Why Do We Have A "Hillary Clinton"?

Why do we have a "Hillary Clinton"? Why, at this point in History, do we have the Hillary Clinton running for President of the United States of America? It's simple, really. Since the entrenched white-male establishment has placed a glass ceiling to the advancement of women, only a bitch as big as Hillary Clinton could do it. This is the common wisdom - I have no reason to doubt this. My objection isn't to Hillary, per se; I cannot vote for her because to do so would be to allow this country to become oddly and frighteningly dynastic. However, if the fight came down to Hillary vs. McCain, then I would have to swallow my objection to dynasties and vote for Hillary/Billary, which would only make me hate her/them more. Not a good start to a potential four-year contract between me and the Powers That Be. But if it does come down to Billary vs. McGruff, I'll be so disappointed; more Washington Insiders maneuvering the same, corrupt system towards their favorite budgetary excesses, pandering to the big boys. Gore Vidal once said that there were (roughly) thirty companies that you had to pay attention to when you were President, and you'd better be willing to do their bidding, or else you're done. That sounds about right, when you think about it.

What I think most Baby-Boomers don't really get is that the younger folks have moved on. The issues that fascinated The Class of '68 don't resonate with the younger generations in the same way. They support Barack Obama for a reason. He doesn't BS too much. He speaks as if  he's actually thought about things himself, things both large and small. He's uncharacteristically honest for a Person Seeking High Office. He seems willing to discuss many difficult issues. He embodies Difference - Change. He speaks eloquently of Change - Change that can be built upon the successes of the past. For the most part, tolerance - that bulwark of democracy - has increased in the last fifty years. That is something to build upon, to forge a better future for us all, and for our children - and Barack Obama sees this as something to build upon and to unite us. That is a noble enough idea that I find it's call almost irresistible. To unite us in nobler purpose than greed or fear - wouldn't that be nice!? Then one could breath freely again, and offer a hand to his brother or sister, and work together for something better.

I never thought I'd see in my time a man or woman who would so clearly embody the last bit of hope for this country that I have left. I have never been drawn strongly to any politician before - really. My more common emotion has been one of repulsion, of wanting to keep a distance from them. It started with Nixon. But then I figured out that they're all like that; they are all serpents and reptiles trying to survive in a very real swamp.

Above all else, I am skeptical of what is possible to achieve in Washington. This is not to diminish Obama's potential. No, the concern is that the system is so entrenched, so devilishly serpentine and constricting upon the government that there is little any one man could do to change it, and to hope for that is naïve and romantically foolish. And this is no time for a messiah-like figure to fall against the sharp, rocky cliffs of The Establishment. That would only make matters worse.

Bush used The Establishment to his advantage - that's what made him successful for a while. The exact opposite would be true for Obama; he would be standing headlong into the full, gale force winds of The Establishment. Everyone's wondering, both critics and supporters alike, "Is he up to it"? Y'know what? I've got a better question: Are we up to it? Are we up to giving our support and taking action?

It's not sane to have Hope, but there he is - Obama. He's Possibility. His voice sounds like yours and it sounds like mine - well, only better - but he doesn't seem remote, differentiated and debilitated by his political life. His reasoning and concerns resonate with mine, and with so many others. He's a Bridge, a path to a new era. And it is a change we desperately need. This is a soft revolution. Count me in.