I have a memory from my childhood that has always been with me for some reason. I was around eight, my family and I were headed to a restaurant and as we were parking our car my dad noticed a particular bumper sticker on another person’s car. “Gross,” he remarked as I glanced over, seeing the bumper sticker that read “Hillary Clinton for President.” Naturally, as any typical eight year old with copious amounts of angst, from that point on I became a supporter of Hillary Clinton.
I do not want to start this piece and act like this isn’t personal to me. Hillary Clinton is someone I have looked up to for years and “shattering the glass ceiling” has always been apart of her campaign, as well as my lifestyle. Placing her in the role of “just a First Lady” is completely pigeon-holing one of the best politicians in America today.
To call Hillary Clinton a seasoned professional would be an understatement. She was named one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in America by the National Law Journal in 1988 and 1991, spent eight years as First Lady of the United States, served as a US senator for New York and served as US Secretary of State. Because of her experience as a United States senator and a cabinet secretary, she has becoming proficient in compromising and to have an open political dialogue. With Hillary, we know what we are getting: experience.
Despite having been in the realm of politics for many years, by no means is Hillary Clinton disconnected from the middle class as some dissenters like to say. In voting for a president, the economic means of the candidate does not carry much weight. What matters is if he or she has the moral compass to understand that economic mobility is prohibited by classism, the desire to help others advance from their current station in life and the legislative plan to assist the industries that keep America working.
One of Hillary’s greatest advantages is her foreign policy experience. As Secretary of State, Clinton visited 112 countries and attended 306 diplomatic meetings, making her the most widely traveled Secretary of State in history. She is far more familiar than any of her Democratic or Republican challengers with world leaders and their political agendas. Furthermore, Clinton views human rights to be critical for US security interests, which is a more evolved perspective that views our national security as more than simply a military power.
Many of Clinton’s dissenters claim that her “flip-flopping” on certain issues makes her unpredicatable and hard to trust. However, Clinton addresses her changes in opinion as merely her adjusting her views based on the information she receives.
“I am not someone who stakes out a position and holds it regardless of the evidence or regardless of the way that I perceive what’s happening in the world around me,” Clinton said in an interview with Meet the Press.
I believe a president that is able to adjust her policy and stance based on new information coming in, rather than staying steadfast in her ways, will promote a much-needed compromise in American politics.
With the first debates for the Democratic party approaching, I am eagerly waiting for the dialogue between Hillary Clinton and candidate Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont. Both have been tip-toeing around one another for throughout their campaigns, a very different strategy from the Republican party. I think they are more similar than most individuals would like to admit, however Hillary Clinton has quite a ways to go if she wishes to align herself closer to Sander’s progressive mantra.
Hillary Clinton should pay attention to Bernie Sanders. After all, he has the advantage of placing himself outside of the political elite. Because of Bernie’s numbers, there is no doubt in my mind Hillary will curve even more to the left if given the Democratic nomination. After all, like I said earlier, Hillary has the mindset to evolve her policies into what she believes will best enhance life for the average American.
Hillary Clinton is the most appropriate candidate for the Democratic party. With her experience, name recognition and undoubted political expertise, she would be able to lead the executive branch with finesse.
That darn bumper sticker in the parking lot of a restaurant has compelled me to pay close attention to Hillary Clinton throughout my life, and I couldn’t think of a more professional, intelligent candidate to keep an eye on.