Hillary Clinton

Let me re-phrase that. I believe hillary is the best choice of a human to be the leader of the United States. Socialist? I do not believe Hillary is a Socialist or running under that political platform, however I would not see that as necessarily a bad thing. Socialism- noun; the belief or theory that a country's wealth should belong to the people as a whole, not to private owners. I agree with you that Hillary should not be voted for just because of her gender, just as I believe "party voting - DEM/REP" is backwards. I do however believe that if we are to be a progressive nation, we need to be progressive. The old boys club mentality is, well, just that... old. I really don't see what there is not to like about Hill as the front runner in the upcoming election.

I understood the whole "it takes a village" thing to mean your children will naturally look to other members the community - teachers, extended family, etc - as role models. So, in that sense we all have a responsibility for providing the right environment for our children. They learn from more than just their parents. Hillary health program is just a copy, more or less, of Obama's, and other Dems. But they don't gget the same level of hatred. Actually, I believe Bill showed himself open to a lot of compromise, and wasn't such an out and out socialist. He was largely responsible for welfare reform that tied benefits to job retraining and commitments to self help and responsibility. And the government was more fiscally responsible under his administration (lower taxes under the Bush administration are somewhat offset by the dollar being worth less). Finally, I don't believe the addition of help for the poor necessarily encroaches on the freedom of others, other than potentially higher taxes. And for most taxes probably won't be higher. I don't have a problem with the richest being taxed heavier. They haven't truly earned the right to live in such luxury while others starve, not in the sense of being better people or working harder. They've had more opportunities, often born into wealth. And we all suffer from poverty in terms of crime, disease, and other social instability. I don't mean to be confrontational, but just trying to say it as I see it.

I very much agree with you on this bravenewworld. As for Hillary's "Village" approach Clinton calls for "a consensus of values and a common vision of what we can do today, individually and collectively, to build strong values and communities." I believe she displays a collective, conscious and global mentality, which is greatly needed. We are all part of the whole.

NAFTA seemed reasonable to me at the time, and I'm still not sure one way or the other. I think the Starr investigation was a fiasco and a waste of tax payers money. The Repubs definitely were out to get Bill any way they could. Sure, he wasnt' perfect, but then no politician is. He just did a lot more good than most, and I prefer to focus on all the good than the bad. I find him a very likable, intelligent person, with a heart in the right place according to my value system.

Well, at least you, er, dislike them for the right reasons. :) It's true that anyone who dislikes the Clintons will find good reasons to so. But from conservative radio shows, to Fox news, to books from nitwits like Ann Coulter, the right wing press has demonized them beyond all proportion. It just seems largely partisan politics to me. Sad, because I don't think it does any good for the country and has led to a divisiveness that prevents reasonable dialog on critical issues.

Agreed. They're as bad as each other. Possibly it's the result of lobbying and campaign finance problems that put so much money at stake in representing special interests. It also seems to reflect the general population, which has also been polarized. It's all about your side winning without giving the other party's ideas any due consideration. And the media feeds off this and exacerbates it to boost ratings and sales. Quite a mess really. I thought it was kinda cool to see Bill and George senior working together on the Tsunami relief. I know there's a little at stake once they are out of politics. But it set an example of burying the hatchet. There should be no place for petty animosity when there are such big problems to tackle.

You have made some good observations. Hillary seldom shows her true self to the public. Everything from clothes and hair to smiles, cackles and words are carefully planned for the political need of the momemnt. That is why she changes positions on topics so often. djbtol