I’ve been keeping relatively quiet about the primary elections, caucuses and other activities that strain one’s high school lessons in social studies. Earl and I have had several discussions here at home, but for the most part I haven’t been doing much yapping on the blog.
If the truth were to be known, I already sick of the presidential election and it’s still 10.9 months away. However, I will say this: Over the past eight years I have equated “baby Bush” with the entire governmental process of the United States. As part of my extreme nature, “it’s all of them” that have been making life less than delightful for many Americans. I don’t believe that we are any safer today than we were on 9/12/01. I don’t even buy into that “be very afraid because they bad guys are going to get us” mentality. Hey, if it’s my time, it’s my time, whether it’s from a lightning strike, a bad piece of food, an anti-gay wing nut or at the hands of a terrorist. Quite frankly I think the country as a whole has it’s panties wound up entirely too tight and if people were to relax, think and ponder life a little bit instead of racing to hysterics at the smallest opportunity, the United States would be a much happier place.
A number of months ago I expressed a desire to move to Dublin, Ireland. It’s my favorite city, despite my very limited time of being there and someday I would like to live along the River Liffey. A number of months ago I also had dreams of becoming an Irish citizen and leaving Ol’ Glory behind.
I don’t feel that way anymore, and here’s why. Earlier this week Hillary Clinton’s now infamous “tearful speech” moved me.
But it was Clinton’s response to the last question from freelance photographer Marianne Pernold Young that provided the electric moment. How did Clinton keep going? “I couldn’t do it if I didn’t just passionately believe it was the right thing to do,” Clinton began telling Young, her voice cracking. “I have so many opportunities from this country and I just don’t want to see us fall backwards as a nation. This is very personal for me.”
When I heard Senator Clinton’s tearful response, it struck a chord in me. It wasn’t the tears that moved me, it was the message and the way that she conveyed her feelings on the subject. There *are* people in government that really do care about the United States. There are government officials that share my view that our great country is moving backwards on so many levels.
As children we are taught to respect the President. The President leads the entire country; it doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, black, white, straight, gay or whatever, the President is leading the whole crowd. Earl reminds me that we should always respect the office entitled President, but sometimes the person isn’t worthy of that respect. If I were to vote today, I would vote for Hillary Clinton. I believe that with her as our Commander In Chief, we would have a leader that I could respect once again.
Yes, I was moved a bit by this uncharacteristic response from Hillary, too, although all the obsessive media coverage it got kind of killed it for me.
J.P. Note: This comment is interesting to me. I’d exchange e-mail with the writer of this comment if they had provided their e-mail but they didn’t. So I’ll say this. Some find Hillary’s quotes listed below as “unlady-like”. Perhaps her words are a little extreme, especially when taken out of context, however, I think the quotes show a woman who has what it takes to be President. No, she doesn’t sound like Mrs. Cleaver and that’s o.k. After all, no one would jump up and down if these quotes were from a man.
WHAT A SWEET, WONDERFUL PERSON SHE IS
Hillary quotes. Cheers to the Truth!
“Where is the G-damn f**king flag? I want the f**king flag up every f**king
morning at f**king sunrise.”
(From the book “Inside The White House” by Ronald Kessler, p. 244 – Hillary
to the staff at the Arkansas Governor’s mansion on Labor Day, 1991)
“You sold out, you mother f**ker! You sold out!”
(From the book “Inside” by Joseph Califano, p. 213 – Hillary yelling at
Democrat lawyer.)
“It’s been said, and I think it’s accurate, that my husband was obsessed by
terrorism in general and al-Qaida in particular.”
(Hillary telling a post-9/11 world what a ‘great’ commander in chief her
husband was; Dateline, NBC 4/16/2004.)
“I have to admit that a good deal of what my husband and I have learned
[about Islam] has come from our daughter.”
(TruthInMedia.org 8/8/1999 – Hillary at a White House function, proudly
tells some Muslim groups she is gaining a greater appreciation of Islam
because Chelsea was then taking a class
on the “religion of peace”)
“F**k off! It’s enough that I have to see you shit-kickers every day, I’m
not going to talk to you too!! Just do your G*damn job and keep your mouth
shut.”
(From the book “American Evita” by Christopher Anderson, p. 90 – Hillary to
her State Trooper bodyguards after one of them greeted her with “Good
morning.”
“You f**king idiot.”
(From the book “Crossfire” p. 84 – Hillary to a State Trooper who was
driving her to an event.)
“If you want to remain on this detail, get your f**king ass
over here and grab those bags!”
(From the book “The First Partner” p. 259 – Hillary to a Secret Service
Agent who was reluctant to carry her luggage
because he wanted to keep his hands free in case of an incident.)
“Get f**ked! Get the f**k out of my way!!! Get out of my face!!!”
(From the book “Hillary’s Scheme” p. 89 – Hillary’s various comments to her
Secret Service detail agents.)
“Stay the f**k back, stay the f**k away from me! Don’t
come within ten yards of me, or else! Just f**king do as I say,
Okay!!!?”
(From the book “Unlimited Access”, by Clinton FBI Agent in
Charge, Gary Aldrige, p. 139 – Hillary screaming at her Secret
Service detail.)
“Many of you are well enough off that [President Bush’s] tax cuts may have
helped you. We’re saying that for America to get back
on track, we’re probably going to cut that short and not give it to you.
We’re going to have to take things away from you on behalf of the common
good.”
(Hillary grandstanding at a fund raising speech in San Francisco;
SFGate.com 6/28/2004.)
“Why do I have to keep proving to people that I am not a liar?!”
(From the book “The Survivor,” by John Harris, p. 382 – Hillary in her 2000
Senate campaign)
“Where’s the miserable c*ck sucker?”
(From the book “The Truth About Hillary” by Edward Klein,
p. 5 – Hillary shouting at a Secret Service officer)
“No matter what you think about the Iraq war, there is one thing we can all
agree on for the next days we have to salute the courage and bravery of
those who are risking their lives to vote and those brave Iraqi and American
soldiers fighting to protect their right to vote.”
(Was posted on Hillary Clinton’s senate.gov web site on 1/28/05)
“Put this on the ground! I left my sunglasses in the limo. I need those
sunglasses. We need to go back!”
(From the book “Dereliction of Duty” p. 71-72 – Hillary to Marine One
helicopter pilot to turn back while en route to Air Force
One.)
“A right-wing network was after his presidency … including
perverting the Constitution.”
(To Barbara Walters about the Republicans who impeached her husband; 20/20,
ABC 6/8/2003.)
“Son of a bitch.”
(From the book “American Evita” by Christopher Anderson, p. 259 – Hillary’s
opinion of President George W. Bush when she found out he
secretly visited Iraq just days before her highly publicized trip to Iraq)
“What are you doing inviting these people into my home? These people are our
enemies! They are trying to destroy us!”
(From the book “The Survivor” by John Harris, p. 99 – Hillary screaming to
an aide, when she found out that some Republicans had been invited to the
Clinton White House)
“I mean, you’ve got a conservative and right-wing press presence
with really nothing on the other end of the political spectrum.”
(C-Span, 1/19/1997 – Hillary complains about the mainstream media, which are
all conservatives in her opinion)
“Come on Bill, put your dick up! You can’t f**k her here!!”
(From the book “Inside The White House” by Ronald Kessler, p. 243 – Hillary
to Gov. Clinton when she spots him talking with an attractive female at an
Arkansas political rally)
“You know, I’m going to start thanking the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in. I’m going to start thinking of her as a human being”
– Hillary Clinton
(From the book “The Case Against Hillary Clinton” by Peggy Noonan, p. 55)
“You show people what you’re willing to fight for when you fight
your friends.”
(From the book “The Agenda” by Bob Woodward, ch. 14)
“We are at a stage in history in which remolding society is
one of the great challenges facing all of us in the West.”
(From the book “I’ve Always Been A Yankee Fan” by Thomas D. Kuiper, p. 119 –
During her 1993 commencement address at the University of Texas)
“The only way to make a difference is to acquire power”
(From the book “I’ve Always Been A Yankee Fan” by Thomas D. Kuiper, p. 68 –
Hillary to a friend before starting law school.)
“We just can’t trust the American people to make those types of choices….
Government has to make those choices for people”
(From the book “I’ve Always Been A Yankee Fan” by Thomas D.
Kuiper, p. 20 – Hillary to Rep. Dennis Hastert in 1993 discussing
her expensive, disastrous taxpayer-funded health care plan)
“I am a fan of the social policies that you find in Europe”
(From the book “I’ve Always Been A Yankee Fan” by Thomas D. Kuiper, p. 76 –
Hillary in 1996)