On Thursday night, after 240 years and 44 male presidents – not to mention many other male nominees – women made history yet again as Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president of the United States. It’s a role many say is Clinton’s destiny and a political campaign she’s been running, her entire life. “When any barrier falls in America, for anyone, it clears the way for everyone”, said Clinton. They boiled down to how effectively she could make a closing argument to American voters after four days devoted to combating questions about her trustworthiness. Even many people who plan to vote for her agree that the decision not to prosecute her was favoritism and that her behavior showed recklessness and arrogance.
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Haussler said her group is excited to return to campus in the fall to build a coalition of students to campaign for Clinton in CT.
She also stressed the importance of her Methodist faith, as well as her early work going door-to-door on behalf of children with disabilities in MA. And it sends a message to young people that gender doesn’t have to dictate one’s path in life. We as a nation will benefit from a woman’s perspective and passion in the Oval Office.
Her passion for children wasn’t some passing whim; as first lady, Clinton shepherded bipartisan support for the largest expansion of public health insurance coverage since Medicaid in 1965, with the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program which has brought insurance to many millions of children. The mothers and grandmothers of young girls celebrate the fact that our nation’s newest generation will be raised in an America where they can witness firsthand that women’s leadership is valued.
Chelsea Clinton, gave a highly personal account of Clinton as a mother, saying “every single memory I have of my mom is that, regardless of what was happening in her life, she was always, always there for me”.
But if Clinton wins the presidency, she would take office during a period of economic and demographic transformation for American women, who are outnumbering men in college enrollment by ever widening margins, becoming primary breadwinners and heading their own households.
“When you consider that other countries have had women as heads of government for a long time: Great Britian, Germany, even Bangladesh”, said Perkins. Instead, we must all focus on a less sexist, more inclusive and fairer vision for the USA and the world – one that Clinton, more than any other individual leader, is now empowered to make reality.
We may never know what Clinton’s intentions were by wearing white.
Clinton also cast herself as a unifying figure while drawing a contrast with Donald Trump on temperament. “I think there are ways for me as a leader here to use this as a springboard – shame on me – in ways I haven’t done”, she said. And just as with our founders there are no guarantees. “They showed a picture up on the screen of all the presidents until now, then they get to Barack Obama and the next scene is the breaking of glass and then Hillary appears”.
“You can look at how the Republicans have treated President Obama in a very disrespectful way”. Anyone can fight for women if they want to.
The speech, while unmistakably historic, was also political and aimed at defining the terms on which Clinton hopes the general election is decided.
“Some of you are frustrated – even furious. Hillary just keeps right on fighting for the people who need her most”, she said.
Many delegates are waiting to see whether Thursday’s nomination acceptance speech can change any of that. “He had zero solutions”.
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“Hillary Clinton is like an astronaut now”, she said. “God bless her for having the courage to run, to take the heat”. Hillary Clinton may have already made momentous progress for women all over the globe throughout her long career, but this nomination is her biggest achievement for women.
