My very feminist younger sister for whom I have the utmost respect, who has been an ardent Senator Clinton supporter, has just admitted to me that she finally has drunk the Kool-aid.
Previously she had said some of her reasons for not supporting Senator Obama included the "just words" assertion, not enough experience, and the sad fact that so many accomplished women have been passed over for promotions in business and government to promote a younger less accomplished male. She cited how painful and prevalent all the misogynistic insults and innuendoes against Senator Clinton have been to which I could only express complete agreement. My sister has worked in the feminist movement actively for many years, helps publish a feminist newspaper, and writes published articles on feminist topics.
What finally caused her to reconsider her assessment of Senator Obama was his speech, "A More Perfect Union".
She was impressed that he could take something so negative that would cause any other candidate to fold or flounder, and turn it into something so elevating, so genuine, so needed in our nation. She truly admires his intelligence. After hearing that speech, his words have become meaningful, transformative, clarifying, and inspirational. For her, his ability to inspire has become a valued asset, now welcomed instead of feared.
I also have an older sister, 60, who has supported Obama for a bit longer. She, too, values intelligence in a president. She pointed out that intelligence is mistrusted in this country, and that a seeming majority of people prefers someone who excels at sports rather than in academics. She reminded me of the last few years of the Reagan presidency when he was afflicted with dementia, but the people around him and the MSM merely hid it from the populace. And our current president, who, when he actually got the 3am phone call (but not actually at 3 am, more like 8 – 9 am) got a perplexed vacuous look on his face and then simply continued reading "My Pet Goat" to kids – because he didn’t know what to do. No wonder it doesn’t command MSM attention much that McCain doesn’t know the Suni from the Shia from Al Queda from Iran.
But, apparently, despite the MSM’s constant denigration of the intelligent news for the sake of the sensational, and despite strongly espoused political leanings that cause most of us to narrow our attention to our own candidate, my wonderful younger sister has been open-minded enough to see the true value in Senator Obama. Sure, she is only one person, but she matters. If she can change her mind because of hearing that speech, many more people are likely being affected. All three of us sisters are in the Senator Clinton alleged demographic (white, same age cohort as Hillary, none drink latte). Her changed support really gives me hope that Obama will win the nomination, and if he wins the nomination, he’ll win the presidency, and if he wins the presidency, he can, with the support of We, the People, change the nation......and the world.