hillary and bill clinton: you either love them or hate them. for most, there is no inbetween. that was a contributing factor in bill’s successes as well as his “bumps” in the road. and it has been and will continue to be the same for hillary.

i think bill clinton is the bee’s knees – and he has his wife to thank for that. in fact, 1992 was my first election, and i was beyond active in it. i wasn’t all that impressed with bill, having supported jerry brown early on. after jerry brown bowed out, i was torn. very torn. it wasn’t until a few weeks before the election that i made my decision. i voted for him simply because the man responsible for the shrub and perot were dangerous, and the election was too close to vote for leonora b. fulani. it wasn’t until i started tuning in to hillary and her record as a children’s and women’s advocate that i really started to think he may be something special – simply by association.

fast forward 16 years, and it’s hillary’s turn. the fight is closer than ever, and i’m wondering what will happen. because none of us really knows. the conventional wisdom seems to be that hillary should bow out gracefully, think of the party, the people. i have to admit the thought has crossed my mind, wondering what the point is in finishing the race to its bitter end at Convention.

but i read this op ed in the washington post, highlighting the importance of giving everyone a voice – not just those whose states vote early, of finishing ’til the end. and, once again, i’m torn. only this time, not for who to support, but for how long.
why should she be pressured to bow out? when someone runs a race, they aren’t expected to quit because they aren’t in first place. they are expected to finish, aren’t they? in fact, in many cases, just finishing is success all it’s own, isn’t it?

whether or not she gets the nomination, just finishing it out would be a great success. while she certainly isn’t the first woman to run for president, or even the first woman to make it to a major party’s convention (she didn’t bow out ’til the end – and that was in 1964!), she’s the first one who has a real chance and is “this” close to making it happen. and shouldn’t she be saluted and celebrated for that? and shouldn’t all those who support her be given the opportunity to cast their vote for her – not just those who happen to live in states whose primaries were before june? are their voices any less important? should they be sacrificed in the interest of “the party” and “conventional wisdom”?

sigh. where’s kate smith when you need her?