Friday, June 06, 2008

The morning after...

Ahhh, now I see the articles analyzing Hillary and her accomplishments on behalf of the "gentler" sex.

Marie Wilson

Rebecca Walker

BBC News

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Godspeed, Hillary...damn it!

Don't get me wrong, I truly respect and admire and am in awe of the meteoric rise of Barak Obama. But the woman in me who rallied like mad for Geraldine Ferraro back in college, who waited 22...nay, 28 years for another woman to even come close to the Presidency, the woman in me is deeply and, dare I say, bitterly disappointed that Hillary Clinton is not our nominee. We could taste the success and at the last moment, saw the end fly out of our reach.

Reviews of Hillary's speech last night were typically scathing. However, unlike the critics, I thought her speech was absolutely appropriate. DAMN it, she harnessed 18 million voters. As one of the CNN commentators said, Barak can still feel her breath on the back of his neck. This was no landslide. Not even close to one. So damn it, she owed those 18 million voters a speech and a speech she gave them on the eve of her post-primary departure that we all knew was coming. As a Hillary supporter, I liked hearing her accomplishments, I liked the reminder of the states she won, I liked hearing a reminder that DAMN IT, we as women are NOT finished, we are not conceding to anything. And if some people believed she was "defiant", well, she ought to be.

Critics railed that she should have acknowledged Barak's accomplishment in being the first Black to become a Presidential party nominee. And so many have. But Hillary...this was her night, too. No woman has gotten as far as she did in the process. Nobody commented on that accomplishment. That accomplishment has been virtually ignored in favor of criticism of her defiance.

My god, where would women be today if they weren't defiant? Where would most of this country be, if not for defiance?

Hillary Clinton will be gracious when the time is right - today at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy convention, for example, and Friday. But last night, was "her" night.

Damn it.