As a former Assistant Minority Leader in the New Hampshire Legislature, I am weighing in on the New Hampshire primary. There is no choice: It's got to be Hillary. I was excited when Bernie entered the race. The Republicans were sucking up all the air time and the print inches. Without some focus on the Democrats over the many months ahead before the general election, it was going to be Hillary who? The Democrats needed to get going. Besides. I was pleased that Bernie was focusing on the critical issue of income inequality. But income inequality is not the only domestic problem.
Hilary has a broader picture of the economy than any of the other candidates, Republican or Democrat. For example, her infrastructure proposals will help create many good jobs. We all believe that America is the greatest country in the world, and in many ways we are the leader. But when traveling home from Asia, with its many magnificent new airports, and arriving at JFK, Newark, or Logan airports with their aging terminals and then driving on roads with multiple potholes, one wonders which is the third-world country.
Then there is immigration. If the past is predictive of the future, keeping out immigrants as the Republicans suggest would not help every American find work. Talk about simple answers that don't solve the problem! Moreover, America's success stems from its being a true melting pot comprised of people of all nationalities, religions, and belief systems inherited from parents, grandparents, and great-parents. Immigrants to America have brought intellect, skills, and cultural traditions from their countries of origin, contributing to a rich melange. Only our Native American neighbors can claim to be indigenous to this great nation of ours. We tried inexperience with Obama and then we were disillusioned when he could not get legislation passed. We rail against the partisanship in Washington but the alternative to partisanship is often merely attainable and at times imperfect compromise. Hillary is the only one of all the candidates, Republican or Democrat, who actually has experience compromising, in the Senate. As Secretary of State, she had to to familiarize herself with the rapidly shifting international crises and negotiate with foreign leaders. Hilary is the only candidate who doesn't need time to master the many learning curves involved in negotiating the complexity of each one of the world's messes. We as a nation don't have the luxury of affording our new president training time to get up to speed.
We want perfect candidates, but we have to settle for imperfect human beings. The longer candidates are in the spotlight the more they wilt, in other words: Familiarity breeds contempt. Hillary has the contempt of many, when she deserves respect for her steadfast willingness to work for families and for America.
Hillary will enter the White House with no illusions. She has proven she can survive the most virulent of attacks and has amply demonstrated her understanding of the complexity of social policy change. She has shown her tireless ability to work hard.
Or do we prefer to live in fantasy rather than admit the hard reality that experience is worth something and that every single one of the other candidates is also a flawed human being?