I’M FOR HILLARY … RELUCTANTLY

She hasn’t made it easy for me. Her speaking style grates and she rarely is able to hold the full attention of an audience. Plus, her relationship with the truth is ambiguous at best.

Consequently, I’m definitely not for her in the same way I’ve been for Obama who, in my opinion, will go down in history as a top ten President. But, as between Hillary and Trump … please.

A couple of things have pushed me into her column.

She made a great pick for Vice President in former Governor and sitting Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine. Kaine balances Hillary the same way meat and potatoes Joe Biden balanced professorial Barack Obama. Both Biden and Kaine can go into a working-class bar and pick up some votes and both look like they could hold their own if a fight broke out. The good news is that Kaine is smarter than Joe and unlike Joe, he recognizes that all sentences must eventually come to an end.

She ran a good Convention and gave a solid acceptance speech. Not quite to the level of Michelle and Barack Obama, but workmanlike … consistent with who she is. Plus, she got the infinitely annoying and incompetent Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic National Committee Chair, to finally go away … far away.

She has the full-throated and open-armed support of Barack Obama. (Indeed, Obama’s warm embrace of Hillary after his speech endorsing her stopped a nanosecond short of becoming a romantic encounter.  That tells me Obama is deeply appreciative for the political support and competent advice he has received from her over the years. Meaning, he will go far beyond the perfunctory support that a sitting President typically gives the nominee of his party and will be completely available to her campaign. With Obama’s job approval numbers solidly above water, that’s a huge plus for Hillary.)

Summing it up, she’s not crazy. She won’t start a war if somebody hurts her feelings. She’ll do her homework. She’s capable of empathy and of being a decent steward of the enterprise known as the United States of America.

Trump? In the words of tennis great John McEnroe … “You cannot be serious!”

Conclusion

Before writing the above, I put myself through a little exercise. I thought of a dozen characteristics important to a President and tried to find a word or two specific to both Hillary and Trump.

I will post again on Wednesday September 7, 2016 or before if the news flow dictates.

Comments are welcome at tomc[at]wednesdayswars[dot]com. Comments will be addressed in subsequent posts.