Monday, November 07, 2016

Happily Voting for Hillary


I have known since election night, 2008, who I would be voting for tomorrow: Hillary Clinton.

I was, and remain, a strong supporter of Barack Obama.  I believe he has been a very good president, and has accomplished a great deal despite colossal obstruction.  I thought Hillary Clinton would make a good president in 2008, but Obama would make a better one.  I have not changed my mind.

Since then she has done all she could to prepare to succeed Obama.  As with the parade of policy wonks who head the lists of Democratic politicians these days, she does her homework.  She is better prepared on foreign policy than Obama was.  She has invaluable experience as a senator.  And she has the unprecedented preparation of having been First Lady.

Like her husband, the first President Clinton, she is a trimmer.  She has cut deals and cut corners.  Nonetheless, on the scale of presidential-level politicians, I would rate her failures about a 2 on a ten-point scale.  Of presidents in the past century, I think only Jimmy Carter and the current incumbent would rate higher on that scale.  That includes some very effective presidents.

And then there is the great historic moment of the first woman president.  Mrs. Gruntled and I will be wearing suffragette colors when we vote, in honor of this new epoch.  And I dearly hope, and expect, that she will win.

5 comments:

Ray Sun said...

Well written, Mr. Gruntled! I do hope you are right! I'll be following your posts tomorrow (and you mine, perhaps).

Gruntled said...

Yup :-)

dennistheeremite said...

I'm a Repucblican and I would have liked to vote for Carly Fiorina, or Marco Rubio, or Jeb Bush, but I think Barak Obama has been an amazingly good president. I've been upset that the Republicans in Congress have done so little to govern and worked so hard to do nothing but obstruct and keep anything from being done. I think the president has worked with considerable poise and restraint and generosity.

Barry said...

I also am a Republican who carefully studied President Obama's first term, and voted for him in 2012. I think that he has governed with confidence and he has a great intellect, however he does lack the trading skills of Lyndon Johnson. I would love to see him end up on the Supreme Court. I voted today for Hillary Clinton. The ghosts of Harding or Buchanan were probably pulling for Trump.

Gruntled said...

I agree that Obama would be a great Supreme Court justice. I think the ghost of William Howard Taft is pulling for him.