Yesterday, in my quest to decide for whom I would cast my primary vote, I was interviewed by a British journalist, David Cohen, who writes for the London Evening Standard. He had just come from Iowa, and questioned me for about an hour as we waited for Bill Clinton to arrive at the MUB at UNH. In addition to his journalism, he has written a book called "Chasing the Red White and Blue: Following in deToqueville's footsteps."
I had heard Obama at Pease early in the a.m. and I went to hear John Edwards in Portsmouth last evening. I hope to hear Hillary Clinton in person tomorrow at Winnacunnet High School. David asked me to email him my thoughts by Sunday morning, so I have composed and sent an email to him reflecting how I feel at this moment. He seems to have a late Sunday deadline, so I won't be able to update him after hearing Hillary in person. So....for anyone who is interested, here is my email to him.
Dear David Cohen,
I enjoyed meeting you at UNH in Durham, and hearing your thoughts about the candidates and their showing in Iowa as well as their potential in NH and the country. I have given a lot of thought to my vote on Tuesday, and after hearing Obama, Bill Clinton and John Edwards in person, I thought I would email you today, and then again in the morning if my thinking changes after watching the debate tonight.
As I told you yesterday, I initially committed to Hillary and have worked on her campaign. Recently I have leaned more towards Edwards, as I like a number of his positions. Last night he reaffirmed his commitment to close Guantanamo, stop the practice of rendition and all forms of torture. He stated his opposition to the building of any more nuclear power plants and his commitment to creating a green economy. He is also clearly in favor of a woman’s right to choose and doesn’t believe that the government should get involved in the decision of what to do with an unwanted pregnancy. These are all positions I support.
I also am drawn to Obama’s message of hope and unity, and if he becomes the candidate, I will work hard for him. Part of his magic is in his “from-the-heart” delivery of his speech, and his willingness to stop and look a questioner in the eye. On the other hand, hearing the exact same speech given a few hours later (I heard it on NPR) causes it to lose a little of its luster. It really is nothing more than a good speech, given over and over by a great orator. He is short on specifics, and lacks the track record the Hillary and John Edwards have, in my judgment.
So….after much discussion with my friends and inner debate, I have come back to Hillary as the candidate for whom I’ll cast my vote on Tuesday. Here’s my thinking at this point:
• She has a record of being able to work with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to bring about programs which benefit people who are disadvantaged in our society.
• She is intelligent and can think on her feet.
• She has risen on her own merit out of a situation (Bill’s philandering) which could have ruined many people.
• She has demonstrated her compassion for those less fortunate since her days in law school.
• She doesn’t make sweeping statements of the sort that both Obama and Edwards have made which, though I may agree with them, they have a feeling of “pie in the sky” about them. Edwards will not be able to get rid of the grip that corporations have on government, and Obama will not be able to bring us all together in one big happy family by just pronouncing that it will be so.
•Finally, and this is probably the aspect that tips the balance, I want to see a woman elected to the presidency of this country. I have spent my life in teaching making sure that my students understood that women and men were equal. Most of the young women I’ve taught have not experienced any barriers of the sort that my generation faced. They do recognize, however, that the glass ceiling is real, and that women still have to work harder to prove themselves and that they are the ones who are most likely to have to juggle child care, elder care, and the running of a home along with working. I would like to see the highest office in the land go to a woman, to demonstrate to the young women of this country that women really can do anything. Our country lags behind the rest of the world in placing women in positions of power. The time has come for that to change.
• I am an historian by avocation, and have taught American Studies for 10 years. I have a strong vision that electing Hillary Clinton to the Presidency is, in some perhaps romanticized way, the closing of a circle begun by Abigail Adams during the earliest days of our republic. She and John Adams were clearly a political team in a way not too different from the Clintons, and I can’t help but think that the woman who instructed her husband “to remember the ladies,” as he helped create the Constitution, would smile with great pleasure to see the wife of a 20th century president become the president.
So, in the end, my feminism trumps everything else. How could I not cast my vote for a woman who offers every qualification that the men have, and can lead the country to a new era – perhaps one in which compassion replaces aggression and justice really is “for all.”
I googled your book, and I remember when it came out that I thought it would make for some interesting reading in our American Studies class. I plan to order it, and look forward to reading it! Let me know if you’re ever in Durham again, and let me know if you have any questions or would like me to expand on any of this.
Best wishes,
Katherine Morgan
No comments:
Post a Comment