Bye-bye Hillary...

Poof, she's gone. Well I guess I shouldn't say that so soon given that she may still be B.O.'s VP. Now wouldn't that be an interesting ticket?

I'm in two minds about Hillary not making it. On one hand, I think it's high time that America had a female President. Other countries have had a woman in power - Indira Gandhi in India, Benazhir Butto in Pakistan and Margaret Thatcher in the UK. America is lagging behind! On the pure argument that this country needs to be challenged to think outside of the testosterone box, I am sad that Hillary didn't make the cut. However on the flip side, there's something about Hillary that made me mis-trust her. I can't really put my finger on it but there's just this uneasy feeling I get about her. Or perhaps I'm not used to seeing a woman in power, especially vying for the presidency. Maybe that's the feeling that I can't put my finger on - perhaps it's not a gut feeling but something that is so odd to me that it doesn't seem to gel with what I am used to in this world of ours.

Either way, she's not going to be running for the Presidential spot. I can't even imagine what a let down that is for her. I mean I have applied for positions before and when I haven't got them , yup it stings. Maybe there's a tear or two out of frustration but let's face it, when you're ready to accept the responsibility of being the President of a country and you spend every waking hour making that happen for 10 months....wow. To lose that....that has got to be crushing to the heart. I wonder if she feels that part of her has died. I can't even imagine...

And now we have B.O. and the old guy. :) I'm mean. They are both great candidates. Although I don't count myself as a Republican, I do like McCain. This is a guy who knows what true suffering is...to have that personal experience can only better your character and give you a unique perspective on life. Then we have Obama (anyone notice that his name is eerily close to Osama?). I remember my first exposure to this powerful scrawny looking guy. I watched his speech at the last DNC back in 2004. I had never heard of him before then. There he was moving an entire crowd of "rowdy" Democrats, speaking passionately from the heart and creating a deafening unity. I was impressed by his passion back in 2004 but concerned with how real his words were. He is one of the most energizing speakers I have heard however I am scared that when it comes to action, he might not be all there. The end of his speech and how we waved goodbye to the crowd was too cliche. How he grabbed his perfectly manicured wife's hand and held it up in the air victorious with the crowd...too cliche. I remember saying to myself at the time...he's creating a visual for his bid for the presidency and now 4 years forward here we are. Funny how things turn out, huh?

I have to admit that I haven't been following the race too closely. Since I can't vote I usually wait until about now to really focus in. The candidates are clear and now I can closely examine their viewpoints, their history of action, what they have stood up for - how they feel about poverty, health insurance, the environment, international politics and education. These are the key areas of growth for this country I live in and I can only hope and dream that we find the right President who makes these a priority.