Her Tiny Little Shoulders

Let's get this straight - the Democratic ticket is Obama/Biden not Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama so it is up to Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden to win votes in this election. Jack Tapper over at ABC seems to think Hillary isn't doing enough to counter Palin. "We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain, while their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate." Clinton said. "There's still time for Clinton to pivot and point out that she and Palin disagree on quite a bit -- Palin opposes legal abortion even for victims of rape and incest, for example -- but the Clinton-Obama psychodrama is very much present in these comments from the junior senator from New York. Sens. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Joe Biden, D-Del., risk looking like chauvinistic bullies when they go after Palin -- they need women -- especially Clinton -- to do that for them. Will she rise to the task?" counters Tapper. Really? Am I to assume that she should attack her unfairly as she was attacked? Heaping scorn so heavy Obama's psueda Greek Parthenon would buckle under the weight of it. For all we know Hillary could have gotten that press release approved by the Obama campaign, after all both sides reported on how easy negotiations were between both camps leading up to the convention. But it really doesn't matter a wit because this is Obama's campaign to win or lose - not Hillary's. Yes, Hillary said she would do anything that was asked of her to help him win the White House. I believe her. But that does not include selling out her principles . Those of us that have taken upon ourselves to be, how should we say it, guardian angels of Hillary and her legacy, thought that was understood. That it didn't need to be said.

We have broken both gender and racial barriers in this election. I relish that and I am excited that we will also break another gender or racial barrier with the election of Sarah Palin as the first woman Vice President or Barack Obama as the first mixed race President. This is a huge breakthrough anyway you slice it. Hillary Clinton, and her supporters, as well as Geraldine Ferraro and many others have worked hard and in doing so have made Sarah Palin's ascension possible. Geraldine Ferraro notes the chasm of time between her candidacy and Palin's, "I've spent a lot of time over the last 24 years saying, 'Gosh, I wish I weren't the only one,' " Ms. Ferraro told a New York TV station. I will not stand by while others try diminish the significance of this decision or the integrity of Sarah Palin or the character of Hillary Clinton in any way. James Clyburn, the Representative from South Carolina who has gotten in the habit of stirring the racial pot, and who Bill Clinton no longer considers a friend, had the audacity to attack both Palin and Ferraro. According to a news release from the station, Democratic Congressman Clyburn of South Carolina attacked Sarah Palin on South Carolina ETV Radio this morning, comparing her unfavorably to both Dan Quayle and Geraldine Ferraro: "I do believe that McCain has to do something to reshuffle the cards, shake up the establishment, do something unexpected and Governor Palin...has all the kinds of things that McCain might see as a way to shake things up. I think (her selection) would be something similar to Dan Quayle...Dan Quayle proved to be sort of an embarrassment as a campaigner. Being thrust on a national stage like that could be very tough. Now Mondale tried to shake things up by going with Geraldine Ferraro...she proved to be a disaster as a running mate. And as a campaigner, she was absolutely awful." This is how we honor women and their accomplishments in our society? Pathetic indeed.

Well, Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton is a lady and will only press a point or ask a tough question if it is needed or relevant. She isn't going to be your attack dog, now, especially considering how she was treated but she also won't do it because she knows that Sarah Palin is correct when she said “It was rightly noted in Denver that Hillary made 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, It turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.” Both Hillary and Sarah will honor the thread that connects their historical triumphs. Also, lest we not forget when Hillary Rodham Clinton went in a bright yellow pantsuit to speak to the State of the Black Union with nothing but love in her heart - political courage draped around her neck like an understated strand of pearls. She offered her apologies for any misunderstandings and was determined to maintain her commitments and friendships. She did this after many other guests of this forum attacked her husband unfairly and ignored the fact that this man, William Jefferson Clinton, had worked his entire life bringing people together. But I haven't heard a word from Jesse Jackson Jr. for his over the top yet slight of hand character attack on Hillary's tears, or a peep out of Chris Rock when he told an audiance not to vote for 'that white lady,' let alone nary a single utter of regret from Senator Obama and his use of the race card. From Sean Wilentz's "Race Man," "A review of what actually happened shows that the charges that the Clintons played the "race card" were not simply false; they were deliberately manufactured by the Obama camp and trumpeted by a credulous and/or compliant press corps in order to strip away her once formidable majority among black voters and to outrage affluent, college-educated white liberals as well as college students. The Clinton campaign, in fact, has not racialized the campaign, and never had any reason to do so. Rather the Obama campaign and its supporters, well-prepared to play the "race-baiter card" before the primaries began, launched it with a vengeance when Obama ran into dire straits after his losses in New Hampshire and Nevada--and thereby created a campaign myth that has turned into an incontrovertible truth among political pundits, reporters, and various Obama supporters." And guess what else? It cuts both ways. Ardent Hillary supporters are watching and recording history. Votes have to be won, respect has to be earned, leadership needs to be demonstrated, and relationships have to be healed and nurtured by all. Not just Hillary. That is too much for just her tiny little shoulders.

America and the world is waiting to finally see real leadership as we have been suffering eight long years with out it under the Bush Administration. So far McCain and Palin are winning on the leadership front. There needs to be shared responsibility for leadership and an ability to acknowledge the truth and learn from past mistakes. We all have work to do including Hillary Clinton!