Sophie B. Hawkins

Race Is Over': Polling Firm to Quit Asking Clinton Questions

National polling firm Rasmussen Reports announced on Friday that it
will stop polling people about the presidential campaign of Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton because her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, will
win the Democratic nomination."

No matter who your candidate- there is no question that the media has
treated Hillary Clinton with disdain and disrespect.  She is "Tanya
Harding him, she is like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction (this from
NPR), she cackles, she is castrating, she needs to be taken behind the
barn, she is in the drivers seat-and drives like a typical woman" and
so it went.  The DNC jumped if they thought there was any hint of race
baiting but sexism-Hey- Iron my shirt bitch--no problem.  This can
never happen to a women in public life again. The media has determined
how frightened we should be after 9/11 (yes, the NY Times included) and
who we should nominate- No doubt they love John McCain as well -we'll
see who "they" choose for our President-  Still not sure how women and
the men who love them could let this happen?  Is it just so endemic
that we don't even notice?  We better start paying attention.

Quitters Never WinBy Ellen R. Malcolm
Saturday, May 10, 2008; A15
When I was growing up in the 1960s, I wanted to play basketball. In
those days, the rules said girls could dribble only three steps and
then had to pass the ball. To make sure we didn’t overexert ourselves,
we weren’t allowed to cross the half-court line. It’s a wonder our fans
(our mothers) could stay awake when a typical game’s final score was
14-10.It’s remarkable that my generation of women entered the workforce
and began to compete in business, politics and the hurly-burly of life
outside the home. How did we ever learn to locate, much less channel,
our competitive instincts in a world that made us play half-court and
assumed that we would be content staying home to iron the shirts? It’s
a tremendous tribute to women of my generation that we sucked it up and
learned to compete in the toughest environments.Which brings us to
Hillary Clinton running for president. This brilliant woman believes
that she can compete for the most powerful office in the world. She
believes that she can do a better job than any of the men running to
lead our country through these challenging times. And millions of
Americans, women and men, believe that she is correct.Yet over and over
again the media and her opponents have claimed that she is defeated –
it’s over, she can’t win, she’s a loser. And over and over again — in
New Hampshire, on Super Tuesday, in Texas and Ohio, in Pennsylvania
last month, and in Indiana this week — female voters poured out of
their homes to cast their ballots for her. They know that women can
compete, and they want to make sure that women, especially this woman,
can win.It’s not surprising that low-income working women are the
cornerstone of Hillary’s success. Many of these women live on the edge
of disaster. A pink slip, a family member’s illness, a parent who can
no longer live alone, a car that won’t start or a mortgage rate that
goes up — all are threats that could devastate the family. And yet
these women do what women have done for ages. They put on a confident
face, feed their children breakfast and get them off to school. They
don’t quit. They suck it up and fight back against whatever life throws
their way.They see in Hillary Clinton a candidate who understands the
pressures they face. As they watch her tough it out against all odds,
refusing to quit and continuing to compete against whatever the media
and her opponents throw her way, they see a woman as tough and
resilient as they are. They clearly want her to win. Her victory, I
believe, is their victory.So here we are in the fourth quarter of the
nominating process and the game is too close to call. Once again, the
opponents and the media are calling for Hillary to quit. The first
woman ever to win a presidential primary is supposed to stop competing,
to curtsy and exit stage right.Why on earth should one candidate quit
before the contest is finished? Democrats need not be so fainthearted.
Both of the party’s remaining candidates have raised tens of millions
of dollars. Both have the respect of Democrats nationwide. Each has a
progressive agenda that stands in stark contrast to Sen. John McCain
and his adherence to Bush administration policies.So why are some
Democrats so afraid? We simply need to count every vote, let the
remaining states have their say and see the process through to its
conclusion.Hillary Clinton certainly has the right to compete till the
end. But I believe Hillary also has a responsibility to play the game
to its conclusion. For the women of my generation who learned to find
and channel their competitiveness, for the working women who never
falter in the face of pressure, for the younger women who still believe
women can do anything, Hillary is a champion. She’s shown us over and
over that winners never quit and that quitters never win. We’ll cheer
her on until the game is over. And we hope that when the final whistle
blows, we will have elected the first female president and the best
president our country has ever had.

The writer is founder and president
of Emily's List.

Hello people of the light! I have had a most inspirational experience in Portland and Eugene with Hillary supporters this weekend. In fact, as I recall a preacher talking about the feast of the Pentecost on my radio wake up call this morning, and it was a fine message, it didn’t hold a candle to Dr. Alice Palmer delivering her message about the greatness of Hillary’s struggle and achievements, hand in hand with her own, and all of ours’, at a school in Eugene.

Mother’s day has special significance for me this year, because of my committment to the most courageous mother in America, Hillary Clinton, and because I finally get that when mother’s can take care of their children and themselves, when they have the opportunities to be and become themselves and balance what they need to do in the world with what they need to do at home, they are the foundations of great communities and a strong, independent country.

Watch Chelsea’s mother day card about her mother, it made me cry. To think that Hillary Rodham was able to raise a child so deftly, so brilliantly, and the proof is in the pudding, while working tirelessly on behalf of families and getting lasting results, and arriving perhaps as the president of the United States, means that everything is possible. Only a woman could do this.

If you believe as I do that Hillary should be President not Vice president, that winners never quit and she should be encouraged to run to the convention and have every vote count, Florida included, she needs to hear from you. Howard Dean needs to hear from you. The people’s voice, not the pundits’, needs to be represented. Speaking yesterday were Ann Lewis, senior advisor to Hillary Clinton, Dr. Alice Palmer, former state Senator (IL) and teacher, Ellen Malcolm, president and founder of Emily’s list, The Honorable Betty Roberts, first woman Supreme Court Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court and Erica Alexander, Actress. I wish you could have heard them all, but check them out on your own and be lifted!

Sophie With Anne Lewis

Happy Mother’s Day!!!!!!!!!!! Sophie B.

Huck Canvassing

An Open Letter to the People of Indiana, North Carolina, W. Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana, Guam, Puerto Rico who still have the opportunity to take part in this primary season:

My name is Nick Passanante, I am a 21 yr old student at the University of Colorado in Boulder CO, and for the last 5months I have been traveling state to state, campus to campus and door to door supporting Hillary Clinton…telling people why I am absolutely positive she is the best candidate to take back the White House in November. And just last weekend, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Sophie in Doylestown PA while we were both there supporting Hillary—she asked if I would be interested in using this amazing website outreach tool to post a blog of my own. And so here I am…I promise I’ll only take a minute of your time.

All those that have yet to vote in this Primary season so far, let me say this: I envy you. You all have the unbelievable opportunity to throw this election in the favor of an experienced candidate that has real plans and policies for our future…and to prove that we as Democrats can recognize that this is an Election for the next American President…not an American Idol!

With Hillary we can be confident that there is action behind the rhetoric. We can be confident that healthcare for every person (including us poor college students!) will be guaranteed. We can be confident that the housing crisis will be remedied… and I think we all know that no once knows how to fix the economy better than a
Clinton!!

I hope you all were able to catch the debate on the Wednesday night before the PA primary. While many are criticizing ABC for, get this…MEDIA BIAS AGAINST OBAMA (!?) it was the first debate in my memory that the other candidate was pushed to answer direct and detailed questions on policy issues that should matter to all of us: Iraq, taxes, gun control, crime prevention, social security to name a few. Only Hillary though, was able to provide answers confidently, competently, and in a Presidential manner. Definitely check out some of the reviews and recaps of the debate if you weren’t able to catch it live:

ABC News’ Rick Klein – ‘
Clinton is back to the strong presence we saw early in the cycle.’ [ABC News Political Radar, 4/16/08]

NBC News’ Chuck Todd – Obama ‘did not have a good night.’ [MSNBC Post-Debate Analysis, 4/16/08]

NBC News’ Chuck Todd—Obama’s answer on Ayers and the flag ‘were simply weak.’ “His answer on Ayers and the flag question were simply weak; He seemed unprepared for them; Kinda surprising because he normally has a decent rant against “old politics” and yet “old politics” questions seemed to stump him.” [NBC First Read, 4/16/08]

The
Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder – [T]here’s no way Obama could have fared worse. [The
Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, 4/16/08]

New York Times’ Katharine Seeyle: Hillary’s ‘in her element as she goes into details.’ “She’s becoming expansive, seemingly in her element as she goes into details; Mr. Obama does not look as thrilled to be still standing there.” [New York Times, The Caucus, 4/16/08]

Finally I just wanted to share a couple stories from the campaign trail over the past week:

I am currently writing this part (a week ago now) on the airplane to
Pittsburgh, PA where I will be for the remainder of the PA primary season. While I was waiting for my connection in
Atlanta, I had the great fortune of being approached by 3 different random folks who noticed my Hillary apparel and flair. Did we win
Georgia? Because if we didn’t I sure would have been fooled! Each person wanted to express their support for Senator Clinton and make me aware that they knew who our “only option” was for the next leader of this country. One in particular told me a heartbreaking story of her mother, who was 74 years old and lived in the same house for the past 30years, just got her house foreclosed on because she couldn’t afford the mortgage payments anymore. She was only 6months away from paying off the entire thing and owning the property she had called home for over three decades. She told me that both she and her mother were supporting Hillary for that one reason: a couple months back they were ok with “hoping” for a better tomorrow, “hoping” for a return to an economy where everyday Americans could actually get through each day without worrying about whether they would survive the next…because they still had a home, still had money for food and doctors. But now they cant get by on just “hope” – they have an inherent need for a better tomorrow and only one person can make that a reality for them: Hillary Clinton.

So on that note, with the new revitalization of this campaign after our HUGE WIN in PA on Tuesday (!!), lets keep on fighting back, keep climbing the uphill battle, keep expressing our reasons and our logic and our spirit behind our support for Hillary Clinton and our goal will be realized.

This is not about a candidate that CAN do something to fix this country… a lot of people COULD do a lot of things to move this country in the right direction. No, this is an election about a candidate that WILL do those things! And there is only one candidate that has that capability:

With Hillary Clinton, YES WE WILL!

(Get Involved Today! Log onto www.HillaryClinton.com to volunteer, donate, or travel for the campaign in the remaining states! Or you can always feel free to contact me at CUHillBlazers@gmail.com)

I am so sick of Richardson and Dean trying to usurp the democratic party for their selfish needs. Richardson whines that the “party” needs to rally around a candidate, he and his entitled co workers (they are public servants) need to decide for us, the people, who should be the nominee.

This will alienate Americans who are tired of being patronized by the deaf democrats and misogynist media. The people want to and should decide. I don’t trust the current speaker, Nancy Pelosi, (but I’m happy she’s advertising her support with Newt Gingrich in support of the environment)I don’t want mambi pambi Richardson deciding, I don’t want offensive Howard Dean wagging his bitter finger at essentially US about rules NOT made in our favor.

Until every American who wants to vote can have their vote count, the primary isn’t over. Only then can Democratic people feel a FAIR choice has been made.

The pundits cannot speak for us, the polls are continually wrong, we the people don’t want ONE MORE ELECTION DECIDED FOR US.
These politicians seem to just want air time, or have they already been promised positions, perhaps they are publicly vying for favoritism, but I don’t want to be in a party that makes rules which disenfranchise the voters. Richardson makes me want to abandon the party, so does Dean, they don’t represent us, they are in their “illete” world of self servers.

Why don’t they ask us?

Again, the only thing I believe will make democrats sore about their candidate not winning is if every one of us doesn’t get to have our vote counted BEFORE the choice is made.

The true dividers of this party are the extraneous politicians behind the candidates, who mask their agenda with ingenuous pleads to end the negativity and hurry to the finish line.
Sophie B.

Sophie With Former President Bill Clinton Looking On

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Sophie Performing At A Dallas Fundraiser for Hillary
Photo by Lara Bierner

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Well I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love Pennsylvania! This visit had an extra special gift in that I was playing for a Hillary Clinton fundraiser at Puck Live in Doylestown, and I got to listen to the stories of William Jefferson Clinton in person. What an amazing duo Hillary and Bill Clinton are, they are both so different yet utterly complimentary, such complex mixtures on warmth, intellect and in the moment responsiveness. His speaking is as riveting as reading Mark Twain for the first time, and her handshake is as comforting as the feelings evoked by the song “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers.

The next morning at 7 am I went for a walk from the farm we stayed at to a country store about an hour away and all I could do in the cold, green and gold light was pray for Hillary to win. That family back in the White House, after all EVERYONE in this country has been through, will be our rebirth as a nation and a people. I know we don’t all feel the same way, but my experience and my instinct tell me Hillary is the true answer, and the media will distort the truth as they are wont to do, but to spend some time with Hillary and Bill, and to look into the good works they do in office and out, to hear what people say who have been positively effected by their commitment to “hard working Americans”, which we ALL are, is a life changing experience. I am not moved by the other candidates, I will admit, by my life has been changed by the generosity, vision and doggedness of Hillary and Bill Clinton.

In their faces, the Clinton family, I see America, all colors and races and possibilities. I see great Americans, as profoundly great as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, I see the future of a world that can work together, heal together, stand for positive change together, the way they do, as a family. I wish I could show everyone who doesn’t agree with me what I see and hear and feel, but, it’s a tough time and I’m not one to get in anybody’s face, and, more to the point, the candidates really do speak well for themselves. (Which is why Hillary will emerge triumphant!) I’m lucky that I can channel my belief into my music and performances, and the feedback I’ve gotten has been just this: there is so much love and passion in my support of Hillary Clinton, and I hope that can reverberate into this dialogue, this grueling and exposing process which we are all actively involved in. I also had fun climbing on the hood of the car and stapling posters up. And, I love Pennsylvania!

Your’s, Sophie

P.s. My friends asked me if Bill is really in support of Hillary, as the media would make one question, and my unequivocal response is that I stake my life on the truth and the fact that he wants nothing more than his wife’s total success, and that he knows she’ll be even a better president than he was. Maybe one of the best this country will ever have.

I just returned from Dallas where I was singing for Hillary Clinton, or rather, I brought my band and we performed at a fundraiser for her campaign. I had such a great time, mostly because I got to channel all my emotions for wanting Hillary to be our president through my songs and improvising, and that was giving the deepest way I can. I’d rip my throat out in soulful prayer for her.

There was a moment two weeks ago when I stood in my kitchen and said to my manager, “why am I flying my band around for free, I mean, can I really afford this?” and Gigi Gaston looked me dead in the eye and said, “because Hillary Clinton deserves it.” And there was never a truer word spoken. Hillary deserves it. All those people there in Dallas from all over the country, not the wealthiest or the most famous, but the most sincere and generous of spirit and mind. I met people who have been working tirelessly to save the Oceans for twenty years, cops, lawyers working for non profits for the environment, teachers, therapists for abused children and rape victims who say Hillary and Bill are the reason they are abl to treat and help these low income victims, nurses, Mexican American hotel workers who have built a life here and speak flawless English, farm workers, factory workers, bar tenders, coffee shop owners, they were all there passionately supporting Hillary Clinton.
The moment we boarded the plane to Dallas I felt the lightness of faith, the clarity of acceptance that this person could and probably would win Ohio and Texas. Away from the pounding media and the rage of the “other” supporters, snuggling up with the Wall Street Journal in my tiny seat, I began to witness the unveiling.

When I saw Hillary Tuesday morning at the best Mexican restaurant in Dallas I said, “I can’t wait ‘til you win tonight.” She smiled graciously but, Gigi noticed, perhaps not quite believingly. That’s probably why I said it again, “I can’t wait ‘til you win tonight!” Hillary has the warmest hands and the brightest eyes, and she seems more comfortable at a Mexican restaurant where they pour coffee into ‘tweety’ mugs from yard sales surrounded with everyday folk than in all the glitz and glam which she does pursue.

Hillary is as real as the day is long, she is the salt of the earth, and that’s why she won Texas and Ohio. Hillary is not long fingered and lofty, she’s a sturdy, tough worker with a heart of pure gold and a mind a sharp as a scythe. You can feel she’s the one you go to for advice-on anything. Gigi Gaston told Hillary about her 94-year-old mother, Teddy, who has been a republican, all her life but switched her party this year to vote for Hillary Clinton. “Hillary gives me strength,” Gigi’s mother said, (and by the way, she was hit by a car two years ago and has survived a broken neck…with no health insurance
at 92 years old in UCLA, we couldn’t even get her into a room for days, she was in the hallway as the doctors waited for her to die. She didn’t die, she’s fully recovered, but we had to raise hell, drop names and basically declare war to get her taken care of!) and so Hillary signed a t-shirt for Teddy of her own accord declaring, “it’s never too late to change a republican!”

The point of all of this is that Hillary has grass roots support and it’s growing. I feel it’s us grass rooters who are going to push her over the top. In California she won even with Oprah and the old Kennedy and Kerry and Schwartzneger endorsing the other one, in Massachusetts the same, and in Texas and Ohio he’s been running commercials ten to one. He has all these stars and famous recording artists and she just has people, good, hard working people. Like us. Taking off work, going out on a line even when we can’t afford it because Hillary deserves it. — Sophie B. Hawkins

Why I rewrote “DAMN I WISH I WAS YOUR LOVER” INTO “DAMN WE WISH YOU WERE PRESIDENT”, for Hillary Rodham Clinton, from Sophie B. Hawkins 
 

If I were going to climb Mount Everest, I would want a very experienced Sherpa as my guide. I would want the person who’d done it alot, in all kinds of weather, who knew the ropes, the crevices, the shortcuts, the one who’d made alot of mistakes and learned from them. If a good looking, sweet talking Sherpa said he had a way to get up to the top and that way was, because he’d only been a sherpa for two years, full of hope and change and mystery, I’d freak out. I’d say, “I’m not stoned, and my greatest hope right now is for a Sherpa with chops! Thirty five years worth of hard earned know how.” This is why I want Hillary Clinton for President. Hillary can guide this country up Mount Everest, which is how hard it’s going to be to come through the other side of all the messes we’re in, Nationally and globally. Hillary Clinton’s achievements are staggering, and they come from her heart. She has initiated so much positive change for families, children, victims of crime, the environment, dialogue between adversarial countries, and on and on in her daily struggle for the forward movement of America and the working people of this nation, that it can’t be swept under the rug by an arrogant, bloated, and in many ways, disconnected media. Damn, I wish you were president.
 
 

Hillary Clinton has hope as much or more than anyone I’ve ever witnessed, how else could she rise above the relentless and vicious attacks and what’s worse, the smug denial of her success as a politician and human being by MSNBC and CNN (except for Lou Dobbs who gives her credit where credit’s due.) In fact, it’s the conservative channels, which tell a clearer story of the democratic race, which represent her wins and support more fairly, why is that? Why is Bill O’Reilly more respectful of Hillary Rodham Clinton than some of the “liberal” and “progressive” channels and blogs? I, Sophie B. Hawkins, would watch Fox over MSNBC now. Not that I agree with everything they espouse, but they are actually less predictable!

 
 
Women are strange. I hear them talk, how could she not have left him, blah blah blah, and yet they’d get hitched to a man they know nothing about rather than consider a brilliant woman who’s earned every medal and battle scar, who’s raised a balanced, healthy and generous child, who’s just like them, really, only with the credentials to be president of the United States. And for the record, I wouldn’t have left Bill Clinton, I wouldn’t leave either one of them, and neither could do better as far as an equal. Bill and Hillary are somewhat like our Theodore and Eleanor Roosevelt, and that beats any Kennedy analogy for me. Hillary Clinton for President!

 
 
Listen, we really don’t know what’s headed for this country in terms of terrorism, a call on a debt, weather madness from global warming, the list of perils is great, and while it’s delightful that Barack Obama made speeches against the war in Iraq, the truth is, he didn’t cast a vote on it and we don’t know how it’s going to turn out. We are at war on so many levels, not the least of which is with ourselves. Working together will bring us together, we don’t need to wait for Washington to help each other and change our country from the ground up. We have the power to buy American made products, to use alternative fuels, to conserve, to recycle, bring our own bags to the grocery store, hire Americans, car pool, buy locally grown produce, build green structures, educate each other, battle corporate greed, support the NRDC, the Union For Concerned Scientist, the Ocean Conservancy, Wilderness Society and all the rest. As Gandhi said, be the change, be your change, don’t put your power in someone who pretends he’s going do it for you. One last thing for now, a person I work with, a black man who is a Hillary Clinton supporter, said when he heard, “Damn we wish you president”, “the Obama people are so mean!” I’ve experienced this, too, as have other people I’ve talked with. Why is that? Have you ever been around people who are joining a cult? They become very judgmental and fanatical, they believe what they believe blindly, and everyone else is a threat to their new worldview, which seems fragile and unsubstantial from the outside. I feel I’ve seen this before, read about it in a history book…maybe it was even as recent as the Christian Right who got George W. Bush elected the first time. Remember all those kids campaigning door to door, remember the fanaticism, remember Karl Rove and all that innocent hope for change?

Hello friends. Happy New Year. It’s been awhile and allot has gone on for me. The most fun and challenging has been writing for the musical, recording the songs, working with Baritones and Basses, a Christmas party, Breakfast At Tiffany’s for New Year’s Eve, and listening to the presidential candidates. And of course my art class, which is a technique class, which I love not only for the kids who show up and make me laugh and listen, but for the tools I’m developing to express myself more completely, and hopefully more compellingly. Although it’s an eerie transition from being totally unconscious about painting to figuring things out, I wish my mind could have remained an unstudied sea, but I saw things I couldn’t paint, and I fell in love with art I couldn’t break down, so, like a lover, I can’t avoid the experience and grow, I have to master aspects of the relationship to get to a new level.

I’m loading in footage for a video of one of the new songs, not for the musical but for the next release of Sophie Songs, and I’ll at least be able to post that soon, it wont be a finished recording of the song, but a demo because I miss the momentum of putting my stuff out. I have to be patient, the world is such that I need more avenues to be creative on, I can’t stay on the same street and have the universe. This is good because it causes angst and pushes me to reach further and be stronger and open up ever more. I hope you’ll understand that instead of just making a record and touring at this time I am making more irons to put in the fire, I believe by late Spring I’ll be able to release something just personal, and perhaps the musical will be well on it’s way by then, too. And, I have to say; they feed each other, because the musical is an exploration of a totally new country, which makes coming home to my old country even more delicious.

I’ve been watching Hillary, and I haven’t written about her before because, although I now know I’m voting for her, I hadn’t agreed with one of her policies and I wanted to keep my politics to myself. I can’t anymore. She is the most incredible human
being, I have decided. Hillary has dignity, she has more brains than any of her opponents, and in fact they constantly steal her ideas. She is clear, precise, practical and all with a vivid and inviting picture of the future in mind. The press, in my opinion, is trying to destroy her. But they can’t, because her competency, her commitment, her knowledge of the political spectrum and her working experience of national and global relationships keeps shining through. Forget that she’s a woman, or rejoice in it, because as a public servant her record stands alone as a worthy resume to be President of the United States. Her answers in the debate said it all last night.

Hillary did vet some of they other candidates’ inconsistencies and untruths, yet they didn’t respond to those. Hillary has been exposed and bashed for term after term and performed well, unbelievably well, and she’s even been betrayed by the closest people to her and still put her duty first. What human being on earth could rise above the amount of dung slung at her, and yet she goes out there like the Patriots’ quarter back again and again, she is a winner, a real winner. Al Gore was finally exposed, and look how great he is. He is experienced. He’s been in the Clinton camp; he would’ve been a great candidate, too. Knowing your President is good, learning from mistakes is excellent, betting on a wing and a prayer is not.

I do trust that Hillary can walk the treacherous path that leads us to the tentative stability which makes us feel safe and prosperous. She can bring our dollar back, listen to her speak on the economy. Hillary can deal with those world leaders who despise us, she isn’t cocky, she HAS been there, and she understands the psyche of men who love power without having to wink and slap them on the back. Did you notice how centered she was when the debate ended last night, she didn’t run over to the moderator or ingratiate herself to the other candidates, as they all did, but rather she let them come to her. Shetruly is set apart in quality and character.

I don’t believe Americans will unite on most issues, we all have different stakes, we are at different stages of our life and consciousness, I don’t want someone else’s hopes and dreams, I want a country who’s identity comes from the Constitution, and who’s culture is rooted in the romantic ideal of an imaginative and discontent working class. We have allowed our politicians to sell our country to the corporate minority, to special interests, which have no borders, by the way, and no inspirational speech will wrestle it back into our hands. We don’t even know who our “hands” is anymore. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Didn’t you hear how Hillary was the only candidate to specifically talk about the life of the soldiers returning, the interpreters and other Iraqis who helped us; she wasn’t in some “after the war dreamland”. She was the woman who knows she’s going to have to arrange for the passage of, clean up after and feed and clothe the people coming back into her household. She asks the questions, her language is that of a person prodding and grappling with the system on a daily basis. Oh, but America wants a “rock star” to get in there and bluster and look cool. Hillary brought every question home last night, she got the candidates on track, and they asked her almost every question first so the others could have the advantage, and yet they didn’t. Did you hear how they answered on the Pakistan question? Someone sounded as “inexperienced” as George W. And then Hillary gave the gory details and a real scenario, which they all then incorporate into their own answers. She’s twice as brilliant, thousands of times more experienced, has worked so much harder under so much more scrutiny than the other candidates will ever endure, and yet she’s running strong and behaving like a world leader. I do actually have a hope, a dream: that Hillary Clinton is the next President of the United States.

Bye for now, Sophie.

p.s. I’ve been feeling that hope is something real when it comes from within, and if someone can be responsible for the direction of their life and the consequences of their actions, then having hope is a great benefit, and just. But, if people are relying on hope from without, like a high or false promise, and feel powerless in their life or system, then anger will set it, discontent, resentment, and ultimately a more failed system.

I feel people know Hillary and are afraid of the truths she presents, and call her a sour puss when she’s trying to explain an often harsh reality that we must contend with sooner rather than later. On the other hand, is a candidate no one knows and upon whom most people are projecting, because he’s vague, and, like an actor, we project the feelings and dreams we can’t live out in our daily lives, onto him. What if the grass isn’t greener, what if steady improvement works better than…than….what? What is being offered? How? I just don’t want a country that is already moving in a mindless, superficial direction to lose it’s ability to be
critical because once again we’ve “hoped for the best”