V's Version

Here is a picture of my friends' daughter in Texas. They are very proud of her. She was not quite old enough to go out and caucus, unfortunately, although her mothers did vote - accounting for some fraction of the delegate winnings.

Maybe the reason I voted for Hillary is because I am stuck in the demographic of non-black women over the age of 40. I am a prisoner of my own memory. I worked hard on the Clinton campaign (circa 1992!) and voted again for him in '96 but wasn't too pleased with his politics. I remember thinking then that I would rather that Hillary was running than Bill and vowing that if she ever did run, I would back her.

As a side story: I used to hitch hike at 5:30 AM (after parties the night before) in order to get to work on time in the kitchen of a quaint inn on an island in Maine. (I made blueberry muffins for the guests.) Not many people were on the country roads at that time in the morning. With the sound of each and every car coming up from over the hills, I would make the bartering promise to Fate: "If you pick me up, I promise (cross my heart and hope to die - stick a needle in my eye) to pick up every hitch hiker who doesn't look like an ax murderer when I get a car." Much to the chagrin of some friends and family, I have, to date, picked up countless hitch hikers - nearly every single one that I encounter.

Back to Hillary (which is related to the hitch hiking story - believe me): I am very loyal. When I make a vow - I do what I said I would do (unless to do so would truly damage someone). It doesn't always make sense to other people. It doesn't always make sense to me. But there we have it.

I can definitely understand Obama's appeal. He appeals to me too. His political views, intelligence and charisma are worthy of appeal. I want to see him as President (in a few years) but right now I would like to see Hillary give it her best shot. She is not a monster (as Obama's now-former adviser Samantha Power said before she resigned from his campaign today.) Hillary is a politician with the faults of a politician and with the disadvantages that nearly all women have in a generally misogynist world. She is not perfect but I support her.

She is the nearest chance to believing my generation's promise to me and our promise to that little girl in the photo above ("Girls can grow up to be anything they want to be - even President of the United States!") And while it THRILLS me that there are so many new and young voters (would not change that!), it makes me sad that Hillary is on the verge of losing the nomination by a thin margin of delegates because there are so many people who did not make the vow that I did in the 90s because they would rather see a man in power or because they were not even in kindergarten yet.

As my 80 year old mother in law said at dinner last week, "I would just like to see a woman as President before I die." Hillary is her best chance.