Open letter to Hillary

By Carl

Dear Senator,

Look, I'm just a shlub with a blog, but I've been watching elections in America for almost fifty years and have been a Democratic as long. My first stint as a campaign volunteer was in fifth grade during the Humphrey-Nixon election of 1968, standing on a street corner with a lemonade stand, not easy to do when you're in New York City.

I would like very much for you to win. I don't believe in change for change's sake, although that seems to be trendy right now. If you're going to change the direction of the country, you really ought to know where you're taking us.

Neither of your main rivals have voiced anything but platitudes regarding this, while voting in the opposite direction to their glorious speeches.

America has, to crib from Bill Moyers, become morbidly obese, intellectually speaking. We're dumb enough and lazy enough to fall for the same style crap George W. Bush foisted upon us, eight years ago, simply because the packaging is more palatable.

(Matt Lauer asked you this morning if you were saying what I just said, and while you weren't saying this, I just did).

I'd like to throw out here a piece of campaign advice. Again, I'm just a shlub with a blog, but I'm a damned intelligent shlub, running a damn fine blog (if I say so myself), who could probably take over your campaign in less time than it takes me to complete typing this sentence because the solution is so bloody obvious, I'm amazed you haven't taken it up.

Stop engaging Senators Obama and Edwards. Start taking on the President again.

Give us solutions to the massive problems he's created over the past eight years. Stop lowering yourself to debate the nuances of your votes in the Senate with these shmucks. If they had half your record, they'd be running away with the nomination.

Instead of dwelling on the past (which is precisely the gambit they watn you to play) look forward. Tell us, "I'm going to fix the problems in my first term, and when I'm re-elected, I'm going to finish building that bridge to the 21st Century."

And then tell us precisely how. Show us how George Bush has failed in so many areas that we aren't even aware of, beyond the economy and the Iraq invasion, to include the environment, literacy and education, health care (you're big on this, but you're still comparing yourself to Obama. Stop!), homeland security (we still don't have secure ports and we still don't have secure airports, and Bush is paying lip service to these in his most recent budgets).

Screw the internecine fighting! Your fight is with Bush. You can still win this nomination, but you have to start acting like the nomination is more important than how some wannabe Jesse Jackson or Bill Clinton with darker hair perverts your good name. They aren't the vast right wing conspiracy and you're already in the race.

Go for it, girl!

(crossposted to Simply Left Behind)