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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Looks like our next president will not be a woman.

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Oh wow, she went with a pantsuit. Way to think outside the box.
(I didn’t know pantsuit was one word until I looked it up, pretty cool.)



Hillary Clinton has officially ‘suspended’ her campaign and supported Obama as the nominee. I have to admit, if I had approached this topic a few weeks ago I probably would have written a much different article. I would have spent every word ripping Hillary apart. I do not have an unfounded disdain of Mrs. Clinton because I was raised in conservative private schools since I was four years old. I have come out of that upbringing as a registered independent and someone that is tired of partisan politics. With that, watching her campaign unravel has been pathetic. The last few months she’d continually pushed her campaign forward when becoming the nominee was a mathematic impossibility. She invested millions of dollars of her own money to keep the dream alive when it was clearly alive.

For the last few weeks I’d grown frustrated with this prideful display. It seemed to me that she just couldn’t fathom that she’d lost. A year ago most expected Hillary and Giuliani would be choosing running mates at this point. Needless to say, we are in a much different spot. It was frustrating to see Hillary hurt her party because it wasn’t agreeing with her. She should have bowed out a long time ago and hopefully she’s learned her 20 million dollar lesson. But I’m not going to just talk about her pride and idiocy. Watching her concession speech with my Nana this last weekend changed my perspective.

This was the closest a woman has ever been to holding the highest office in America. 90 years ago woman didn’t even have the right to vote, let alone hold the highest office in the land. My Nana was disappointed that she wouldn’t get to see a woman beat the gender gap. When she expressed her opinion it was rooted in a firm belief that women in this country had made huge steps forward in her lifetime. Upon graduating with her bachelors degree she joined a small club called the UWA, the University Women’s Association because she believed in a Woman’s right to get an education and pursue any career they desired. This was a revolutionary thought in 1946, but it was one she held firmly.

When Nana speaks of her middle years she loves her career choice; full-time mother. She loves her family and speaks with admiration of those years. I’m reminded of her balance. For her the issue isn’t every woman following the same path, but women having the opportunity to choose their path. She speaks of opportunity with affection and longs for women to take advantage of what they have today. While I’m not a fan of Hillary, I am a fan of opportunity. Mrs. Clinton came close, closer than any woman before her. I look forward to a future where a woman president is more than likely. I am anticipating a very specific interaction with my daughter when she’s studying social studies and asks me a question about the 2008 election. I may not recall my annoyance with the media coverage and the unending primaries, but I will remember my Nana’s dream of opportunity being realized.


I leave you with something to think about from a no-name actor.

I don’t care who you’re going to vote for, that is funny. If you can’t laugh at that, then you need to relax.

Here’s your chance to vote!

2 comments:

Alyzzle said...

How do you know she's wearing pants? Maybe she isn't wearing anything behind that podium. I'm just saying...

Trent Lewis said...

i threw up in my mouth a little.

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