Mary Lyon, From The Left --
(World News Trust) -- I woke up one morning feeling like I'd awakened in a different country. Sort of. Barack Obama's passing the numerical finish line was still not quite the end of the Democratic primary season. "She" had yet to concede. It should have been All-Obama-All-the-Time, but it wasn't. Very well then. He's handled this turn of events as a gentleman, which seems to be his style. This Obama supporter deeply appreciates his behavior and thinks he's correct. It's like a lovely parting gift.
Barack Obama's victory on the first Tuesday in June, 2008, has many
substantial and credible claims to standing alone in the spotlight. It
was a landmark for the ages. It was historic. It was revolutionary, and
revelatory about ourselves -- how his elevation lifts us farther up and
out of the pit of racism. Perhaps, the calendar and the last
seven-and-a-half monstrous years notwithstanding, it marks the real
kickoff of a new American millennium. Yes, this is one for the books --
a singular, and singularly earth-shattering event.
But it wasn't just any ol' middle-aged/older white guy he beat. We
mustn't forget that Obama's toughest opponent was also a landmark and
also historic. We've had not one, but two, parallel
glass-ceiling-breakers throughout the entire campaign. The leap Barack
Obama took for people of color Hillary Clinton took for women. Her
achievement, going the distance as she did, should not be discounted,
and stands on equal footing with his. No leader of either group had
ever climbed this high. But each of these extraordinary people did just
that -- at the same time.
Why did we get not one but two at once? Was this another twist on "buy
one, get one free"? Is the need in our country so ridiculously
overwhelming that "when we said we wanted change, WE WEREN'T
KIDDING!!!"? Are we that sick of George W. Bush & Partners., LLC?
That last one, I believe, is a big part of it. I think it explains why
this campaign season started more than a year ago, and we're still
months away from the general election. Yes, we're that fed up. It's
almost as though much of America seems determined to push itself ahead
-- almost forcibly. Not only have we as Democrats been actively
searching for Bush's replacement for a record length of time, but our
two finalists stood farther outside the conventional than ever before.
It was unavoidable. Either way, we were going to make history. We seem
to have insisted on it.
Hillary Clinton has been in the center of the storm for a long time.
There's no reason to believe she won't continue throughout the rest of
her life in public service to be at least near it. And good for us if
she is. Let's not kick her down the street. The gravity of the mess
the Bushies will have left us with means we're going to need her, her
husband, and her supporters very much in the months, and years, ahead.
Early in her rise to national prominence as her husband won the White
House, I noted a quote from her describing her belief that government
could be a force for good, and I celebrated. Certainly they made
mistakes as President and First Lady. But they brought that mindset
back into the federal government where I think it belongs -- after the
long "you're on your own, lotsa luck!" winter of the Reagan and Bush-1
years. That meant the world to me. It meant an end to the "benign
neglect" of the have-not's for the sake of the have's and the
have-more's. We can use all the apostles of that mindset we can get,
again now.
It also speaks libraries about how Barack Obama handles things. Again,
he treats her elegantly, speaks glowingly of her, and cuts her all the
slack imaginable. Unlike many in the press, on Capitol Hill, and some
in his own camp, he's seemed neither in a hurry to hustle Clinton
offstage, nor driven to snark. Perhaps because there are so many of
them, he knows he doesn't have to. Even so, he's not pushing, wisely
noting that the 2008 presidential campaign is one he and Hillary
Clinton both traveled together.
Her supporters should note this gentility, generosity, and respect as
they shift gears. It's for them, also. In effect, Obama is a lovely
parting gift to them, since they did not get the winner of their
choice. They could do a whole lot worse, and the Republicans have
already shown them how (and whom).
***
Mary Lyon is a veteran broadcaster and five-time Golden Mike Award winner, who has anchored, reported, and written for the Associated Press Radio Network, NBC Radio "The Source," and many Los Angeles-area stations including KRTH-FM/AM, KLOS-FM, KFWB-AM, and KTLA-TV, and occasional media analyst for ABC Radio News. She began her career as a liberal activist with the Student Coalition for Humphrey/Muskie in 1968, and helped spearhead a regional campaign, The Power 18," to win the right to vote for 18-year-olds. She remains an advocate for liberal causes, responsibility and accountability in media, environmental education and support of the arts for children, and green living. In addition to World News Trust, Mary writes for Huffington Post, OpEdNews, Democrats.us, WeDemocrats.org's "We! The People" webzine. Mary is also a parenting expert, having written and llustrated the book "The Frazzled Working Woman's Practical Guide to Motherhood.