She is not perfect.
No one is.
She has been a Senator, later the Secretary of State. Some questions may be raised about her decisions then. But then, anyone who has held any position of power will face the same. The important thing is how much she matured while at the job and how much she learnt. My respect for Clinton rose when she made her record speech in a Congressional Meeting in 2011 stating categorically that US helped fund Al- Qaeda. Then left Pakistan to deal with the problem- ‘having a history of moving in and out of Pakistan.’
I marveled at her honesty then. I marvel at it now. How many people in that position will have the guts to accept a wrong step taken and thereby admit the cascading problems resulting from it? A leader who has the courage to do this will face the tough question of solution to issues. The basic bar to cross being a problem exists and why it exists. Clinton has displayed that courage many times.
She is no great orator like Obama. She is better. She talks issues. She talks facts. She tackles. She draws from experience. She is not wet behind her ears. It makes her practical and sensitive to gray areas when dealing with domestic issues and foreign policy.
She drives a hard bargain. “In the administration’s first high-level meeting on Russia in February 2009, aides to Obama proposed that the United States make some symbolic concessions to Russia as a gesture of its good will in resetting the relationship. Clinton, the last to speak, brusquely rejected the idea, saying, “I’m not giving up anything for nothing.” (NYT April 21, 2016)
Faced with Russia reemerging as a power to reckon with under the brilliant President Putin, US needs a smart thinking President to steer her, not adventurism and someone with no clue to issues, people and international relations. The latter can only spell disaster for US and have a negative cascading effect on the world owing to the position of the US.
Clinton’s foreign policies are honed and anchored in reality and her experience on the job. For many Clinton is not ‘exciting.’ She is seen as part of ‘old guard.’ However, all leaders are not exciting, The ones who deliver are pragmatic. They listen. They learn. They develop teams. They develop strategies to deliver. Moreover, nothing wrong with being part of the old guard either if the priorities are clear and ability to deliver exists. I cannot but be reminded here of a saying I heard, “Change for the sake of change is no change.” If anything her experience as a Senator and later as Secretary of State will make her more well- equipped to understand issues and deliver. There is a choice to be made between excitement and between knowledgeable stability. After all one is not looking for an affair here that can be cut off once the excitement wears off. One is looking at a person eminently competent to steer America for the next few years.
Clinton is tough. She just does not accept defeat. She keeps on coming back. After her failure at bid for President in 2008, she got the prized position of Secretary of State under Obama. Her acceptance projected her in no uncertain terms as a woman who wanted to work for a better America. A woman who wanted to work for a better world. A woman capable of forging alliance with the man she had contested against and lost against. A woman in short, who has character. Is not character the biggest attribute of a strong leader?
Yes she has a baggage. She was accused for not looking after embassy security well at Benghazi. It was here that the email scandal during her term of Secretary of State came to light. She emerged again as being truthful rather than trying to cover up, “U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she takes responsibility for security at the American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in an attack…..” (Washington Street Journal 10/16/2012) We can continue castrating her for it. Her opponents can exploit this for their own campaigns to add flavor but the fact is; she had the indomitable courage to accept responsibility! What her opponents are doing is to actually remind prospective American voters of her strength. Like they reminded me.
Another thing she is targeted for is her husband’s sexual history- due to no fault of her own. That is the truth: due to no fault of her own. “It’s not Hillary’s fault,” Republican Senator Rand Paul, himself a likely presidential candidate, said last year about Bill’s trysts.’ (The Telegraph April 13, 2015) Up for post of President is not Bill Clinton but Hillary. Let us distinguish between the two. So whoever tries to embellish their own political campaign with playing this card has to be the greatest pathetic loser of all times. I would have laughed a few years ago, if anyone had said this would be a card used by one presidential candidate against another in USA. Give me a break someone!
A small example of the difference between a seasoned politician and a raw hand : ‘Take jobs back from foreign countries to lower unemployment. ‘(Aug 2015) ‘Foreign companies are taking jobs from US.’ (Dec 1999) His take on guns control must be his idea of joking. No, he can’t be serious. ‘Mass shootings are due to a huge mental health problem.’ (Jan 2016) ‘No limits on guns; they save lives.’ (Jan 2016) Then he makes a completely contradictory statement, ‘Keep enemies of the state away from guns.’ (Nov 2015) How does this translate into law? Oh hello, you can’t have a gun, you an anti-state rat, proved but roaming free on road and hey we are only denying you a freaking gun but I have a gun. I’m not anti-state, I’m a patriot. Someone said so. Another contradiction: ‘Laws are ineffective in preventing gun violence.’ (Oct 2015) ‘I am against gun control.’ (Feb 2011) Oh, hello Trump, what are you trying to say?’ (My Op Ed March 15, 2016)
As Americans make up their minds as to whom to vote for, they must first believe in America being a world power. They must believe in making a choice between a person who has the pragmatism and realism to deliver and a person who is confused and contradictory with no understanding of issues and people. They must understand with whom lies the dignity of America.
It is time for America to rise above gender, above wanting excitement and choose pragmatically.
Hillary Clinton, is the best man for the job!
Agree with the writer. She was the only American leader who accepted that attack on Iraq wa 'wrong'. That needs a lot of courage and strong character.
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