Clinton in New Hampshire

Since writing yesterday's post I saw a picture of a Hillary stump speech where some idiot stood with a sign that said, "Iron my shirt."

Then I watched the primary results. Up until the polls closed there was an endless stream of talking heads speculating on the longevity of Hillary Clinton's campaign and all but anointing Barak Obama.

Then the election process kicked in, and from the very beginning Clinton took the lead. I'm not sure if there was ever a point where Obama was the leader. Watching the pundits backpedal was dizzying.

And I couldn't be happier.

Understand, I do not relish the prospect of a Clinton presidency. Edwards is my candidate, but I'm comfortable with Obama.

But I find I have to ask myself if my preference isn't based upon latent sexist views. Do I oppose a Clinton presidency just because she's a woman? I don't believe so. There was a point when Bill Clinton first ran for president when I went on record saying that I wished I could have voted for her. I think it might have been at the first convention and she either gave an interview or campaign speech. Then again when the Whitewater scandal broke and Hillary went into a room that was empty, except for a chair, and sat down in front of an army of reporters and said, "I'll sit here until the last question is asked and answered." And I actually admired her famous "baking cookies" comment. I supported her bid to reform health care.

And then that Hillary went away. As if broken by defeat she took on a public persona more appropriate to Jackie Kennedy than Eleanor Roosevelt, and throughout her husband's presidency took on a very subordinate role. I assumed that was a pose, an attempt to keep a low profile in order not to make unnecessary waves for a president beleaguered by a right-wing conspiracy.

It was this switch in public persona that makes her emotions of the other day newsworthy.

There was a final glimpse of the Hillary Clinton I admired when she stood by her family during the Monica Lewinsky nightmare.

Then she ran for the senate in New York, a state where she had never lived, and my feelings began to change. It was at that moment that she seemed to adopt the mantle of inevitability. It was then that there was serious speculation that she would make her own bid for the White House, and it was then that her political maneuvering became apparent.

No doubt a politican cannot survive without playing the game of politics. Appearing to be above the fray and a Washington outsider has long been the desired political persona. But Clinton has not been above the fray for many, many years -- if she ever was. Her political maneuvers have become shop-worn tricks. The Clinton triangulation may have been necessary when the Silent Majority had real power, when the Republicans were a force to be reckoned with. The parsing of linking verbs and positive spin that is outright fiction -- all in the name of a greater good -- is tired. A new day is here, and it turns out that the country is saying that not only is winning important, but so is how you play the game.

The pundits were saying last night that Clinton's tears came at the same time there was a distinct change in tactics in her campaign. Instead of sealing herself in a bubble of inevitability, making stump speeches, Hillary took questions from the gathering crowds. And while planted questions are a staple in American politics, the pundits believed that these were real. In the last few days, it seems, there was a glimpse of the old Hillary.

Her campaign must be confused. By all predictions, including their own, she was to have lost New Hampshire. I could not be more thrilled that she's still standing. I don't want her in the White House, but I do want her in the race. I think this country needs a good, old-fashioned, barn-burning election and I think Hillary Clinton is capable of making that happen.

And if she is to become the next Democratic candidate, I will vote for her over any Republican currently running. My comfort with that vote, however, depends on which Hillary Clinton faces the world today.