I really haven’t talked about politics much in the last few years. I admit to being pretty dispirited about the subject, and getting too worked up about things I have no direct control over does bad things for my depression issues. Besides, other people are covering the politics much better than I would.
Also, honestly, I’m not as passionate about politics as many of my friends. I’m less a moderate than I am a pragmatist. I believe that politics is about compromise, and that both sides of most issues have at least some merit. This doesn’t tend to make for a very compelling position for debate, and generally only succeeds in getting both sides mad at me.
But it’s an election season, and I do have a strong interest in the outcome. So I’m starting to pay closer attention, now that the conventions are underway. Last night, Hilary Clinton gave her address to the Democratic convention, calling for unity in the party and throwing her full support to Barack Obama. Today, reading responses to her excellent speech, I’ve noticed a nearly universal sentiment being expressed.
“Boy, that really had to be hard for her.” “That must have really stuck in her craw.” “I can’t imagine how much it hurt for her to have to get up there and give that speech.” “Boy, she really managed to choke down her resentment and support the ticket.”
Do you have any idea how insulting that is to Hilary Clinton? To presume that everything she stands for, everything she ran on, every issue that she promoted in her campaign is ultimately secondary to her own personal ambition, that it must have been painful to her to support her party’s nominee? I’m sure she is disappointed she didn’t win the nomination. But to suggest that she would really rather thumb her nose at everyone but is instead putting on a brave face for the sake of expedience is to suggest that she’s really interested in nothing more than her own self-interest.
I have issues with the way Clinton ran her campaign. At one time, I’d have been happy with her as the nominee, even though she wasn’t my first choice, but by the end I was rather put out by her. But I don’t believe she is so shallow and superficial that she doesn’t have a strong interest in seeing Obama heading up the next administration. And you shouldn’t either, if you have even a bit of respect for her and what she’s accomplished in her career.