Okay, I admit it. I cried tonight (after crying on and off all afternoon). Big Tent Democrat understands why:
[SNIP]
Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee for President. Yes, this is historic - an African American will be our nominee. It is something for our Party to be proud of. But a different dream will die tonight, and I would hope Obama and his supporters will be sensitive to it. The chance of a woman being our Presidential nominee in this election will die tonight. For many women, this is a hard night because of it.
- MORE AFTER THE FLIP -
The night of the first debate when only Obama and Clinton were left standing was one of our proudest. And it was not just because of Barack Obama. It was also because of Hillary Clinton. Remember women and fathers of daughters (like me) who still must dream of the day when a woman will be our Presidential nominee. That dream must NEVER die. I would hope Obama and his supporters will have a thought about that tonight. Not just the history made. But the history NOT made.
I'm still not through shedding tears, but I have a blog to write and it's really hard to write and cry at the same time...
What Hillary Teaches Us
Hillary shows us what it means to stand up and not back down, no matter what the media say, no matter what the boys' club says, no matter what anybody else says. She shows us how to be strong, how to be courageous in the face of overwhelming odds, how to be a leader people can be proud of, and most of all how to believe in ourselves.
This is what too many of Obama's surrogates and supporters and what so many in the media don't "get." I hope that someday a light will go on inside their heads and they'll finally have the "Ah-ha" moment we have tried so hard to teach them, for so long.
18 Million Reasons
In the meantime, we have to comfort ourselves and regroup. One dream died tonight. But Hillary didn't concede. She has every right to take some time to figure out how best to move forward. She said that in her very gracious speech tonight. And let's do a reality check here: Why should she concede? She has 18 million reasons to stand firm at the moment. That's (variously) called leverage, bargaining chip, and/or street cred deserving of a little respect. In the world of labor negotiations, this means something. In the business world it means something. In the political world it means something. Maybe it's time for the Obama world to recognize this very basic concept.
So, let's mourn this loss - as we should. But we also need to support Hillary. She is going to need every one of us now. The pressure on her to give it up, give in, roll over, back down, and go away will be fierce. It will come at her from every direction. It's already starting.
So shed those tears. Take some time. Give yourself some breaks to grieve. Then let's move on to the next stage. We have 18 million reasons to hold our ground. But because I know we're feeling a little demoralized at the moment, how about a little...
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