I know you are all disappointed right now. That's understandable. We all feel your pain. And I'm not trying to be sarcastic, condescending, or patronizing when I say that. You gave it your all for her and it turned out to be for naught. You wanted nothing more than to see her become the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party, and it didn't happen – at least not this time.
What probably makes it so painful for you is that it looked as if she was a sure thing for the nomination. As far as you were concerned, she was already the presumed nominee before the first nominating contest was held in early January. I bet many of you were already planning your activities for the general election. There was no way any of you could have predicted that a previously unknown junior senator from Illinois, only half-way through his first term, would swoop in and snatch the nomination away.
Believe or not, I know the feeling. I have had lots of things taken away from me at the last minute. Just when I thought something was going to be mine, someone else, whom I believed to be far less deserving and hadn't worked nearly as hard for it, would step in and take it away. At other times, things that I thought to be already in hand would slip though my fingers. And I can't count how many times I thought a sports team I was rooting for had a game won, only to see the other team make a miraculous comeback and pull the game out. Therefore, I learned a long time ago to never make assumptions or take anything for granted because, sometimes, even what seems like a sure bet can come up a loser. When I was growing up, my parents always reminded me that there are guarantees in this life. Unfortunately, I had to learn that painful lesson for myself to make it sink in.
So the question now is this: What are you going to do about your disappointment? You could, as many of you plan, go away mad and support John McCain for president this fall. But how much sense does that make? McCain's stands on the issues are almost the polar opposite of Hillary's. I don't have to list them here. You know what they are. You might not be a fan of Barack Obama, but there's hardly enough room to stick a credit card between him and Hillary when it comes to their political platforms. So you say McCain's experience makes him a better fit for you because it more closely parallels Hillary's? Really? Keep in mind that experience is meaningless if it's the wrong kind. Strom Thurmond had much more experience in the Senate than does McCain. Would you have considered voting for him? Somehow, I doubt it. And so McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is a woman. But does she have anything in common with Hillary other than her gender? I didn't think so.
And here's something else to consider. If you hold out and either stay home this November or vote for McCain, you are only hurting Hillary's future chances of becoming president. Even though she was very supportive of Obama at the convention – giving an excellent speech in his favor and even making the motion to have him nominated by acclimation – and is planning to go all out for him this fall, your actions could cause a backlash against her. If many of you do what you are planning and Obama ultimately loses, his supporters and other high-level and rank-and-file Democrats will likely take out their frustration on Hillary, when and if she decides to run for president again. That's right -- you will have negated all of her hard work.
That brings me to something else I know all about. Very often, I have allowed disappointment and frustration lead me to do or say something that I regretted for many years down the line. So think before you act. Hillary's future and that of the Democratic Party itself could depend on it.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Observer
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, amateur political analyst, and blogger from Virginia, USA. He posts a least one article a day to his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com - on subjects such as current events, politics, technology, society and culture, religion, health and well-being, self improvement, personal finance, trivia, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media. His articles here on SearchWarp represent only a small portion of his work. All of it can be found on his blog. If you like his articles, you'll love his blog.
Hillary wants McCain to win. Sounds crazy? If Obama wins, he will be running for re-election next time. That will not leave room for Hillary to run. A democrat cannot run to unseat another democrat. You already knew that, Terry, didn't you? If McCain wins, Hillary will have room to challenge him next time. You think she hasn't figured that out? That means a vote for McCain is a vote for Hillary for 2012. The idea that there will be a backlash against Hillary is nonsense.
The Clintons want McCain to win. Hillary was playing nice at the convention to protect her ability to run next time.
Anonymous, I do not appreciate your talking down to me on this subject. I have probably forgotten more about politics than you have ever known. Of course I know Hillary doesn't really want Obama to win. If you had read my article entitled "Will Hillary Clinton Run for President Again", you would have gotten my complete analysis of her future prospects. I wrote that article a couple of months back and it is posted on this site. She still has to give the impression that she is doing everything she can to help him win. And her supporters must create the same impression. Otherwise, an Obama loss will be held against her in 2012.
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