Hillary Clinton: The Right Choice?

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are engaged in a political ´battle to the death´. Both are campaigning as ´the right choice´ of voters to be the next President of the United States. The barbs are flying and vociferous claims pro and con are being made. Which one is the right choice for Democratic nominee? We must make that decision soon!

Hillary touts thirty five years as the magic number in her claim to the White House. "I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House," says Hillary repeatedly. (Don´t we all?) She has iterated that factor to the point of being boring…and at the expense of it being discounted by voters. She repeatedly points that out as a weakness in Barack Obama. The question now under examination is what does that experience entail?

She was once the wife of the Governor of a politically insignificant state - as compared to California, for instance. I recall no earth shaking things she did in that regard. She, most notably, was the wife of a President and lived in the White House for eight years. However, she held no security clearances and did not regularly attend cabinet meetings. One must assume she was not a ´player´ in major policy decisions particularly those involving major international affairs unless she provided advice or input during ´pillow talk´ or at the breakfast table.

She did travel abroad as the wife of the President on many ´good will´ missions. It is not believable that she would have held high level policy meetings with foreign leaders. International relations are simply not conducted in that manner. There is a regimented, formal procedure in that process and she did not have the ´status´ for it. She does lead one to believe she did just that. That may be one reason Obama is leading her in all polls. People are not dumb and in this election, particularly, they are inclined to examine these claims of ´experience´ with some skepticism and it may just be that they discount her claims in that regard.

Hillary´s most recent ad is the three am phone call. In that ad she would have you believe that while residing in the White House she did, in fact, field late night phone calls in emergencies both foreign and domestic. Now really, Hillary? Do you expect us to swallow that? (Obama quickly turned the tables on that ad with a few of his own.)

What other ´experience´ does she have which imminently qualifies her to be the next President? We know of her ´experience´ at The Rose Law Firm, as a ´partner´ in the disastrous "White Water Caper", in the futures market, in the "Travel Gate´ affair where she absent mindedly could not recall much of her participation. Was she not on the board of Wal-Mart at one time? Has she really done anything significant such as serving in a national capacity to deserve we credit her for it. Yes, she was elected to the United States Senate from New York and has worked hard. But, in the long view of things, her tenure is a relatively short one. If Senate experience counted so much we should be voting for Senators Dodd or Biden who have infinitely more than she perhaps ever will. Other prospective candidates such as Bill Richardson have served in numerous high level national government positions; the voters did not deem that as important enough to keep him or others competitive.

Another factor of interest - and choice - is the large bail out of many senior Democrats who once remained neutral or supported her initially. The list includes Senators Leahy, Dodd, Kennedy and even the unpredictable Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. With these heavy hitters in her own party making their choice Barack Obama or, in the case of Lieberman, John McCain, is there something we don´t know about Hillary that would lead these Senators and Congress people– and a number of others including once prominent Hillary supporter and enthusiast, the esteemed Congressman John Lewis of Georgia - to abandon her when she needs them most? They´ve made their choice and it isn´t Hillary. That concerns and mystifies me. You, too?

We must decide – and soon – as to who is ´the right choice´ to be sworn in next January as the most powerful and influential leader in the world. A wrong choice and we will suffer immensely. Does Hillary live up to her billing? You must decide that. I, personally, have great reservations about her being in the White House as my President. I fear that the experiences that she espouses are questionable in nature to a great degree, do not illustrate to me her edge over the other candidates, and, in fact, may even be fictional in nature. But that is now our choice to make!

May the good Lord guide us?