Some Political Thoughts

(This post was a lot more timely two days ago when I wrote it, but evidently, I forgot to hit "post." I blame pregnancy brain; that also explains why I put milk instead of water in the coffee maker a few days ago.)

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I never thought I'd say this, but John McCain just made my day. If he wins in November, I will be disheartened, but at least I'd be able to console myself with the fact that the U.S. finally had its first woman vice president.

I don't know much about Palin's policies (though I'm sure I vigorously disagree with most of them), but it would be a major victory for working mothers to have a mother of 5 children as our vice president.

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The Democratic Convention seemed to me to hit all the right notes. I thought Hillary Clinton was treated with the respect due a senior stateswoman who had fought a good fight and come very close to receiving the nomination; by asking her supporters "Were you in it for me?" she challenged them to think about why it's important to support a Democrat in November. Michelle Obama did a good job presenting herself as an ordinary--albeit very successful--American, and those Obama girls were cute. Bill Clinton electrified the crowd and made a case for Obama. And Obama did a good job answering the Republicans' criticism and spelling out what he plans to do and why.

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My favorite part of Obama's speech was this:

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

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It may be just my paranoia, or maybe it was the fact that Obama was delivering his speech at an outdoor venue, or maybe it was all the Kennedy comparisons, but I was afraid he would be shot. When the fireworks went off at the end, I flinched.

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Even though I voted for Obama in the primaries, I do feel some regret about the fact that Hillary Clinton wasn't chosen as the nominee. I count myself as an early Hillary supporter, since I urged her to run in 1996. (Just think--the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal would have been much less significant if it hadn't directly involved a sitting president!)

Clinton's an impressive woman, although ultimately I didn't think she was the best candidate this time around. But I remain hopeful for future elections. With the current crop of female governors and senators, the day will come when a woman becomes the nominee for one of the two major parties--and I can't wait to see that happen.