My liking of Hillary starts with what she tried to do when Bill was first elected President. Some are cultural issues – like her initial refusal to be the nation’s housewife. Hillary started off strong, retaining her last name, going to all men’s clubs with her husband the President and heading up the Health Care Commission. But she, like the rest of the Clinton White House learned the hard way that the Washington establishment would have none of this. She was lambasted for retaining her name, mocked for not taking on the role of housewife to the nation and her health care plan went down in flames. 1992 to 1994 were tough years for the Clintons – and for the Democrats.
What Hillary tried to do says a lot about her. She tried to make sure that every American had health coverage. That matters. She tried to assert herself as a smart person – a lawyer with brains and passion. That matters.
That she failed says a lot about her, and about the country. Her failure then taught both Hillary and Bill that getting President doesn’t mean much, not without there being a grassroots movement to back up idealistic visions of liberal leaders. Bill got elected and was popular because he proposed things that most Americans wanted. But he was almost powerless to see these things through because it’s not Americans who decide what will get done in Washington.
Hillary was an ambitious idealist in 1992. So was Bill. And the two worked tirelessly to make things better. We all know about the early failures of the Clinton White House to pull it together. And we have all paid dearly for this shortcoming. But the Clintons did pull it together, and as a result 1992-2000 turned out to be far better years for America and the world than 2000-2008.
Clearly, Hillary remains ambitious. And her voting record (in all but one essential way – her vote authorizing force which led to Bush’s invasion of Iraq) marks her a steadfast liberal. In fact, she’s often rated one of the most liberal Senators, much to the amusement of the bastions of Hillary Haters in Right Wing talking head circles. But she no longer an ambitious idealist who can’t pull it together. In fact what stands out about Hillary’s tenure in the Senate is not so much that she’s an almost consistent liberal voter, but that she is has become so good at working in the Senate.
Hillary has focused on the details of being a Senator, as opposed to being Hillary the political super star. She’s focused on upstate New York, local issues and getting things done, according to arcane rules and precedents that she so blindly ignored when she first came to Washington. In additional, Hillary has been consistent about the core principles of little L liberalism. She’s advocated rule of law, separation of powers, multi-lateral foreign policy. She’s rejected the doctrine of preemptive strikes. She’s successfully worked to extend jobs benefits to Americans out of work and to fund child care for low income Americans. And she’s stuck to her longtime priorities, trying to ensure that drugs are tested as safe and effective for children before going to market and to extend health coverage for reservists and members of the National Guard.
All of this matters, since great rhetoric means nothing if nothing will come of it. And it says something about the kind of woman Hillary is. That says that she will change ways if needed, that she will do the down and dirty work of mastering the arcane ways of the Senate to make sure she and her constituents are heard, and that she will work with others to get things done. These are the kinds of things we say we want from our politicians, even though we also say we want them to fight, fight, fight. It’s tough being the minority. And it’s tough mastering the balance between working together and caving in. I think Hillary’s mastered this balance, and that America is sorely in need of leadership that brings people together. So not only do I believe that Hillary’s heart is still in the right place, I also believe that she’s got her head there too. And that’s why I can support Hillary as our next President, not just accept her.
Note: I am working on a coming soon draft Hillary project – visit my disclosure page for details.
