable (sic) not only because of the places they will visit but for sharing all that time with you.

Send you millions of kisses that will last till we get in touch again. best wishes from the deepest of my heart.

P.S.: I don’t want to put the genius (sic) back in the bottle because I truly believe in freedom. I never gave you sexual details but now you don’t need to imagine you can close your eyes and just remember. I’ll do the same.

America – A Nation of Pussies??

June 11, 2009

Since when did America become the Land of the Free, Home of the Cowards?  At what point did we decide our system of Justice was completely substandard and not to be trusted?  And why is it that our so-called elected leaders are leading the retreat into cowardice?

I’m speaking of people such as Chicago state Senator Marlin Stutzman (R), Oklahoma state Senator Randy Brogdon (R), former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) , and Lawmakers of all political parties in Oklahoma, South Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, and California, who are all protesting the idea of bringing some of the 240 people currently being detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo).

These “detainees” (not Prisoners) are people who may or may not have done anything to be imprisoned for.  As far as I know, the people being held there have not been charged with anything despite being held for years — which is why they are called detainees.  Such was the case for the recently released Mohammed El Gharani, who was held at Gitmo for more than 7 years, from the time he was a teenager in 2001, and freed just this week when it was evident that he had done nothing wrong, nothing more than attending his church when it was raided by Pakistani soldiers.

I’m sure that some of these detainees are certainly dangerous criminals who must be brought to justice, and ALL of them must be held to American standards of justice since it was the United States who are holding them because they were captured for specific reasons.  We already have over 350 terrorists in federal U.S. prisons now, and none of them have escaped.  According to data provided by Traci L. Billingsley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, federal facilities on American soil currently house 216 international terrorists and 139 domestic terrorists. Some of these miscreants have been locked up here since the early 1990s. None of them has escaped. At the most secure prisons, nobody has ever escaped, period.*

Tell me, politicians, what are you afraid of?  Why are you so worried about housing and trying these people?  Do you seriously think that they’ll get off on a “technicality,” or that they will be paroled and set free to wander around our country?  Do you really think that, in the unlikely event that a convicted terrorist does actually escape, there won’t be a mob of Salt-Of-The-Earth Americans tracking that person down before any damage can be done?  After what the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 did on 9/11, there is no way that true terrorists can feel comfortable carrying out an attack against our beloved country on our own soil … but you seem to think we’re all a bunch of pussies who can’t handle really bad guys.  Why are you being such fear-mongerers, as if we’re little kids whom you don’t trust to cross the street?

Seems to me we’ve done a pretty good job for the past 200 years or so.  Are you sure you want to start wimping out now?  If so, then you don’t represent me, or the country I love.  If you are really such a coward, then you should prepare to be fired come next election cycle.

Doctors, Abortion, Violence, and YOU

June 1, 2009

I was listening to the news reports about Dr. George Tiller, a physician who was murdered in his Lutheran Church.   I was trying to find out what kind of doctor he was … everywhere I looked this morning, all I’ve heard/read is that he’s an “abortionist” or an “abortion doctor.”  Funny, I’ve never seen anyone go to medical school to major in abortions — in fact, I don’t think a degree in that particular specialty actually exists anywhere.

Why are these doctors called abortion doctors?  These are physicians, many of them Ob/Gyns, some general practitioners who can perform surgeries.  These are doctors who care about the health of women.  No one is “pro-abortion.”  People just have different THEORIES about when life starts, and when life is viable (which varies individually from pregnancy to pregnancy).  I am certainly not pro-abortion, but neither am I strictly anti-abortion in any situation, and I think most people in the U.S. share this view with me.

The abortion debate is not something I can morally get involved with on either side, because in my mind it is an individual circumstance, a decision that can only be made on a case-by-case basis.  I don’t think abortion should be used as a form of birth control, but neither would I favor passing sweeping laws that deny this procedure to anyone.  What I am in favor of is education, giving all possible options to people, and easy access to birth control, including in high schools and colleges.

On a religious level, while I consider myself a Christian, I believe that I am completely unqualified to pass final moral judgement on anyone.  That is up to God, not to any mortal.  It seems to me that the only extremists who can become doctor-murdering terrorists on this level are religious fanatics who have no idea what Jesus died on the cross for, or who don’t read the bible except for certain passages over and over that are taken out of context of the whole message of the bible.

Why is it that the anti-abortion extremists aren’t all over condemning Scott Reoder, the man who murdered Dr. Tiller?  After all, a life was taken, and isn’t every life precious?  Isn’t every life sacred and worth protecting, in their minds?  Are they just saying the only lives that are worth anything are that of the unborn?  One argument of extremists is that an abortion could be killing the next Beethoven.  Well, what if the doctor these people just murdered were to discover the cure for cancer if they had not been killed?  What if the work they are doing inspires the next Ghandi?  It’s not just the potential of the unborn babies people should worry about, it’s the potential of the already-born and living human beings, who can continue to contribute great things to the world even when they’re in their 80’s or 90’s or later.

Okay, I could go on, but I have to do homework — finals this week.  My trip back to college as an old lady will be in a later blog.    The message I wanted to leave here today is that the murder of this doctor should horrify everyone, and anyone who commits or plans to commit this type of act should be treated no differently from any other crazy fundamentalist terrorist who murders or plans to commit murder in the name of their religion.

Prop 8 in California Headed to U.S. Supreme Court

Why I hope the injunction against Prop 8 FAILS

Yes, you read it right. Yesterday the California supreme court upheld Prop 8, which prohibits same-sex marriage. This was expected, but still very disappointing. Since that happened, I’ve heard that 2 attorneys are going to take this issue to the federal supreme courts to try to get Prop 8 overturned, and they are going to ask for a temporary injunction against Prop 8 until the issue is resolved in the higher courts. After giving it some thought, this idea bothers me, and if it goes the way I think it might should it be granted, it would probably be a setback for gay marriage in California.

[ Support equal marriage? Support this organization!! http://couragecampaign.org/ ]

There is a slim chance that the federal courts would allow the injunction and an even slimmer chance that they would overturn Prop 8* … the attorneys are raising the 14th amendment, specifically section 1 (Wikipedia has an excellent treatise on this). Even though it’s apparent to me that gay marriage fits perfectly into the spirit of the 14th amendment, the structure of the supreme court as it is now may shy away from the legality of Prop 8. It would be great if they overturn it, but I think an injunction would make things worse.

I thought about this from my perspective, and what I would do if I couldn’t get married, and then a window of time appeared where I could get married. What would I do? I would more than likely seize that opportunity and get married while I could. If there is a temporary injunction against Prop 8, people will run out and get married out of FEAR that they won’t be able to do so in the future, and that’s no way to commit your life to someone. Say the injunction is allowed, and then months down the road the supreme court says they’re not overturning Prop 8. Either my marriage will be annulled, or it will be valid, pending some point in the future, just as those 18,000 or so couples who got married before Prop 8 passed. The difference is, though, that those 18,000 couples were not acting out of fear, but of love, like any of us heteros say we do. There was a possible time limit for them depending on the outcome, but there wasn’t the pressure that there would be if an injunction was allowed.

What happens when people get into a “shotgun marriage”? They don’t really do so well. I would rather the issue was settled, either by the supreme court or by a new ballot measure next year, or both. Putting in a window when people have to feel pressured to get married only endangers the strength of the family unit as people get married for the wrong reasons.

I do feel that California’s Prop 8 was an illegal ballot measure, one that should have gone through the legislature instead of the voters, and I really hope that people will recognize that this is a civil rights issue that is properly protected under the 14th amendment. I also think it’s funny that Iowa is now a more progressive state than California.

Time to write a new ballot measure in CA for 2010 — please support this cause, and banish the despicable act of legalized discrimination forever!
http://couragecampaign.org/ <<—— contribute to end Prop 8

* The reason there is such a slim chance that the U.S. supreme court would overturn Prop 8 is because of this:

Federal law
The legal issues surrounding same-sex marriage in the United States are complicated by the nation’s federal system of government. Traditionally, the federal government did not attempt to establish its own definition of marriage; any marriage recognized by a state was recognized by the federal government, even if that marriage was not recognized by one or more other states (as was the case with interracial marriage before 1967 due to anti-miscegenation laws). With the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, however, a marriage was explicitly defined as a union of one man and one woman for the purposes of federal law. (See 1 U.S.C. § 7.) Thus, no act or agency of the federal government currently recognizes same-sex marriage.
(source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States)

Jesus Had Two Dads, Why Can't I?

* NOTICE *

March 05, 2008
 by Heidi

I apologize for the lengthy silence in the past week or two. I was away in Arizona with my husband for an annual business meeting, and I did not have the equipment nor the opportunity to submit any articles.

Hopefully I will be able to sit down and write something substantial before the weekend, as I continually come up with new ideas to share. This is a busy week for me at home, and I am also dealing with some medical issues that I hope will be resolved soon — nothing serious, just painful!

Thank you as always for visiting our page and reading, as well as leaving your comments and involving yourself in our discussions. We should be getting back into the swing of things soon, and there have been a number of exciting political, social, and newsworthy developments in the past week to talk about here.

Obama vs. Clinton: Who has the bigger toolbox?

February 17, 2008
by Heidi

This column is only about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and is written for those trying to decide between these two candidates. If you have read any of my previous articles, you know that I favor Clinton as our next President, but I also have no dislike for Obama and would not be upset or angry if he wins the role. In my opinion, Clinton is a better, more competent choice. Obama sounds great, but we can’t be sure as a country what kinds of decisions he will make and how many mistakes will slow down his hopes and dreams for a better America.

There are hundreds of metaphors that come to mind about these candidates. Keeping in mind that I favor Clinton (but still like Obama), I will be describing my own visualizations that have come to mind with regard to these candidates, and in doing so I’ve tried to narrow them down to just a few that are very pertinent to the future of our country. And of course, I fully believe that this is a very crucial election, and we cannot afford mistakes at this point that will cost lives and limbs in war and could cost Americans their homes and jobs.

A Tale of Two Surgeons

Imagine that a loved one, a family member, has a serious head injury and needs precision treatment. You interview two doctors. One is a neurosurgeon who has a somewhat standoffish bedside manner, but who knows exactly where to cut and where to go to get the job done, and who has a great team to help out — including a spouse who is also a skilled doctor. The other doctor is fresh out of med school and so far has not made any mistakes, who has all the latest knowledge and information from books and observations, but who has not yet performed surgery of this magnitude. This second doctor is excited and inspiring, and will even throw in some plastic surgery free of charge.

Which of these two doctors would you choose, for your son or daughter, for your husband or wife, for your parents? One is experienced with many competent resources, and the other is optimistic and hopeful but without the experience of having had patients die in the past and learning from previous mistakes along the way.

An Example of Practicality

Last year the Democratic candidates were invited to a debate by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a group dedicated to rights and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. One of the topics discussed was the Clinton Administration’s military policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” When asked about the impact of this policy on the gay community, Hillary Clinton responded that this was the correct policy for that moment in history, and it is now time to be updated so that gays can serve openly. But she could see at that time in the 90s, when her husband Bill was President, that a bridge was needed between the negative social stigma against gays and the goal of equality for and acceptance of gays in America and the U.S. military. Without that “don’t ask, don’t tell” bridge, it was likely that our GLBT community would have fallen into the chasm that would have been a major setback for equality. (Please watch Hillary’s video on the link I provided above, as this also goes beyond the GLBT community and reaches into issues affecting a majority of Americans.)

With both candidates it’s about change, but more importantly it’s about change done the right way, with knowing which tools to use and when to use them being the key to make that change actually happen safely and with the biggest advancements toward the actual goals.

Let me ask you, what would Obama have done in the 90s with the goal of wanting gays to serve openly in the military, assuming that were his goal? Would he have charged ahead full-steam with that goal in mind, not concerned with the means to achieve that goal? Would he have made his policy go from no gays in the military straight to serving openly, without thinking of the ramifications of the public not accepting this yet? Assuming this is a common goal of the candidates (I don’t personally know if this is the case), which of them has made the mistakes necessary to reach success more quickly, without repeating the same mistakes?

Ask any successful businessperson or inventor, and they will tell you that the road to success is paved with bricks of failures. The more failures you have, the closer you are to achieving the best success. Success without mistakes along the way means you have learned less and your achievements won’t be as strong or lasting. While it can be argued that Hillary Clinton has never held any real political leadership title other than Senator, she has walked that road with a governor and with a president, and has as such shared both the successes and the mistakes in a very personal way, which is a thousand times more than Obama has done. Where are his mistakes? Where are his failures? How will he react when he hits a major bump in the road as president, or if America is attacked again? How will he react when his right-wing opponents viciously attack him, and his family, and his upbringing, and his religion, and everything else that is undoubtedly coming his way through the elections process? I think we already know how Clinton will handle these things, since she has been through all of them already.

These are the questions I am asking, and that I hope others are asking as well. I’d personally like to see Obama run a few more laps and see him fall down and get up and see how he refines his running techniques. No one can be “right the first time” every time.

The Bridge to Somewhere

In my opinion, GWBush has dug our country into an enormous hole, both financially and domestically and with our global reputation. The gap between the past and the future is wider than ever; if we keep going in the same direction that Bush has taken us, we will regress into a country that resembles 14th century Europe — a century, appropriately, marked by the Hundred-Years War, famine, religious dictatorship, and devastating climate change. It is exciting and inspiring to hear Barack Obama talk about our country’s future, where we should go and where we need to be. But he doesn’t talk about how to get there; just that we should get there. It’s great talk, but lacks the necessary substance and planning.

Clinton, on the other hand, has not only laid out the plans, but also has a huge chest of tools and knowhow to bridge that enormous gap. She has built many bridges, and has seen some of them topple for various reasons, and has learned how to make her bridge-building skills much better and stronger. She also knows many, many experts in the field — she has them on speed-dial, knows their names, and knows their professions so she won’t have to make 50 calls to get to the right person when she needs assistance.

Barack Obama has a little bridge building experience, but we don’t know how he’s supposed to undertake such a humongous structure with such a small toolbox and only a few numbers in his rolodex. He could probably get it done at some point, after a few false starts and taking the time to meet the right people and to learn about the tools he will need. And even then, after his bridge is built, he will lead us optimistically over it, but how can we be sure it is structurally sound? How long will it take him to build it, and with untested materials, and how many lives will be lost in the process of trial and error? I have no doubt whatsoever that Obama wants to help this country see better, more glorious days (as does Senator Clinton), and that his heart is in the right place, but where is his head?

The Choice is Ours

I’ve heard it said about voters in the two major parties: “Democrats want to fall in love, and Republicans want to fall in line.” This means that Democrats vote with their hearts for someone inspirational, and Republicans vote for a leader who tells them what to do and how to do it. To me, it seems that Democrats like to work from the bottom up, whereas Republicans prefer to do things from the top down (see Reagan’s Trickle-Down Economics). Both ways work in specific circumstances in different applications, but it seems to me that bridges are best built from the bottom up. In order to get that bridge built, it is critical that there is a competent leader to direct the construction of the bridge. If you go with Obama’s current leadership model, you need to hope that you can leap across the chasm or that you will grow wings before you hit the bottom. If you go with Clinton’s advice, you won’t have as much fun leaping over the edge, but you can be pretty sure that your children and loved ones won’t splatter the bottom of the canyon.

To me, Obama is a definite maybe, but Clinton is a definite absolute. Obama is exciting and could possibly do a good job (I’ve heard that he could go either way — either as beloved and popular as JFK or as disappointing and unpopular as Jimmy Carter). But Clinton has already been through the trenches and she already knows what to do and how to get it done.

Final Statement

My message to Democrats and to my fellow Independents is to vote with your brain. When you choose a husband or wife, there is a lot of heart involved, but the lasting benefits of the marriage are only achieved if you also use your head. The decision we make now is a commitment that we really need to think about, because it is a lifelong commitment with lasting consequences that will affect not only us, but generations to come, just like our last 2 elections have.

Just think about it. Please.

The Obamanator

February 3, 2008
by Heidi

As one of the wenches who lives in California, I feel qualified to compare Senator Obama to our Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Arnold Who?

Most people heard about California’s governor-debacle of 2003, where former Democratic Governor Gray Davis was overwhelmingly recalled and a gubernatorial race with 135 candidates (which included individuals such as child actor Gary Coleman and Hustler publisher Larry Flynt) took place. Ultimately, as you may know, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger won the race. I’m glad he won; I voted for him, not because I was a Republican (I wasn’t), but because he was a Republican married to a Kennedy (JFK’s niece), which I thought would bring great balance to the state.

It was reported that before he was voted into office, Schwarzenegger dove into educating himself about the position in order to become proficient and avoid blunders from not knowing enough about being a Governor. Although he had considered getting into politics for some time and had been engaged with former presidents and even various governors from around the country, his decision would not be made without being absolutely sure and without the blessing of his wife, Maria Shriver.

Schwarzenegger enjoyed fantastic popularity during his first couple of years in office. However, he hit a huge political stumbling block in 2005 when he called for special elections, and found that even the Governator could not shake entrenched political interests.

Schwarzenegger called the election to allow voters to decide on propositions regarding teacher tenure requirements (Proposition 74), the use of union dues for political campaign contributions (Proposition 75), state budgetary spending limits (Proposition 76), and redistricting (Proposition 77). … The four propositions that made it to the ballot eventually came to be known as Governor Schwarzenegger’s Reform Agenda. The Governor claimed his agenda would clear the way for correction of the problems he was elected to solve.

(Source: Wikipedia.com)

When these propositions were being argued in the media and on commercials everywhere here (a reported 300 million dollars in advertising spent on both sides combined!), I remember reading through the propositions and liking them. It made sense to me, for example, that union members should have a voice individually as to how their dues are spent, and I didn’t like the idea of giving money and not being able to control how that money is politically spent (prop 75). In fact, I liked ALL the propositions, designed to reduce spending using common sense. However, the opposition (mostly unions) fought hard with ads showing poor teachers and sad firefighters to tug the heartstrings of the public, and with the failure of the Governor’s reforms, it became obvious to me that most people don’t actually read the propositions. If they had an understanding of the facts, I think Californians would have overwhelmingly passed all four of those propositions.

Enter Obama, Stage Left

Make no mistake, I would be very happy if Barack Obama becomes President. But my worries are not with his heart and his intentions, but with the apparent innocence and naïveté he seems to have with respect to the Presidency and the enormous fights he will face there. He is definitely not a “left-wing liberal” as I’ve seen him portrayed by some not very politically aware, but I can already see people boxing him (and his family) in as a socialist, probably the same ignorant people who still think he’s a Muslim and that his middle name has some kind of jihadist significance. I can already see the “Republican base” planning ways to thwart his best intentions, just because he’s from the other side of the aisle, if nothing else. This isn’t news; it happens on both sides, dirty tricks from both Democrats and Republicans, which is why I subscribe to neither.

But how will a fresh, young, idealistic, inexperienced President deal with these attempts to dethrone him? Will he be distracted by the attacks, just as he was distracted by those from Bill Clinton — someone from his own party? Will he spend the first two or more years of his office constantly defending himself and learning how to bring two parties in congress together, something that even Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t do? And remember, it’s not just two parties, it’s also the ’special interests’ and ‘lobbyists’ — the ones who have a lot of money and don’t consider America as special as their own corporate interests.

These are the questions I have about Barack Obama, questions that I do NOT have about Hillary Clinton. I already know that Clinton has balls. I already know that both Clintons have had a ton of experience with these kinds of things since their days in Arkansas. Hillary Clinton will not be distracted by the attack dogs; Hillary Clinton will not need to spend the first year or two learning the ropes and figuring out how to deal with partisan issues; Hillary Clinton may have her faults, as all people do, but I believe in this election that it is important to be ready from day one, and to hit the ground running.

The Dream Ticket

The more I think about it as objectively as I can, the more convinced I become that the best President on Day One will be Hillary Clinton. [If you believe that the war in Iraq should continue indefinitely, by the way, you should plan to vote Republican. I believe the war there should end as soon as possible, which is why I cannot vote for any of the Republicans.] However, as I’ve stated before, I do think that Barack Obama will make a wonderful President, just as we believe JFK was;* but I believe that Hillary Clinton is needed right now. She has clout and muscle and will not be intimidated in the face of a crisis that is certain to come for the next President.

If you happened to watch the Democratic Debate on CNN this past Thursday (01/31/08), you probably saw the reaction of the huge audience when Wolf Blitzer suggested the idea of the two candidates on stage being a “Dream Ticket.” This prompted a cheer from me as I was sitting in my chair watching, because last year I had emailed both Clinton and Obama with that very suggestion. In my mind, the competence of President Clinton partnered with the enthusiastic idealism of Vice President Obama will both heal the country and prepare the current Senator from Illinois to be the most inspirational JFK-like President of this century for the following election cycle.

The Audacity of Supporting Hillary

Finally, I have been pretty disgusted by the vitriolic remarks by many Obama supporters against Hillary Clinton. If you are an Obama supporter, then you must agree with his message to bring the country together. I say that if you are an Obama supporter and you make vicious remarks about either of the Clintons, then you do not deserve to be an Obama supporter… you should instead sign up with Willard Romney’s campaign.

Most of the horrible anti-Hillary remarks I hear on television come from Republicans, and most of the horrible anti-Hillary remarks I read on the internet come from Obama supporters. Certainly I expect all nasty remarks from Republicans, but how can Obama supporters, who ostensibly want to help bring the country together, spit out such ignorant and often baseless attacks against someone who is simply a more politically mature (and female) version of Barack Obama?

I think our country is better than that, just as Obama says. For the most part, Senator Obama has been very gentlemanly in this campaign, and has not spit out the hate against the Clintons that some of his supporters have. I hope that Senator Obama would encourage ALL of his supporters to move above the gutter and grasp his vision of a better America, starting with bringing supporters of both campaigns together with their common goals for the country. If we do this, we will evolve beyond the disgusting politics of the past and look ahead to a new kind of politics that focuses on common dreams instead of petty differences. That is the audacity of hope.

/ / /

* Note: As beloved and admired as John F. Kennedy was, as cherished as his life is in our memories and stories that have been passed from generation to generation, we must not forget that it also took JFK a little while to get into the Presidential groove, and he had four times more congressional experience (13 years) than Barack Obama (3 years). Kennedy’s early challenges came with the Bay of Pigs invasion, failing to correctly do what was needed to depose Fidel Castro, and with the Cuban Missile Crisis, which resulted from Kennedy’s inexperience when it came to diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union (and also from his failures with the Bay of Pigs). Thankfully, these two frightening crises did not result in nuclear war as they could have, but they are certainly considerations when comparing Barack Obama with Jack Kennedy.

Why Hillary? (part 2)

January 28, 2008

by Heidi

Why Part 2?

Since finishing and polishing up my last post, I’ve had a number of new things come to mind (which always seems to happen), and also thought about what was missing from the first post that I’d intended to put in. So I figured instead of editing the original, I’d write a sequel — hopefully one that won’t be so long as the first!

I’ll begin by clarifying that I am NOT a Democrat. I can see how it may appear from my last post that I am one, since I only mentioned my choices between Hillary and Barack. I began my political life as a Republican, changed some years later to Democrat after seeing how petty and hard-hearted the GOP was, and a while later I saw that the Democratic party wasn’t much better. I toyed with the idea of joining the Libertarian party, but then I decided I didn’t want to be affiliated with or limited by any one party, since there were components of all the parties I agreed with. It seems to me that as well-meaning as a political party starts out, after a certain amount of time the party becomes more important than the people they are supposed to represent.

The one thing I am against is the war in Iraq. In my mind, the way this was executed and bungled has adversely affected countless lives when it didn’t have to be that way. Certainly Saddam Hussein was a nasty, cruel dictator, but there are cruel dictators in many other countries we don’t feel the need to bomb and take out. Some of them are even our “allies.” I could go on and on about how I feel about this war, but I don’t want my ADD to get me off track! My point is that all of the Republican candidates — except for one — are proponents of the Iraq war and of keeping our young men and women there indefinitely. I respect Dr. Paul’s vision of getting America back to its constitutional roots, but many of his beliefs are either too radical to make actual change or they discount the majority of Americans who have spent their entire lives accustomed to the system that he won’t be able to win the nomination. He is well-suited to congress, to keep fighting the good Constitutional fight from within that body.

So after a lot of research over the past year of all the candidates, I was pretty much left with the Democrats who now remain. I really liked most of them, but now the top contenders are Clinton, Edwards, and Obama, like it or not.

The reason I didn’t mention John Edwards in my previous article is that I have ruled him out as President. I have a lot of respect and admiration for him, because he is such a leader on social issues that I care deeply about, but unfortunately he has pigeonholed himself to only represent the poor and disenfranchised; that is his whole platform, it seems. He hasn’t spent a lot of time talking about other issues that affect the country, issues that are just as important as solving poverty. I don’t know what all the departments and roles in the government are, but I would hope that Edwards gets placed as the head of some department where he can make a difference in this area.

I’d also like to make it clear that if Obama is the nominee, I will not be at all disappointed. I could be concerned because of his lack of experience, but that is mitigated by the fact that he will surround himself with more seasoned people on ‘both sides of the aisle’ to help him learn the ropes. If I were 10 years younger, I would be behind Barack Obama all the way. He appeals to that younger part of me that is full of hope and idealism and optimism. He really touches my heart, which speaks highly of his ability as a motivational speaker. It’s impossible even in my older age not to get excited when I hear him speak; this is why I had to remove myself from the emotion and completely use my cognitive discernment in asking myself who would be the best president in a practical sense.

Something regarding Hillary Clinton that I had intended to discuss but neglected to mention in my first post is about her experience as a First Lady. I did touch upon what she did while she was First Lady of Arkansas as well as of the U.S. What I didn’t talk about was how much a woman learns from her husband regarding his job, which I think is quite significant.

Certainly Hillary was probably not at the high-level meetings and did not have access to the big red nuclear button, but that does not by any means discount what she did learn and what influence she did have as Bill Clinton’s wife. As quoted in my previous post, Hillary was the first wife of a President who took up residence in the west wing of the White House rather than the typical east wing. This alone means she was privy to many discussions that went on in that wing just by virtue of her physical proximity. Also, husbands naturally bounce ideas and discussions off of their wives, especially in long-term marriages, so even the higher-level topics were most likely discussed. People can make all the assumptions they want to about the Clintons in their personal relationship, but one thing is very clear: Bill had (and still has) a great amount of respect for Hillary as an intelligent, competent woman, and you can’t be married to someone like that without having conversations about matters other than what color the curtains should be or who is coming to tea that afternoon.

As an example, although I am nowhere near as capable and intelligent as Hillary Clinton is, I’m also not a dimwit and I do have my own set of talents. My husband has been a hand-tool wholesaler for decades, and as a result, I know more about tools than the average man. I’ve voluntarily helped him with his business for a number of years, and have learned more than I ever would have otherwise just by association — and I’ve never been terribly passionate about tools the way Hillary is about politics, so you can be sure that she has absorbed a ton of useful information both passively and actively.

Another thing I like about Hillary that I neglected to mention before is her diverse political background. I was very happy that Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected California’s governor for much the same reason. He is a Republican who is married to a Kennedy, which is guaranteed to bring balance to his politics. I am sure he discusses politics and issues with his wife, and listens to her when she gives her opinion. Hillary was born into a very conservative household, and at some point in her life she used her brain to give weight to her political beliefs by not staying a Republican just because her family was. She actually took a good look at her beliefs and found that they did not agree with everything she had been raised with. Despite this, she understands why Republicans believe what they do, even if she disagrees, and she has some compassion and respect for even the most right-wing conservatives because of her upbringing in that environment. This is probably why she is not seen as a true liberal, and rightly so.

Comments

Finally, I was happy to see how quickly others had commented on my last post, especially considering this is my very first venture into Blogland. I’d like to take the time to respond to each of them, since I welcome all sorts of discussions and hope they continue.

maryblu Says:
January 27, 2008 at 7:50 pm

Very good post, but I do not find Hillary a very admirable woman, She has many great achievments under her belt, but she is not the type of woman I want my granddaughter to see as the first woman president. She acts like it is her right, not a privilage. I have watched her close since her decsion to run was made and I have lost any respect I may have had for her at one time.

Maryblu, thank you for your compliment on my post! I worked on it most of the day, and your first three words meant a lot to me — as did the rest of your post, even though we don’t share the same opinion. I myself have five stepdaughters (their half-sister recently had a baby, so that would be my first almost-grandchild), and I am always concerned about role models. I personally believe that Hillary Clinton is a great role model for my girls, because she is strong and capable and doesn’t let fear or intimidation or male dominance keep her from achieving her dreams. This is a bit personal for me, because their biological mother has been unfortunately dependent on males for most of her life, and she is an important person in their lives. Of course, it’s possible that this was how she was raised and due to harsh circumstances in her own life, but I’m very passionate about my stepdaughters learning how to hold their own and be responsible for themselves and independent.

You also said, “She acts like it [being elected president] is her right, not a privilage.” I understand how you feel, especially based on the statements she made last year in the media, like when she corrected a reporter who said “If you’re President…” by saying, “When I’m President.” You could say that she feels entitled, or you could say that she’s very confident. But is this skewed because she is a woman, or because her spouse is a former President who used this same sort of confidence? Is it wrong or ugly for a woman to be confident? I’ve heard ALL of the other candidates display the exact same type of confidence; is it different for them because they are men, or because none of them are married to a former President? That’s a tough call. I would like to believe that on her own, gender or spouse affiliation should not matter, but it probably does matter.

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demolition65 Says:
January 27, 2008 at 8:30 pm

As Maryblu has stated: She has credentials, but she is a miserable human being, married to a possible MORE miserable human being, whom she enables. To everyone else, she is just plain cranky, if not outright nasty. She DOES act as if the White House is her RIGHT.

OK, she’s tough. She’s experienced. Not to mention opinionated and self-righteous. So were Vince Lombardi and General George Patton, and neither of them would have made admirable Chief Executives.

Demolition65, I peeked at your blog I was taken to when I clicked on your name, and I see that you are not just anti-Hillary, but you are also a staunch conservative, if not registered Republican. But don’t worry, I won’t hold that against you, and I also appreciate your input. I would like to make a correction, though… Maryblu did not state that Hillary is a miserable woman, and I read your post as implying that Maryblu had said that. I just don’t want to put words in her mouth; perhaps you were only agreeing that Maryblu intimated that Hillary has credentials. Okay, sorry, don’t mean to digress!

I do take issue with your description of the Clintons as both being miserable. They don’t seem miserable to me at all; they seem very happy and very successful, for the most part. But maybe you were using ‘miserable’ in a different context. Do they make you miserable? If so, why? I see that you are very upset about Bill having an extramarital liaison, so I would assume you have zero respect for anyone who does that. Hopefully your anger isn’t just limited to Bill Clinton simply because he is Bill Clinton and his beliefs are different from yours. I also disagree that Hillary enables him; I’m not sure what you mean by that statement.

You also said, “To everyone else, she is just plain cranky, if not outright nasty.” By “everyone else,” do you mean everyone else who doesn’t like her? From what I see, a great many people don’t see her that way, so I can only assume you are talking about her political or personal opponents.

You agree that she is tough and experienced, and since you don’t seem to like her at all personally or politically, I will take those two adjectives to heart as something you and I have in common. As to your description of her being “opinionated” and “self-righteous,” I will also agree with you to a certain extent, but this is also something I see in every one of the other candidates in both parties. Perhaps all four of those qualities, whether we like them or not, are things that politicians feel they must have in order to run for President of the United States.

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I can’t thank both of you enough for leaving comments. Like I said, this is my first foray into Blogging like this, and I feel like a real idiot when I fight with WordPress formatting! I am thrilled when I am able to have intelligent discussions with people, especially those who have vastly different opinions and perspectives from my own. I learn so much from everyone I talk to.

Why Hillary?

January 27, 2008
by Heidi

Inspiration

As I stroll through Digg articles, I notice that much of the community there is anti-Clinton. I see a whole Ron Paul contingent there (which is natural, since the bulk of Dr. Paul’s support began through a heavy surge on the internet) and many pro-Obama Diggers, but it seems to me that any time Hillary Clinton’s name is mentioned, the attacks come savagely in huge numbers, as if George W. Bush had decided to run again. (It is digg.com, in fact, that inspired me to write out my opinions on this election in detail.)

I understand that Digg, like much of the internet, has a demographic with a greater number of younger people, a higher percentage of males than females, with an average age range of less than 24 years — in fact, a statistic from January 2007 reports that over 70% of digg users are age 14 and under. According to a Pew Research report, the highest percentage of internet users (71%) are adults between the ages of 18 and 29. This tells me that most of the Paul/Obama supporters on Digg are young, idealistic males, which makes perfect sense as the platforms of these candidates are upbeat and full of idealism.

However, I’ve been asked by a number of people, both on Digg and in my 3-D life, which candidate I like, and why. I’ve given this a tremendous amount of thought, as I hope most voters do. Digg users (“diggers”) are not forgiving with opinions differing from the majority there, so I get slammed for asking questions or making comments that seem pro-Hillary. I have had some private messages sent my way at that site asking for my justifications for liking Hillary Clinton. Since I’m unable to post honestly there why I would support a Clinton nomination (without getting buried alive, that is), I thought I’d set my thoughts down in a blog of my own.

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Clinton Facts

Obama Facts

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Barack Obama, full of zest and charisma and hope, delivers amazing speeches wherever he goes that inspire and motivate people. I love watching the man and hearing him speak. Listening to him, I find myself getting excited and hopeful at the prospect of having him as America’s President. But when the goose-bumps relax a little, I use my head instead of my heart. What, besides his promising speeches, can he do to fix the mess that Bush has left? How long will it take him to get into the Presidential Groove before he can start working on changing things? How much experience does he have with middle-east politics and culture?

Exactly how much of Barack Obama’s talent is something other than incredible speeches and a big, compassionate heart? With the urgency of America’s current situation — the economy, the war in Iraq, the world’s view of our country — can we pin our hopes on speeches, as incredible as they may sound?

Hillary Clinton has already proven how tough she is during her tenure as First Lady and even through her performance with campaigning thus far. She appears unfazed by attacks, although they are plenty, and if she is the nominee, she will need that extra layer of tough skin to withstand the hostile right-wing attacks that will be deployed at whomever the Democratic candidate may be. Can Barack Obama withstand such attacks? I don’t know. I don’t know that he’s ever been put through the right-wing attack machine.

Also, Mrs. Clinton has experience. I know this is a bone of contention with her opponents, who like to say, “What kind of experience does she have, other than being a Senator for a short time? She wasn’t a Governor, she wasn’t a President, that was her husband.” The facts are available for all to see who question her experience, starting when she was just 13 years old and canvassed her South-Side Chicago for the Republican party after the 1960 election, finding evidence of vote fraud against Republican candidate Richard Nixon.¹

By the time she was 18, she was a “Goldwater Girl” (in 1964), and fully politically aware. How many kids from 13 to 18 even care about politics, let alone get involved in it? Her early political development was shaped most strongly by her energizing high school history teacher, like her father a fervent anti-communist, and by her Methodist youth minister, like her mother concerned with issues of social justice; with the minister she saw and met civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. in Chicago in 1962.²

In 1965, Rodham enrolled in Wellesley College, where she majored in political science. She served as president of the Wellesley Young Republicans organization during her freshman year. However, due to her evolving views regarding the American Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, she stepped down from that position; she characterized her own nature as that of “a mind conservative and a heart liberal.” In her junior year, Rodham was affected by the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., and became a supporter of the anti-war presidential nomination campaign of Democrat Eugene McCarthy. Rodham organized a two-day student strike and worked with Wellesley’s black students for moderate changes, such as recruiting more black students and faculty. In that same year she was elected president of the Wellesley College Government Association. She attended the “Wellesley in Washington” summer program at the urging of Professor Alan Schechter, who assigned Rodham to intern at the House Republican Conference so she could better understand her changing political views. Rodham was invited by Representative Charles Goodell, a moderate New York Republican, to help Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s late-entry campaign for the Republican nomination. Rodham attended the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami, where she decided to leave the Republican Party for good; she was upset over how Richard Nixon’s campaign had portrayed Rockefeller and what Rodham perceived as the “veiled” racist messages of the convention.

Rodham returned to Wellesley, and wrote her senior thesis about the tactics of radical community organizer Saul Alinsky under Professor Schechter (which, years later while she was first lady, was suppressed at the request of the White House and became the subject of speculation as to its contents). In 1969, Rodham graduated with departmental honors in political science. Stemming from the demands of some students, she became the first student in Wellesley College history to deliver their commencement address. According to reports by the Associated Press, her speech received a standing ovation lasting seven minutes. She was featured in an article published in Life magazine, due to the response to a part of her speech that criticized Senator Edward Brooke, who had spoken before her at the commencement; she also appeared on Irv Kupcinet’s nationally-syndicated television talk show as well as in Illinois and New England newspapers. That summer, she worked her way across Alaska, washing dishes in Mount McKinley National Park and sliming salmon in a fish processing cannery in Valdez (which fired her and shut down overnight when she complained about unhealthy conditions).

[[ Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_clinton ]]

In the summer of 1970, at the age of 22, Hillary was awarded a grant to work at Marian Wright Edelman’s Washington Research Project, where she was assigned to Senator Walter Mondale’s Subcommittee on Migratory Labor, researching migrant workers’ problems in housing, sanitation, health and education.

Hillary entered Yale Law School in 1971 after graduating from Wellesley. During her second year, she worked at the Yale Child Study Center, learning about new research on early childhood brain development and working as a research assistant on the seminal work, Beyond the Best Interests of the Child (1973). She also took on cases of child abuse at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free advice for the poor.

Now, mind you, all of this took place before she ever married Bill Clinton!

She did marry Bill, finally, on October 11, 1975. At this time, Bill Clinton was teaching law at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville School of Law, and a short time later he became Attorney General of that state. Hillary then joined that infamous corporate law firm her opponents like to bring up often, Rose Law Firm, which specialized in intellectual property law and patent infringement; what her opponents don’t tell you about these years of her life is that she rarely performed litigation work in court, and she did a lot of pro bono work in child advocacy, as well as her interest in children’s law and family policy, publishing scholarly articles in that area. In 1977 she co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children’s Defense Fund; she was also on the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation, which provides equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by providing civil legal assistance to those who otherwise would be unable to afford it.

It is important to note, in light of her candidacy, that in 1981 Hillary Clinton successfully fought the newly-elected Ronald Reagan over funding for the Legal Services Corporation. Reagan wanted to cut funding for this service, and tried to appoint very conservative lawyers to the LSC who were against financial aide for the poor.³ She had the balls to fight for justice against the President of the United States, and this was before her husband was even elected Governor of Arkansas!

Notable First Lady Experience

All of this experience in her personal and professional life is enough to qualify as Commander-In-Chief, but there is more that absolutely cannot be discounted. Hillary Clinton was First Lady in the State of Arkansas for 12 years (1979–1981, 1983–1992), and was the U.S. First Lady when Bill was President for 8 years (1993-2001). And believe me, she was not the kind of First Lady (either time) who sat and smiled and knitted and planned dinners!

In Arkansas, she not only maintained her professional career, she also was chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee, where she successfully obtained federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas’ poorest areas without affecting doctors’ fees. Additionally, As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary Clinton chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee from 1982 to 1992.

Here are some highlights of her achievements in Arkansas:

• introduced Arkansas’ Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth in 1985, a program that helps parents work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy
• chaired the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession, which addressed gender bias in the law profession and induced the association to adopt measures to combat it
• served on the boards of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Legal Services (1988–1992) and the Children’s Defense Fund

As First Lady of the United States, Hillary was nowhere near the usual role, being compared more to Eleanor Roosevelt than any First Lady since then.

When Bill Clinton took office as president in January 1993, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the First Lady of the United States, and announced that she would be using that form of her name. She was the initial first lady to hold a post-graduate degree and to have her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House. She was also the initial first lady to take up an office in the West Wing of the White House, first ladies usually staying in the East Wing. She is regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history, save for Eleanor Roosevelt.

Some critics called it inappropriate for the First Lady to play a central role in matters of public policy. Supporters pointed out that Clinton’s role in policy was no different from that of other White House advisors and that voters were well aware that she would play an active role in her husband’s Presidency. Bill Clinton’s campaign promise of “two for the price of one” led opponents to refer derisively to the Clintons as “co-presidents”, or sometimes “Billary”. The pressures of conflicting ideas about the role of a First Lady were enough to send Clinton into “imaginary discussions” with the also-politically-active Eleanor Roosevelt; from the time she came to Washington, she also found refuge in a prayer group of The Fellowship that featured many wives of conservative Washington figures.

[[ Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_clinton ]]

Health Care

Hillary is well-known for her efforts at introducing a Universal Health Care system in the early 1990s. Clinton later acknowledged in her book, Living History, that her political inexperience partly contributed to the defeat, but mentioned that many other factors were also responsible.

Barack Obama says he also has a plan for socialized Health Care, although it varies from that of Hillary Clinton’s and John Edwards’s. Obama’s Health Care Plan is outlined Here. According to factcheck.org, the plans aren’t all that different:

“Clinton’s plan would likely lead to somewhat higher levels of coverage than Obama’s, according to the research we’ve seen. But the difference in outcomes may not amount to much. The main distinction: Clinton calls for a mandate that would require all individuals to have health insurance; Obama requires only that children have coverage and that dependents be covered under their parents’ insurance up to age 25. Of the estimated 46.5 million uninsured in the U.S., 9.4 million are children and 37 million are adults, according to an analysis of Census data by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the Urban Institute. But neither candidate has provided enough detail for analysts to predict confidently how many might be left uninsured under either plan.”

The true difference in my opinion is that Hillary spent years discovering how not to introduce a universal health care system to Congress; she fought that fight and lost, and will take care not to replicate her mistakes. Obama, on the other hand, is a newbie at White House failures to learn from. It seems to me that Hillary has learned from these crucial mistakes, while Obama is doomed to repeat them.

Foreign Policies

Finally, I am struck by Mrs. Clinton’s overseas experience. She has traveled to at least 79 countries,⁴ (the most well-traveled First Lady in history) and many of those visits included advocating for women’s rights in those countries which treat women as second-class citizens (such as Afghanistan and China). She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries.

Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, set records for international travel while President. According to the Republican Party Committee, Bill Clinton holds the record for foreign trips by a U.S. president (32), number of days abroad (154), and rate of foreign travel (27 days per year). As “First Gentleman,” this experience along with his amazing communication abilities would make him an incredible asset to the Hillary Clinton Administration, and consequently to the country. Bill would be the best suited to repair international damage done by the current Bush Administration, and to help return our global status from ridiculed to admired once again.

Right-wing critics say, “Oh, we don’t want Bill back in the White House!” Well, why the hell not? George W. Bush has hurt our country so badly that it would take TWO presidents (albeit a past and a current one) to clean up his mess. Hillary can certainly hold her own as Commander-In-Chief, and while she’s busy making domestic reparations, Bill will be invaluable abroad.

After real consideration, which includes all of the above, I cannot help but believe that the best candidate for President of the United States of America is embodied by the maturity and experience of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As for Barack Obama, I believe he is outstanding, and will make a great President. I would love to vote for him; if this were any old election year, I just might — he and Hillary seem to have many of the same goals and dreams, which I admire greatly. But this is not any old election year… it is post-Bush fallout cycle. The time we live in is one where we can’t afford to wait for a new President to find all the bathrooms and meet all the people and figure out which piles of paper on the desk are which. Hillary Clinton already knows all that; she knows where everything is, she knows who to talk to in every office in Washington when she needs to get things done. The engine is already tuned up and running for her. Next January all she has to do is slam on the accelerator and that will be all.

My sincere hope is that Hillary will ask Barack Obama to be her running-mate, and that he will accept. Someone with that JFK-esque persona is bound to do great things; all he needs is a little time to gain the needed experience, and what better mentor than Hillary Clinton? As Vice President, he is practically guaranteed the keys to the White House once Hillary has served her tenure.

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Footnotes

1. ^ Gerth, Jeff; Don Van Natta, Jr. (2007). Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-01742-6. , p. 19.

2. ^ Gerth, Van Natta Jr., Her Way, pp. 18–21. The teacher, Paul Carlson, and the minister, Donald Jones, came into conflict with each in Park Ridge; Clinton would later see that “as an early indication of the cultural, political and religious fault lines that developed across America in the [next] forty years.” Living History, p. 23.; ^ Brock, David (2006). The Seduction of Hillary Rodham (excerpt from the book). Retrieved on 2007-02-05. Her father was an outspoken Republican, while her mother kept quiet but was “basically a Democrat.” See Living History, p. 11.

3. ^ ^{a b c} Carl Bernstein, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Knopf, ISBN 0375407669. p. 133.

4. Patrick Healy. “The Résumé Factor: Those 8 Years as First Lady“, The New York Times, 2007-12-26.

Note: Obviously, many of my links are to Wikipedia. I have researched other places over the past year as well, but I found Wikipedia to have the best concentration of facts to link to, and the references all appear to be accurate. If you find factual errors, please notify me with a reference to your correction source. Thank you.

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About the Authors: The Story of the 2 Wenches

About the Authors

Cindy and Heidi have been best friends since the 8th grade, and over the years have shared each other’s successes and storms. Life’s experiences and adventures have given them the ability to pass on their views to you. They hope to spark intelligent discussions and provide advice and empathy to those who need it.

Heidi is on the west coast, in Southern California, and Cindy is on the east coast, in Delaware. They have had very different upbringings and some opposing opinions, but they find through their strong friendship that they are able to respect each other’s differences and discuss them without judging or fighting. They both believe that the world would be a better place if everyone could be like this!

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