What is exhausting is debating someone whom you respect who says "I like Hillary" but finds every reason not to defend her against even specious attacks or be willing to speak out when they agree with her. It is a similar phenomenon Bella S. Abzug (D-NY) faced years ago when people would say she is so great and then go on to list every flaw they could think of.
My suggestion to these people is if you like Hillary stop the nit-picking and support her! If you insist on finding and talking about every flaw, then stop adding 'But I really like her' and expect people to believe you or even applaud you for pointing out every flaw. The positives Hillary Clinton brings to the table; her long and respected career and work on healthcare; children and families; education, human and civil rights for women, African Americans and the LGBT community; and her comprehensive understanding of the world; are so overwhelming that giving her full-throated support is easy.
The press has been vicious and so often wrong. A recent column said Bernie Sanders is catching up to Hillary in fundraising. I congratulate Sanders on a great quarter and raising a total of $40 million. Hillary has raised a total of $80 million and her supporting PAC has raised an additional $40 million; not quite close.
My belief is if Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee Democrats lose the Presidency. People can disagree. But what amazes me are those who agree he would lose yet aren't getting on board and supporting Hillary. Realty tells us there aren't a lot of choices. While my view is that Clinton is amazing it is also true Democrats don't have a very strong bench. The hope of many in the Party is if Hillary wins we can change that by building state parties over the next eight years. This is one thing despite all the great things President Obama has done he didn't focus on. It is also one of the reasons why 60% of the super-delegates in the Party already endorsed Hillary and zero have endorsed Sanders.
My modus operandi if I believe in and support a candidate is to go all in. It doesn't help to say 'I give my support' and then keep repeating the reasons opponents give for why you shouldn't to everyone in earshot as if they were true or good reasons for wavering.
I first met Hillary in 1990 in Arkansas and have been impressed with her ever since and never found a reason for that to change. All the attacks on Hillary over the years have come to nothing and her grit in standing up to them and being willing to continue to fight for what she believes has only confirmed that first impression of her as someone who is a great leader and will make a great President.
Politically I am a progressive with an understanding of the realities and vagaries of politics. My involvement in local politics began at the age of twelve. I have supported both those who lost and those who won. I know many people who today are saying they can't understand why Hillary didn't support gay marriage earlier or question a recently found email from four years ago. People often forget we all evolve and with emails we only see one part of a conversation making it very hard to judge the scope of what came before and what possible previous conversation prompted the email. It might be good to remember why in the past we supported someone who didn't agree with everything we wanted. In some cases it could have been because the alternatives were so bad. In Hillary's case my support for her is because she is so good; but I also know not having a Democrat in the White House after 2016 would be disastrous.
I will continue to fight for Hillary because her positives far outweigh any perceived negative and will defend her against all attacks. While I might think she handled the email issue poorly, it doesn't mean I won't defend her and work hard for her. I am all in just as I am with friends. I never found a perfect friend and never found a perfect candidate, but then I am far from perfect so never expect to find perfection in others.
There has never been a campaign that hasn't had its ups and downs. There will continue to be hundreds of millions spent to bring Hillary down. We just heard an admission by the man who will likely be the next Speaker of the House that the Benghazi Committee was just another way to bring her numbers down.
The good and the difficult come with supporting the Clintons; both Hillary and Bill. I long ago decided the good far outweighs the difficult so will continue to fight for her. It will have been more than worth the fight if on January 20th 2017 we see the most brilliant and prepared person to run for President in decades sworn in as the first woman President of the United States of America.