Hilary says “Yes We Can”, but is it enough?

On Saturday, at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, Senator Hilary Clinton suspended her campaign in front of a crowd of her supporters (go to blog.hilaryclinton.com to see transcript and video of the speech). She was gracious while at the same time signaling the level of power she has in the Democratic Party. Her speech definitely shows how she is creating her own legacy, separate from former President Bill Clinton. The question is does she have the power to deliver the 18 million votes to Senator Barack Obama? Can she convince her supporters to come out in record numbers and vote for him in November?
Hilary Clinton’s supporters have their reasons for supporting her and voting against Barack Obama. One of the reasons is a belief that he lacks readiness to be commander-in-chief, an idea she floated during the course of her campaign and will be used as ammunition by Senator McCain’s campaign in the general election. Senator Clinton even stated that Senator McCain is more ready to lead than Senator Obama. She said it so much that it may be a hard thing to overcome in the minds of her supporters. Their lack of confidence in Barack Obama, compounded with whatever racial feelings they dealt with when confronted with the Jeremiah Wright distraction, may be too much ground for her to make up on his behalf. Americans proved in the 2004 Presidential election that even if they feel the country is going in the wrong direction, they will vote for four more years of misery which could get worse if they don’t have confidence that the other candidate can deliver on his promise to change America for the better.
It is time for a change in Washington because America and Americans have suffered enough and are in desperate need of relief. We can’t wait for government to give us relief and have to do our parts to take care of ourselves, our families, and our communities. That is the grass roots, bottom up change this country needs. However, we deserve a government that works for us, not against us and in the interest of a few. I hope as Senator Clinton moves forward in creating her legacy that part of it will not be that she had a hand in keeping real change from happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.