IT'S TIME FOR HILLARY!

        Of all the presidential candidates, Republican and Democratic, Secretary Hillary Clinton is in my opinion by far the most qualified, the best prepared, the most articulate about the major issues confronting our nation, the most detailed in her proposals, the most widely known and respected internationally, and the most presidential in her bearing.
        She has been fighting for worthy causes and championing human rights her entire professional life. She has demonstrated her outstanding leadership capabilities time and again, and she has proven her ability to get things done. Having served eight years as a former First Lady, she is well acquainted with the role and the routine of  the White House;  as a former United States Senator she knows the workings of Congress; and as a former Secretary of State she has exceptional diplomatic and leadership skills. She knows State government as well, having spent nearly twelve years as First Lady in the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.
        Everyone knows how important is the role of the President’s spouse. What an asset Bill Clinton will be to Hillary and to the nation in that role. Hillary has already shown, however,  that she is her own person. She is not intimidated by anybody, including Bill, but she will value his experience and advice. What a team they will make!
        It is so exciting to think of having our first female President. And what a worthy representative of that gender she will be. One of the things I admire the most about Hillary is that she has withstood the insidious attacks of her opponents and the unwarranted and unfair insinuations about her “trustworthiness” and “likability.” The way her motives have been impugned, no matter what she says, is despicable, and a glaring example of the sexist attitudes she wants to eliminate..
        The best testimony to her character is the strong loyalty and enthusiastic devotion of her friends and colleagues and the esteem in which she is held by those who know her best. Before she announced her intention to run for President, she spent many weeks traveling the country and listening to people. She wanted to know their concerns as well as their hopes and dreams. People who are aware of her record know, and people who meet her and who hear her speak soon learn, that she has their best interests at heart.
         Hillary’s chief Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as the current front runner in the Republic campaign, Donald Trump, are both talking about a “movement” (Bernie sometimes uses the word “revolution”). They are both right.  America is indeed ready for a movement, but one led by a different kind of leader, one who can and will really make a difference, a person who will champion women’s rights, and children’s rights, and gay rights, one who know that Black lives matter, one who knows the urgent need for criminal justice reform and tax reform and immigration reform and campaign finance reform, one who will preserve and improve, not repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, who is skilled in dealing with the intricacies of foreign policy, who is familiar with and prepared for the usual as well as the unpredictable responsibilities of the Oval Office, one who already knows and is known and respected  by the leaders of other nations, one who has the gravitas, the personality, the communication skills, the judgment, and the bearing to assume on day one the presidency of the most powerful nation on earth.
        Yes, we do need a movement ---a Hillary Clinton movement! It's the right time (and it's about time!) for a woman President! It's time for someone who can and will build on the accomplishments of President Obama, one with proven ability to get things done and to bring people together across ideological lines to work toward mutually beneficial objectives, one who balances idealistic goals with realistic pragmatism, one who wants to move America forward by building on the good things from the past. It's time for a genuine public servant and a proven leader.
        It's time for Hillary Clinton. She is the right person to be the next President of the United States.