and then there was Hillary

Hillary,Clinton,Congress,Republican,Campaign 2016, Benghazi

I remember the whole Clinton Lewinski scandal. I was going to school after a many year hiatus and had gotten to know many other "non-traditional" women. We often met in the cafeteria to drink coffee and work on homework, gripe, and basically support each other as we each, in different ways, struggled with being students while holding down jobs, raising families, and coping.

The internet was still fairly new and I got involved in a web forum at the NPR website. Threads were organized by show: someone inevitably started a thread after each guest or issue heard on NPR.

Not sure who started it, but a new thread formed titled Move On. We ultimately were considered the longest running single issue thread and in fact, a few of the early members left the forum to start moveon dot org.

All that to say that I was actively involved in everything Clinton. My belief, still held, was that the most investigated couple had been proven to done one thing. Bill lied under oath in answer to a question I don't think we had the right to ask.

A somewhat circuitous route to my story. 

My women friends and I rarely discussed politics. Partly lack of interest or time to really absorb the details. I was fortunate in that I had plenty of free time to engage in my addiction to politics. I was blogging and on the forums daily. 

One day, the conversation turned to Hillary. I think she had just done her "vast right-wing conspiracy" interview. One of my friends said "I hate her." Startled, I asked why. Her response shouldn't have surprised me, but I was when she said that Hillary lied, had a fake marriage, and essentially was there  to provide cover for Bill. 

We remained friends, even after I expressed my two main beliefs regarding the Clintons. First, no one knows what goes on inside a marriage except the two people involved, and two, whatever arrangements they might or might not have, were none of our business. I went on to add that unless he was actually sexually harassing or assaulting women (which we eventually knew he did not), any questions about Bill or Hillary's sex life were inappropriate.

The inevitable questions about character came up. I am still puzzled that my belief that morality is about how you treat others and not what your sexual habits are or how often you go to church is considered to be a fringe attitude but there it is.

And so now we have Hillary, a competent attorney who became First Lady, first of a state, then the nation. With more experience than many who seek or hold those offices, she ran for and won a senate seat. Had she remained in the Senate, she would likely have been re-elected. When she ran for president, many complained--in fact John McCain touted her lack of experience as a reason not to vote for her--that she wasn't qualified.

Although not a huge Hillary fan, Obama's decision to nominate her to be his Secretary of State was inspired. By so doing, he ensured that he would not have to face her again in his re-election campaign. That she turned out to be a really good SOS was a bonus. Sure she was political and sure she likely made decisions that were politically advantageous to her. But seriously. Why are people so surprised when politicians make political decisions?

Whatever the worth of the Libya policy, or who was its chief architect, the fact remains that we had a Libyan policy, obviously supported by the President, That led to the conditions which placed four men ar risk. 

What the 7.5 investigations into what happened in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2011 have found, is that the security was inadequate to protect them and that in the first hours and days following the attacks, information was slow to arrive, confusing, and chaotic. Or as Hillary said, the fog of war.

Yesterday, after 11 hours of attempts by a Republican congress to blame, Hillary ultimately showed that there really is nothing new under the sun, and that the American people were able to see very clearly a strong, capable woman who holds up phenominally well under pressure. What we saw was a group of white men badgering a woman, two women who tried to prove her callous and unfeeling because she didn't demonstrate sufficient concern--by their definition--and through it all, someone who showed with her poise, words, and emotion that she cared very much, but did not let that command her duties to the country. Had she become emotional over the threats to her friends, set aside all other concerns of state to mourn them, she would have shown us that she is not capable of leadership. 

Believe it or not, I have not yet decided who I support for president--except to say it will be whoever is the Democratic nominee--but yesterday, the GOP gave a tremendous gift to the country as they showed us how qualified and capable Hillary is to be president.

Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon.

k