The USA Poll this Monday morning, the first day of the Democratic Convention in Denver, says that "Clinton Backers are restless," and that only 47 % are "solidly" behind Obama.
Obviously, we can't speak for the accuracy of any poll but there is no question that, at this convention, we are going through a reconciliation of powerful political forces in the democratic party, dredging up those unresolved issues that our nation has yet to resolve, and that our democratic party is now addressing.
In the end, I believe we are going to get there and come out united.
But let me tell you why.
The most important reason is because Senator Hillary Clinton herself, at the vortex of this issue, does believe it is in the best interest of the party and the nation.
Before we even got to Denver, Hillary Clinton invited all her elected delegates to participate in a conference call to discuss the upcoming convention.
She encouraged one and all to work for Senator Barack Obama because "he stands for the things we worked so hard to achieve."
Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, from 10 AM - Noon, at the Women's Caucus, both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama will appear together to rally her supporters and women generally to the candidacy of Barack Obama.
Many of those issues that we care about as Hillary delegates have been made a part of the party platform and shall be a centerpiece of the fall general election campaign. This is about reconciliation and unity.
When Hillary speaks at the convention on Tuesday evening on the anniversary of the constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote, she shall underscore the critical participation of women in our nation's government and how we have again caused to crack that glass ceiling that compromises participation for women.
There are some who think the democratic convention is a backdrop to some humdrum political pageant.
That's just not right. The convention has served as a deadline to get things done. Now we are participating at the convention itself in a public ritual, where the players cannot hide, and are struggling to resolve how we go forward united.
Hillary's name will be placed in nomination on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center, and her name should placed in nomination, because it shows that her effort and her supporters are taken seriously, welcome to participate as full partners in the process, and necessary allies in the effort to re-build and restore America in Fall campaign.
The ties that bind Hillary and Obama together, and therefore their supporters, is about nothing less than equal rights before the law without regard to sex or race or any other incident of birth or station in life.
When the shifting sands of policy confound our belief in a political system or its candidates, we have to consider the mid-point of the shifts and decide if these views, by vector, trend and emphasis, truly reflect our own vision of America.
Are we joined as one in our support to end this wrong-headed war in Iraq, and having peace? I believe the answer is yes.
Are we seeking to restore sanity to a damaged blood-let economy and are we about assuring health care and jobs and retirement security to a nervous nation? I believe the answer is yes.
Finally, how else may we resolve any reservations about who should be the nominee if the nominee we preferred as leader, Senator Hillary Clinton, tells us, and does so enthusiastically, that we, each of us, should support Senator Barack Obama?
Are we not bound to honor Hillary's lead - if we are "her delegates"?
Nothing worthy of our time and effort is easy.
Our ambition to join political forces at this convention may yet be daunting.
It is, however, a worthy ambition to unite our party to secure this nation's future.
J. Flannery
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As I drove home today, I listened attentively to a replay on C-Span Radio of this a.m.'s press conference with Senator Hillary Clinton. She said that she intended to release her delegates, and that they were free to vote for whomever they wanted. She said that she realized that some delegates would vote for her because they felt committed to the people they were representing, but that she herself would cast her vote for Senator Obama. She also made it clear that her focus was to get a Democratic President elected.
As a Clinton supporter, I feel that if Hillary can release you from your obligations to her, I can certainly be gracious enough to release you from your obligations to me. I urge you to focus on bringing Unity to the Democratic Party. Furthermore, as a woman, I urge you to consider that electing an Obama-Biden ticket will ensure the continuing progress of women's issues, such as equal pay, and a woman's right to choose.
The McCain campaign is targeting us, Clinton supporters, and especially you, Clinton delegates, as the Democratic Party's vulnerable spot. They want to make you angry, so that they can "divide and conquer." I urge you not to let this happen. A McCain presidency, even if only for one term, will be a major setback for the women's movement, and allow the opportunity for more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court. It will also be an administration diametrically opposed to the views of Hillary Clinton, as well as a continuation of the pro-wealth leadership and the shrinking of the middle class we have seen for the last eight years.
Thank you in advance for working to bring Unity to the Democratic Party and to elect Barack Obama as our next President.
Ted Kennedy is lucky that he did not do jail time for swimming away from Mary Jo Kopechne as she was gasping for air. "Heroic heart"? Wonder if her family would agree. I'm saddened that he has cancer, but ironically, if we had socialized medicine in this country, as he fought for, Ted would still be waiting for a Cat scan. (10 week waiting time for Cat scans in Canada). Fortunately, within 2 days he was diagnosed and treated at Duke. Camelot died with JFK..sorry.
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