Why I want Hillary to Win§
writer: russell j.t. dyer; posted: May 22, 2008; revised: August 15, 2017; readers in past month: 677
For a long time I’ve maintained that women make better leaders. By default, I would almost always vote for the woman candidate in any election. Additionally, in the case of Hillary Clinton, I find her to be a well qualified candidate for president of the U.S. I don’t find Barack Obama to be very qualified at all. I particularly dislike this attitude that when some newcomer makes a great speach and has a clean look, the public says he ought to be president. Barack Obama had only been a U.S. Senator for two years before he began his campaign for president. We saw this with John Edwards after he had also only been a Senator for two years. There are many others that the public has called to run based on their good looks and good speaking manner. If that’s the only criteria, I call for George Clooney to run. He’s much better looking than any of candidate ever and he’s a good speaker. He’s also very socially concious and lives near me in Italy.
By contrast, Hillary Clinton had eight years of experience as Senator before she began her campaign. She also was very much involved in her husband’s presidency for eight years, as well as his ten years as governor of Arkansas. She’s been an active lawyer and has been involved in law suits for the poor and minorities over the decades. She’s much more qualified than Barack Obama. I also like her attitudes about national and world policies. Despite all this reasoning, though, I realize that there is something else that makes me root for Hillary Clinton. To appreciate best what I’m feeling, you would have to have seen the movie The Manchurian Candidate, the movie based on Richard Condon’s book, but the remake from 2004 with Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington. I’m in the process of downloading the movie at the moment. When it finishes, I’ll try to copy the scene of particular interest to this web log entry and add it here for you to view. So, check back later. For now, let me describe it.
The scene to which I’m referring is set at the Republican (maybe Democratic) convention. The top powers of the party are in a meeting room at the convention discussing who will be their pick for vice-president. They’ve decided on someone other than Meryl Streep’s son who is a congressman — she plays a senator by the name of Eleanor Shaw. She walks into the room uninvited. At first they’re embarrassed that she’s caught them discussing the VP pick without her. Then they try to set her straight and tell her that her son is out. But, she’s not a woman who is to be pushed aside by their male chauvanist way, much like the press and others have tried to tell Hillary to drop out of the race since the Iowa caucases. One by one, though, the character Senator Shaw beats up on them in a cool and calculating way, twisting their arms, belittling the other choices for VP, championing her son, until in the end they decide that her son is the best candidate. That’s what I expect and want Hillary to do, something like that.
When the Democratic national convention begins this year, neither candidate will have enough electoral votes to win the nomination. Each will need the votes of super delegates to get the nomination of the party. Despite the pledging of their votes in advance, until the convention, super delegate votes are not cast and are not counted. It is my fantasy that Hillary Clinton will go into that convention, go into a room like Meryl Streep’s character did, and twist some arms and win that nomination. That’s what I want. It may be a silly dream, but it’s what I want.
What’s interesting to me, what’s the point of this web log entry is why I want Hillary to do this. Ignoring noble and logical reasons related to me wanting my country to have the best person available to be president, why I want her to do win and to do so in such a manner is the point of this post.
In the last several months I’ve come to realize that I like strong women. I don’t like cold or abusive women, but strong women — particularly if they’re on my side. Hillary is a strong woman, for sure. The reason for this is tied to my childhood and how my mother acted. As I’ve mentioned in previous postings on this site, I feel that my mother didn’t protect me when I was a boy against my abrasive step-father. I felt like he was often verbally and emotionally beating me and that she did little to help me. He primarily attacked my self-esteem and she let him. She mostly told me to cooperate with him so that she didn’t have to hear him complain about me. She didn’t worry about my happiness, as much as she did him being content. She continues this habit today with me in regards to my step-father and now with me in regards to my ex-wife. My feelings are very much an afterthought for her and not as important as that of others. As a result, at times I’m like a little boy who wanders through life hoping for a strong woman who will protect me, who will fight for me. I think it is that that I want from Hillary.
Hillary Clinton winning would be great, but her fighting for me is what seems to be most important to me. She seems to sense this desire from her followers and often says it in her speeches: she says that she will continue to fight for us and will not quit on us. So, maybe I’m not alone in this psychological connection to her and her campaign.