(This was the follow-up column to Blasphemy at the pulpit — ran in April 08.)
After finally digging myself out from under the deluge of reader mail sent in response to the Blasphemy at the Pulpit column (where I questioned the wisdom of Hillary bringing her husband back into the White House) … I’m here to tell you two things:
First: I DON’T HATE HILLARY CLINTON!
And second: Boy, oh, boy, Sarasota is definitely not Clinton Country!
For those few Clinton fans who did write and who were so upset — I think you might have been reading someone else’s column. I’m pretty sure I never suggested that I dislike Hillary or find her to be a bad person, or a poor candidate for public office. I actually think Hillary’s a balls to the walls kind of woman (for the most part). I think she’s smart, ambitious, hard-working, and sometimes funny, and most importantly, she seems to be fairly earnest in her desire to represent and work for the United States of America.
Yes, I think she needs to be a little less knee-jerk in her responses to situations and I certainly didn’t care for how she mis-remembered the whole non-existent sniper fire and then dismissed her retooling of history as a simple “mistake.” (Combine this with Bill’s own “I made a mistake” speech about the Monica situation and it does make one wonder if perceiving lies or half-truths as “mistakes” runs in the family.)
But, still, all in all, if Obama weren’t in the picture, my hat would most likely be squarely behind Hillary Clinton.
But even still, I’d have written the same column – hoping like heck that she wouldn’t take Bill along to the White House with her.
She can stay married to him if she likes – that’s a personal choice. (Heck, I was married at one time — to of all things — a conservative Republican.) But bringing him back to the White House halls and presenting him to our nation and the world as a First Husband – well, that’s making it a public choice.
One I have a hard time getting behind.
And while we’re on the subject of Hillary, let me go on record that – currently – I can’t see any reason for her to drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination.
Why should she?
The nomination process and the caucuses and the primaries were set up the way they are for a reason (I hope). The conventions are held at the end of that process. Hillary has every right – and every reason – to stay in the race. All this sturm und drang about getting her to step aside smacks of yet another kind of “ism” – sexism.
As a Democrat (sorry to disappoint those of you who assumed I was a Republican after reading the Blasphemy column), I take particular umbrage at the suggestion that our party can’t withstand a legitimate, tight, respectful, hard-fought race for the nomination. Of course we can – we’re adults.
I say, let’s let the kids stay in the sandbox until it’s time to come in for supper, and may the better candidate win.
I’m betting he will.
