Why Hillary?

I would like to introduce you, if you have not met already, to the Draft Hillary Rodham Clinton as the 2012 Democratic Presidential Nominee petition site. Signatures will be sent to Secretary Clinton and to Tim Kaine, chair of the DNC. It is time for our voices to be heard.

There is also a drive this weekend at Team Hillary Clinton on Facebook to collect from members comments stating why we need Hillary Clinton at the top of the Democratic ticket in 2012. The compiled comments will be sent to the DNC.

Here are some of my reasons starting with Hillary Clinton's own remark from March 2008:

"I think you'll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say. He's never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002."

I believe she said something of this nature in several campaign speeches, because I have found a few variations on this theme. I also remember the McCain campaign using a clip of her saying this as part of an ad of their own. When she said this, Hillary knew what she was talking about. She was in the Senate for eight years, and prior to that had appeared before Congress numerous times as First Lady. Compared to Obama's brief tenure as Senator from Illinois, much of that time spent on the trail campaigning for the presidency, she certainly had a much more realistic idea of what could be done and very concrete blueprints for how she was going to do them. This was eminently clear during the debates when she enumerated steps she would take toward a given objective. Her speeches were considered wonky, and Obama's were considered rhapsodic, but that was all we got from him, and it still is - speeches.

Now I never considered his speeches particularly enthralling. I prefer informative speeches like the one Hillary gave this week: 1,000 Days: Change a Life, Change the Future. You acquire a wealth of information listening to a speech like that. I have never learned a single thing from Barack Obama. I have never listened to Hillary speak and NOT learned something. So for those who thought the well-wrought (a matter of opinion) phrase was going to accomplish the campaign promises, why not take a look at a few and see? Here is what we have after 20 months in office.

1. Close Gitmo. *FAIL*
2. Repeal DADT *FAIL*
3. Combat troops out of Iraq *INCOMPLETE*
4. Economic recovery *FAIL*
5. Americans back to work *FAIL*
6. Lower the foreclosure rate *FAIL*
7. Healthcare reform *D* (no public option)

He is also about to fail on the middle class tax cuts and expiration of the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy.

What has Hillary Clinton done with her 20 months?

1. From her website:

As Secretary of State:

Total Travel Time: 764.50 hours (31.8 days)
Total Countries Visited: 64
Total Days of Travel: 153
Total Mileage: 349,670

Trips by Date 2009

December 16-18: Copenhagen (7,865 miles)
December 3-4: Belgium (7,724 miles)
November 7-19: Germany and Asia (26,617 miles)
October 26-November 4: Pakistan, the Middle East, Morocco and Egypt (21,138 miles)
October 9-14: Europe (12,707 miles)
August 3-14: Africa (21,496 miles)
July 16-24: India, Thailand (21,098 miles)
June 13: Canada (1,092 miles)
May 31-June 4: El Salvador, Honduras, Egypt W/President (15,213 miles)
April 23-26: Kuwait, Iraq, Lebanon (13,868 miles)
April 16-19: Caribbean W/President (4,540 miles)
March 30-April 5: Netherlands, Europe W/President (8,961 miles)
March 25-26: Mexico (6,560 miles)
February 28-March 8: Middle East and Europe (15,518 miles)
February 15-22: Asia (22,402 miles)

Trips by Date 2010

July 17-24:Asia (21,867 miles)
July 1-5: Europe (13,324 miles)
June 6-10: Latin America and the Caribbean (8,007 miles)
May 20-26: Asia (16,307 miles)
April 21-23: Estonia (9,708 miles)
April 6-8: Prague (8,562 miles)
March 29-30: Ottawa (781 miles)
March 23: Mexico (3,765 miles)
March 17-19: Moscow (10,037 miles)
February 28-March 5: Latin America (14,370 miles)
February 13-17: Qatar and Saudi Arabia (14,337 miles)
January 26-29: London and Paris (7,508 miles)
January 25: Montreal (991 miles)
January 16: Haiti (3,628 Miles)
January 11-13: [Hawaii] (9,679 miles)

2. Renew our ties with Asia. *A*
3. Reset our relationship (badly damaged under Bush and Condi) with Russia and Lavrov. *A*
4. Restablish our ties in the Americas *A*
5. Add diplomacy and development into the mix in the AfPak region *A*
6. Get the Middle East leaders back to the negotiating table. *A*

And along the way:

• Salvaged the Armenia-Turkey accords from her car in Zurich.
• Helped salvage the Hillsborough Agreement for peace and devolution in Northern Ireland.
• Worked (hard) with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to construct a new START treaty.
• Heroically flew to Haiti the first weekend after the earthquake.
• Heroically flew to Chile the first week after the earthquake.
• Has the State Department constantly updating aid to flood-stricken Pakistan.
• Given benefits to domestic partners of LGBT State Department employees.
• Got showers built for State Department employees (at their request) who bike to work.

There is more. I would have to scroll through the whole history of this blog.



Here is what Secretary Clinton told the Barnard graduating class on May 18, 2009:

“…with these social networking tools that you use every day to tell people you’ve gone to get a latte or you’re going to be running late, you can unite your friends through Facebook to fight human trafficking or child marriage, like the two recent college graduates in Colombia – the country – who organized 14 million people into the largest anti-terrorism demonstration in history, doing as much damage to the FARC terrorist network in a few weeks than had been done in years of military action. (Applause.)

And you can organize through Twitter, like the undergraduates at Northwestern who launched a global fast to bring attention to Iran’s imprisonment of an American journalist.” -HRC/ 05-18-09/Barnard

Well, that is what we are doing. We are grouping up on Facebook and signing this petition online. This time around, if there are any shenanigans, we will use the tool Hillary told us about in her August 3 Remarks At The President's Forum with Young African Leaders: Ushahidi.



The Democratic Party will not win another term in the White House with Obama anywhere on the ticket. They can have two more terms (and potentially more) if they do the smart thing and tell Obama not to run again. The American people will not be fooled by him a second time. Hillary Clinton, however, is successful, popular, capable, more than ready, and can beat any of the Republican candidates out there. Join us! Sign the petition, and join Team Hillary Clinton on Facebook to register your comment for the Democratic National Committee.