Why I support Hillary Clinton.

The first critical quality I perceive in Hillary Clinton is a problem-solving approach, and let tell you something very important about Hillary that plays into that. Long before Hillary was a candidate, she was a campaign manager, running Bill’s first run for Arkansas office, and taking a lead role in every one of his campaigns after that. And she has played that role with the very best.

From my own experience as a campaign manager, I know that candidates and elected officials are utterly dependent on these people. It goes beyond that of a CEO and her aides, or a military general and his staff. The two types of thinking necessary to be a candidate, and a campaign manager, are light-years apart. And all the little details, the arduous headaches, and brass tacks, are the domain of the campaign manager and the chief of staff. How many volunteers can stuff three thousand envelopes? How many extra flu vaccines will be needed if a domestic supplier goes out of business? What, really, is the difference between an aluminum tube for a nuclear centrifuge, and an aluminum tube for heating and air conditioning?

It would be nice if more campaign managers and chiefs of staff would get over their fear of public presentation, and run for office. Their attention to detail and personal discipline are greatly needed. I always keep my eye out for this sort of candidate. It is rare to see someone cross the divide, but a few do.

Hillary Clinton is one of these. And it shows in her campaign. On that, we can all agree. It is no coincidence that so many said Hillary ran a tight campaign, a disciplined campaign, a “perfect” campaign. That is her background shining through, and her Administration will be the same. To be sure, she has her weaknesses. But she has crossed the divide from behind-the-scenes manager to candidate, and that speaks volumes. She is no George Bush. She is disciplined, she is dedicated, and no task is too small. She will get things done. On that, you can rely.

That is what I mean by Hillary’s problem-solving approach. Bill Clinton, George Bush, and most other major politicians are all talkers and “leaders”. None of them are do-ers. Hillary is a do-er, and that is a great quality in a real leader.

As to the second quality, willingness to learn, let me begin by offering a statement about Hillary that seems to demarcate how I view Hillary from the way many others do.

Hillary Clinton is a liberal, through and through. She is an idealist. She has nothing but the highest standards for this country and this world. In other words, Hillary is still exactly the same woman she was in Yale, when she volunteered for the poor, dreamed of changing the world, and met Bill. She is also the same woman who, as First Lady, dreamed up a bold solution for national health care and tried to make it reality.

Obviously, there is a disconnect between that Hillary, and the one who campaigns today. I don’t think a lot of people look at this in the right way. They seem to think Hillary got cynical, or power-hungry, or they just don’t think about it at all. I believe what happened is that Hillary put into action a quality that is rare in a mature adult: she learned.

I have worked with a lot of people in politics, and I do not see this quality often. We all want to know everything, already, yesterday, so that we can be right today and not have to think about it. If we lose, we just get bitter and move on, because it’s easier than re-evaluating who we are and how we operate.

I think that’s why so many don’t give Hillary credit for her practicality. They attribute it to cynicism, because it’s hard to think that she actually re-evaluated her methods and found a better way of getting things done. Who does that?

I believe that Hillary did that. I believe that she is a real knight in shining armour, someone who has brought strong ideals to the very top of the political game. Don’t be surprised – do not be surprised – if she does not look idealistic anymore. What you see is expert maneuvering. The strongest power centers in the world do not change when you call them names, and they do not change when you tell them that we all must work together. They change when they are forced to change. There is nothing idealistic about it. Change happens when you have the game plan, the strategy, the strength, the numbers, the weapons, and the determination to use them all. Everything else is a distraction, and it serves the powers that be.

And speaking of Hillary’s competition, I will say one thing about Barack Obama:

I am not seeking to be inspired.

I value Barack’s oratorical charisma only to the extent that it may help him lead and control our body politic, and oratory is less effective than brute strength. Lyndon Johnson got a lot more done that Hubert Humphrey.

But, as we all know, it’s not just how much you get done. It’s how much of the right jobs you get done. Both skills are required: the values to pick the right priorities, and the guts to push them through.

That is why I will vote for Hillary Clinton, tomorrow and in November.

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Update: In response to the comment below, I neglected not mentioning Hillary’s voting record. I was not thrilled with her Iraq vote (nor Kerry’s or Edwards’). I was also disappointed with her Iran vote (though it was better than Obama’s duck), and I did not agree with the explanation I heard her offer in a debate. I’m not a worshipper, but I believe everything I said above and I think she would be a good and potentially great President.