Fifteen Days

Fifteen days until the polls close and we elect a new President of the United States. Fifteen more days to wonder what kind of things we will hear about the candidates. Fifteen days for Donald Trump to make a transformation that will render him worthy of that office. Fifteen more days. Fifteen days.

And then what? Will we wake up on Wednesday and cheer our new leader? Or will we wake up in yet another nightmare situation where the election is contested?

I believe that Donald J. Trump does not possess the qualities we need in a leader and that should be no surprise to anyone. I know a lot of you are disappointed in that and I understand. We do need to change the way the government works for us and I will continue to work for that to happen.

Some of you, like me are avid Hillary supporters for many different reasons and some of you are Trump supporters for reasons of your own. Then there is another group who feel cheated because you don’t really like either candidate. Let me talk to you just a moment.

I don’t think Hillary is a poor choice and I want to give you some things to consider. She has been in public service for her entire adult life, serving in probably hundreds of capacities and she has certainly made mistakes, judgement errors and had some failures. But she has worked and accomplished more than anyone I can name. She has done this working in and with an imperfect system, because that is what she had to work with. Look at her accomplishments. She did these things working as a woman in an environment that was not known for being woman friendly.

She does know how to work the system, but that does not make her necessarily corrupt. If you want change, she is the one most likely to make it happen.

She heard Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak when she was still in high school and decided she wanted to spend her life serving others so she became a Democrat because it seemed the best way for her serve others. She was a volunteer for the Eugene McCarthy campaign, during the Civil Rights movement and during the anti-war movement. She worked on Senator Walter Mondale’s subcommittee to research migrant labor.

FIRSTS:

She was the FIRST student to give the commencement address to her class at Wellesley College. She was the FIRST female chair of the Legal Services Corporation, helping to insure equal access to justice under the law regardless of ones ability to afford it. She was the FIRST female partner at the Rose Law Firm. At that time she was also listed as one of the hundred most influential lawyers in America by The National Law Journal and was Woman of the year in 1983. She was the FIRST Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession.

She lobbied for the first ever U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on human rights, declaring gay rights are human rights.

First FLOTUS to hold a post graduate degree. First FLOTUS to be elected as a United States Senator (twice)

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES:

She helped to found the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families which advocates for the health, well-being and education of children in Arkansas. She was an attorney at the Children’s Defense Fund, leveling the playing field for children. When she was a professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law she was the Director of Legal Aid Clinic there.

She created Arkansas’s Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth to help parents prepare their children for school. She was leader of a task force that reformed Arkansas’s education system. She was instrumental in the passing and implementation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in Arkansas and promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses. She played a leading role in the creation of the Adoption and Safe Families Act and the Foster Care Independence Act. She also helped to initiate the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.  

With former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, she helped to establish Vital Voices, whose mission is “to identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities”.

She sought to increase the funding for research into prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health.

She spoke to the United Nations declaring “Women’s rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Women’s Rights” at a time when this was a brave action.

VETERANS

She helped to investigate the effects of the Gulf War Syndrome on the veterans afflicted. She helped lead the charge to expand healthcare access for the military, including an expansion to The Family and Medical Leave Act which was necessary for those wounded in service.

9/11.

She took a leading role in investigating the health issues facing 9/11 first responders and was instrumental in securing $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site’s redevelopment along with fellow New York Senator Chuck Schumer.

OTHER:

She served on the US Committee on Budget, Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Environment and Public Works, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Special Committee on Aging. She was the Commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. And of course the Secretary of State under President Obama.

She did all this, not only within the system but also by working hand in hand with members of congress on both sides of the aisle, members of the Pentagon and private entities. She did all this and battled private issues at home. She did all this and still wants to serve this country. What other politician has been so scrutinized? She is not crooked. An accusation without foundation does not mean a thing.

She isn’t perfect, but it is my educated opinion, based on a great deal of research that she is qualified and possesses the attributes we need and can depend on to lead us forward and make us stronger. Just a few things to think about.