Waiting For Hillary

I want to get this out of the way right up front. I think that Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most qualified person in my lifetime to be President of the United States. I also thought that eight years ago. Yes, I know that some of you will be reduced to apoplectic sputtering but I want to talk about that for just a bit.

To me, it has always been apparent that Hillary is the smart one of the Clinton Couple. Bill is the best politician I have ever seen but Hillary is the brains of that outfit. She is not only smart but has experience in the executive branch with special tasks that the First Lady gets to handle and she was not the average First Lady. She is steeped in foreign policy and knows every leader of consequence in the world. She has been Senator from New York, candidate for President, Secretary of State and now candidate once again. She has sat in the seats of power and been influential in and privy to momentous decisions. On some I think she was wrong. On most she was right. There were times she differed with President Obama and it was the President who made the right decision so she is certainly not flawless.

This upcoming campaign is going to be a mudslinging spectacle that will cost more than the budgets of most countries. People don't donate that kind of money without some expectation of getting something in return. Get over it. You've had a chance to enact campaign finance reform and you neglected to do it. Maybe someday we will get our fill of this chicanery. Sooner rather than later I hope. I do not relish the innuendo and outright falsehoods that will be hurled. I am going to try to ignore as much of it as I can with a temperament like mine. I will be happy to engage anyone on the issues but I will scorn character assassination from any quarter. So, just for a good time lets deal with some of the things that are going to be seen and heard as ominous voice overs for the next year and a half.

Benghazi. This topic is so worn that it has holes. Three committees from a Republican controlled House have investigated this topic and found the former Secretary had no part in a cover up, lack of oversight or failure to send help to the site of the tragedy. Now, a fourth one is gearing up to take advantage of the e-mails that are coming to light. We have representatives all over the world who are not accompanied by a Marine detachment. Benghazi is not an embassy, it is a consulate and does not command the same kind of force protection. Significant help could not have been delivered in the time frame of the attack and it was not denied. I know Fox News treats this as some kind of underground conspiracy designed to keep Barack Obama in power and, without saying what, demands that “something” be done. Cue Ollie North and that CIA guy that lied.

Iraq. She was wrong with her vote to attack Iraq. So was almost everyone else but that is no excuse. I realize that I am not the smartest guy in the world so if I can see something obvious then I know people smarter than me can too. In the aftermath of 9/11 it was a political vote. To be sure, evidence was misrepresented and fabricated but it was not too hard to see the truth. However, she has backed off that vote somewhat and spent a term executing President Obama's foreign policy and has, I think, become a bit wiser. I believe she is more hawkish than President Obama and I consider that a negative. Dog the Bounty Hunter sees it as a positive. However, I think her foreign policy would be much more considered than any of her potential opponents. It cannot be ignored that the actions of the United States and its allies in the aftermath of the invasion are what has given rise to ISIS. Actions have consequences.

Domestic Eavesdropping. Crazy as it sounds I am closer to Rand Paul's position than I am to President Obama's. No, it is not a sign of the approaching apocalypse, just my belief that we must accept a certain amount of uncertainty if we are to be a free people. There can be so such thing as absolute security in a democracy and we have willingly surrendered our freedoms on the altar of safety. I anxiously await to hear what candidate Clinton's official position will be on this matter.

Immigration. Or emigration, which is it? People have always moved in large numbers to escape persecution and in search of a better life for them and their families. As long as people are willing to live in a shadow economy it will continue to be so. It has to be recognized that we have absorbed those immigrants, illegal or otherwise, without any serious harm. We have done it throughout our history and it is a part of our heritage. On the plus side, if we have enough of them to pay into Social Security our safety net may survive. Hillary's position is one of acceptance and comprehensive reform of our immigration laws. It seems obvious that is the only way to go. We can't shoot them all or build a moat with alligators as some have suggested. The most effective deterrent against illegal immigration has been an improving economy in Mexico brought on by increased trade with the United States. Again, I'm not the smartest guy around but......................

Abortion and Gay Marriage. Hillary is on record as being for preserving the choice to terminate a pregnancy for the woman and her physician. This is a serious wedge issue and one that is the only issue to many. Her position is to keep abortion safe, legal and rare. The other option is to allow government to tell these women what they can do with their own bodies. It is a tough issue that is colored by emotion and faith. Do what you must on this one. Gay marriage is another wedge issue. These issues can be emotionally moving and can move large numbers of voters. Whether or not you consider homosexuality to be a sin it appears necessary to assure all citizens equal protection under the law. Faith can be your guide but is it proper to force your faith on someone else? Again, do what you must.

Of course, there are a lot of other issues. We must be willing to entertain all sorts of discussion on the issues but we owe it to our country (some would call it a sacred duty) to faithfully examine the issues to inform our vote. It should be our goal to balance the pros and cons and reach a reasoned decision but most of us won't.

My Take? Let me know about your thinking on the issues but spare me the harangues. I have been called quite a few names but I still love to rationally discuss issues. What I have found is that we have much more common ground than we realize.