Let's cut Hilary some slack

Hilary Clinton is not my favorite politician - and as my moniker suggests, I do not plan on voting for her in the primary. I'll cover on a later post several significant troubling issues that Hilary has not put to rest, but let me say right now:

Hilary is taking a bum wrap from many in the Democratic party that oppose the Iraq war. Hmmm...Democratic party and oppose the war might be a redundant statement.

For the last couple of days, campaign coverage of Hilary has consistently led off with an evidently earnest questioner at one of her rallies asking, "Will you now, once and for all, specifically and without equivocation, apologize for your vote to approve giving the President the authority to wage war in Iraq?"

Hilary's answer has been basically, "Why focus on what already happened? The problem is how the President abused that authority, and in any case, I will pledge to you to start bringing the troops back home as soon as I am President." I think that's a great answer. Full of truth and reason. Somewhat exasperated, she even changed her answer recently to say, "If finding someone who didn't vote for the war is your sole reason for voting for a candidate, then you need to find someone else to vote for." Hooray and well said!

Over and over we see how wrongheaded it is to demand/expect purity in thought with regard to a complex issue. Extremism in other words. Democrats are not immune from this phenomena. In fact, it's interesting to note how some Democrats who preach diversity...diversity in thought...in race...in culture...in opinion...are somehow unable to tolerate a person who thinks differently than they do. Maybe they are a bit more like the Republicans they hate than they would ever admit.

Hilary cast a vote that she thought was the best decision at the time. Everyone thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Everyone agrees he was an evil tyrant. Most, (perhaps naively) thought "W" wouldn't be as obsessed with "winning" the war as he has proven to be.

If Hilary can continue to stand up to these critics with the forcefulness she has displayed so far...I might just give her a second look.