Worked an event for Hillary and Bill Clinton last night here in Davenport. I was responsible for seating people in the ADA section so that physically-challenged folks could hear, and at least partially, see this famous couple. And, I’ll be on the phones all weekend and on Monday right up until caucus time to try and get out the vote.
Bill was his usual charming, winsome self describing falling in love with Hillary, the amazing accomplishments she had as a young lawyer, working for the Children’s Defense Fund and to combat segregationist academies throughout the south, long before she ever became First Lady, a Senator from New York, or Secretary of State. He said, “She makes everything she touches better.”
Of course, if you dislike and distrust Hillary Clinton, you will continue to believe that her e-mails reveal that she was, perhaps, a spy releasing classified information to damage the United States. And, that she was personally responsible for the tragic death of Ambassador Chris Stevens (and the others) in Benghazi. Some protesters across the street from our venue obviously believe that as they lowered a banner reading, “Hillary Lied, Americans Died.” And, you will continue to believe that she is hopelessly compromised by her Wall Street donations.
If you like and trust Hillary Clinton (as I do) you will continue to believe that, however, mistaken she was to use a private e-mail server while Secretary of State, virtually all of the microscopic percentage now marked “classified” were done so long after she sent them (hindsight being 20/20) and that in any case no real harm was done. You can bet she learned from that experience. It will not happen again!
And, I believe that her personal culpability in Benghazi consisted primarily in being Secretary of State while the kind of tragic event occurred which has happened before, and will happen again, in the dangerous world of international diplomacy. Finally, I believe her when she says she will go after Wall Street excesses using existing laws (and working for new ones, if necessary) but be realistic to know that not all “Wall Street bankers” are either billionaires or thieves and that the stock market, for better or worse, is an integral part of the U.S. (and world) economy and that it is likely best for a candidate for President not alienate the entire system before even taking office. If you want to get things done and not just posture.
As he introduced her last night, Bill Clinton said that Hillary’s values were formed in that “little Methodist church” she attended and that she was motivated in part by the famous quote often ascribed to Methodist founder, John Wesley, about “doing as much good as you can, for as many people as you can, for as long as you can.” I believe that to be her motivation and her life story makes that clear, if people only knew it in its entirety. That’s why I support her.
That We All May Be One 
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