Hillary Clinton Still Running for President

Am I the only person left who thinks Hillary Clinton should be elected President?

Let me explain. It took a while for me but I have come around to support Barack Obama. Truth be told, the choice of Governor Palin for running mate by John McCain put the nail in the coffin for him as far as I'm concerned. That's harsh I know. I believe I only voted for a Republican once in my life and that was in a local election and very, very long ago. I never really wanted to vote for McCain, I'll admit that. I did admire him and I did have serious doubts about Obama that had little to do with my fervent support of Clinton. So, momentarily I considered a reluctant vote for Senator McCain. It hinged for a brief period of time on his choice of running mate.

It stung when Obama chose Joe Biden. The Delaware Senator is a great senator and public servant but I sat in front of the television screaming, 18 million votes you dufus! How do you just ignore that many votes and the chance to make extraordinary history? But then it was shocking when McCain chose Sarah Palin, governor of a state, Alaska, with a population of 650,000 or so people, mayor of a city of less than 9,000. Then as if to put the icing on the cake, there was all that winking and smirking and Joe Six Pack talk. Obama began to look like the best thing since sliced bread. I had to admit, he is articulate and intelligent, makes sound decisions and he's a Democrat. I quickly forgot his ruthless opportunistic nature (truthfully that is common to politicians) and his disregard for 18 million Clinton supporters. I instantly forgave the Democratic National Committee their sexist leanings and Clinton hate/envy, and I noticed something as the general election progressed.

Both sides, Democrat and Republican, have spent a good deal of time courting Hillary voters. Senator Clinton is frequently mentioned by both campaigns. Even Obama's choice of Senator Biden speaks volumes about the need to garner votes from Hillary's base. Neither can win easily without Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania and neither does as well in those places as Senator Clinton has. The white, working class voter is being pandered to, flirted with and campaigned for as never before and all either candidate needed was Hillary Clinton on his ticket! In my humble opinion all the country needed was Clinton running for President. Will Sarah Palin finish shattering that glass ceiling? Doubtful. It's a shame too. Other than the extreme right wing, is Palin pulling in many voters? Doubtful again.

The McCain campaign recognizes Clinton's worth. Today we learn they are using Hillary Clinton's voice in auto-calls seeming to endorse McCain. A clever snip out of context from the nasty Democratic Primary is the main message in this call. In it she calls McCain "experienced" and boils Obama down to one speech in 2004. OUCH! Will this matter? The pundits are saying it's too late. I'm hoping those white working class male voters are smarter than the McCain campaign gives them credit for and will realize that Hillary Clinton is supporting Obama - for real.

I can't help but notice how important Hillary Clinton remains in this presidential year. I can't ignore that my white, working class male friends who recalled the Clinton administration's years of peace and prosperity and enthusiastically supported Hillary for President are now waffling, undecided or have already gone back to being Republicans and have cast their votes for McCain. Hillary Clinton is the invisible candidate in this election.

Mostly I'm wondering why Senator Clinton isn't the one going to the White House in January.