Letter to the Editor: Hatred Does Not Solve Problems

By any set of objective measures I know, Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for President we have seen for a hundred years or more! Obama said that she may be the best candidate ever. Who else among the candidates you can remember had her legislative experience and broad knowledge of international affairs, coupled with intimate knowledge of the decision-making process that goes on in the Executive branch of our government? Obama had legislative experience. Bill Clinton had executive experience. The first George Bush had foreign policy credentials. But none of them had this combination of skills, and none had exercised them in the kind of limelight Hillary Clinton has faced.

So what is all this chatter on television about Clinton being a “weak candidate?” Presumably it is because of negative feelings (“hatred” is the term the pundits peddle) for her. What is there to hate about Hillary Clinton? She pushed for a solution to the nation’s health insurance crisis in the ’90s when she was First Lady; it was a noble cause, but the time for a political solution had not arrived. She served New York as a Senator, working well with fellow Senators on behalf of her constituents, and was re-elected to that post. She served the country as Secretary of State for four years, traveling to every corner of the world and meeting with all kinds of leaders. Her signature phrase, “it takes a village,” applies not only to the process of raising our children well, but to her consultative style of decision-making. She has done more across the world to make the achievements and problems of women visible than anyone else I can name. Who is better able to lead us at this difficult moment in our history?

I submit that people say they “hate” Hillary because she has been the target of so many Republican investigations that they think there must be something she really did wrong. As the second Bush said, if you assert something often enough, people will believe it. Or they object to her tone of voice on the campaign trail (but I saw her in an Iowa school auditorium, and she was charming, and her speech last week from Springfield about our current racial divisions was wonderfully strong).

I challenge you to come up with something really worth hating in Clinton. If you are upset about her speaking fees, blame the conservatives on the Supreme Court for making it necessary to raise millions of dollars to run for President. If you are upset about her emails, get involved in the current struggle to find a workable balance between public safety and privacy in electronic communication.

While you are examining these feelings about Hillary, please consider resisting all the other hatreds that are also being peddled – for Mexicans, Muslims, African Americans, immigrants, women, and so on. Hating people or ideas or particular solutions will not solve any of the national or international problems we must address in the next four years.

Estella Lauter

Fish Creek, Wis.