I understand that this must be a difficult time for many Clinton supporters. As an Obama supporter, I can say, quite honestly, that I like and respect Hillary Clinton. She is a highly qualified leader and someone who could become a very good President.
She was let down by an incompetent campaign staff. A sin for which she must accept a large share of the blame. She was also facing something akin to a tidal wave in American politics. Younger voters, in particular, have come to view the Democratic party as either feckless or perhaps even deceitful. The Democrats have not been able to capture the discussion for at least eight years.
As a result, many people have sought to give someone new a chance. This person, Barack Obama, is an untested quantity and could fail spectactularly. In which case, it'll be a monumental case of "I told you so". Nevertheless, there are many of us out there who are willing to give him a shot. We think he can do it. That's what motivates our vote. What does not motivate our vote is sexism.
It is somewhat amazing to me that this needs to be said on a left-leaning blog covering Democratic politics. For the sake of my sanity, I will assume that this is the final throes of acceptance and that soon the Democratic party can once again unite without recriminations. I suppose if Obama was losing the nomination, there would be diaries outlining how racism sunk him. There would be plenty of fodder. But it would all amount to sophistry - a logically defensible falsehood.
And yet, in one of the most highly respected newspapers in the country, there is similar sophistry about the role of sexism in this race:
It is not my place to tell someone what offendeds them. I'm sure there are plenty of people who could Marie Coco's op-ed and leave seeing red convinced that if you want to run for President, you better bring your Y chromosome. But to me, the piece simply reiterates what many Obama supporters were looking for in the first place: A way past these recriminations.
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