Sunday, June 8, 2008

Proud to be one of those 18 million cracks

I was so grateful that my host family went out for the night early this afternoon, it meant I was able to do some channel surfing in the kitchen. As usual, I hit CNN International, and to my chagrin I saw an auditorium full of anticipation and a news feed which read something to the effect of "Hillary motorcade has yet to leave Clinton residence". It hit me that I was going to be able to watch her dropping out of the race speech from start to finish!



I remember last year, when I was flipping through the news stations back home and I caught a Hillary rally in a school auditorium. It wasn't a big deal at all, but I felt fortunate to have seen it. I remember listening to what she had to say and I couldn't help thinking "Man, she is going to make an awesome President". I based my decision to vote her in the primaries partially on what I had heard that evening. My friends talk about how inspiring Obama is, and God knows I agree with them; but hearing Hillary that night really had inspired me.



I watched the 2004 Democratic National Convention from Guadalajara while I was studying abroad there. I remember seeing Obama speak and being as impressed as everyone else was. After the 2004 election catastrophe, I remember talking to a friend about how awesome it would be if Obama ran in 2008. Her remark "He's too junior" has been echoed countless times by pundits and candidate hopefuls this entire primary season (and now this presidential campaign). I told my friend that in a perfect world I would love for Hillary to run, but I was afraid how divisive she has been painted as. My dream ticket then...which stayed the same during the primaries...was Clinton/Obama.

I had a big decision to make for the California primary. This was the first election that I honestly had too many great potential candidates to choose from. After educating myself about the candidates as best I could (including taking one of those "which candidate you agree with the most" quizzes several times) I narrowed it down to three people I wanted to vote for. First was Dennis Kucinich (pause for laughter) because a lot of what he said I identified it, especially when he said his father was a Teamster. But I came to the conclusion that voting for Kucinich based on principle would take away a much needed vote for a candidate who has a real shot at winning (it would be like voting for Nader during 2000 or 2004).

So I decided I had to make a choice between Obama and Clinton, and after much soul searching I decided to vote for Hildog. So I tried to keep track of the primaries and caucuses both in country and abroad, until one day...

I was waiting for my Romanian language class to start when one of my classmates (fellow Peace Corps Trainee) came into the room and said "It's official, Obama got the nomination!" A general cheer went through the room (of about 6 people), I tried to join in, but if you know me then you know my poker face is non-existent. Another PCT even came up to me and said "You're a Hillary supporter aren't you? I could tell by your reaction." I was excited that the primary race was finally over, but I have to admit it would have been nice to see Hillary move on to the general election.

So it was in this spirit I watched her concession speech. I was so happy my host family was out of the house because I was crying pretty much during the entire thing, out of pride and disappointment.

One thing that upset me was hearing the pundits say "If only she had spoken the way she did in her concession speech during the primaries, she could have won." I know I'm just one person, but I was moved by Hillary's speeches throughout the primaries. I also couldn't believe all the speculation that Hillary would foster division in the Democratic party up to the convention. I feel comfortable enough with what I know about Hillary Clinton and it is ridiculous to think that the woman who throughout the primaries continually said that while she thinks she's the best person for the Democratic presidential nomination, she would support whoever won, would jeopardize the Democratic party's chances at winning the General Election. I think it's fairly safe to say that members of any political party agree on basic principles and will do whatever they can to see a person who shares and would foster those principles be President. Anyway, all that speculation was put to rest time and time again during her concession speech, and I could not have been prouder.

Later, when I went out to a restaurant with some other PCTs, I was surprised to find myself in a minority position in my Peace Corps Group...or at least I was the only person who admitted voting for Hillary. I have to admit though, it was nice to be able to sit down with a group of people and discuss our opinions and reasons for voting the way we did for the primaries without having to feel ashamed.

So I move onward and upward through the general campaign, and of course as an Obama supporter!