I am an undecided voter. If Al Gore gets into the race, my decision will be easy. If he doesn't, it won't be. I've narrowed my decision down to three candidates. Hillary Clinton is not one of them. Even so, I am disheartened, and at times disgusted, by the vituperation spewed at her on this site. Sometimes I think I'm reading a right wing site, or George Will or Bill O'Reilly. There is no insult that can be leveled at Hillary that won't be uprated. She's a uniter, not a divider. Everyone seems to hate her.
Here's a little secret: none of our candidates are perfect. If you're a supporter of John Edwards or Barack Obama (at least one of whom I am considering supporting), this little Associated Press story says it all:
The leading Democratic White House hopefuls conceded Wednesday night they cannot guarantee to pull all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of the next presidential term in 2013.
"I think it's hard to project four years from now," said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the opening moments of a campaign debate in the nation's first primary state.
"It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting," added Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
"I cannot make that commitment," said former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.
None are pure. None are perfect. Not even Al Gore (sacrilege!).
Whoever becomes president in 2009 will be a flawed human being, working a broken political system, trying to repair the damage from the worst president ever. Any will disappoint us. Any will be incalculably better than any Republican.
Just to repeat: I am not a Hillary supporter. I don't need to list the reasons why. Pick any of your favorites. But I do think she would be a better president than many of your realize. I've previously posted this summary of her voting ratings by various interest groups.
Courtesy of Project Vote Smart:
She has received 100 percent ratings at least once from the following organizations:
Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Assocation, The Humane Society of the United States, Fund for Animals, Society for Animal Protective Legislation, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Animal Protection Institute, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, League of United Latin American Citizens, Human Rights Campaign, National Education Association, National School Boards Association, Campaign for America's Future, American Wilderness Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, American Lands Alliance, National Parks Conservation Association, Comprehensive US Sustainable Population-Natural Increase, California Park & Recreation Society, Children's Defense Fund, National Network for Youth, American Family Voices, PeacePAC, Peace Action, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Citizens for Global Solutions (A+), The Genocide Intervention Network--Darfur Scores (A+), American Association of University Women, National Organization for Women, Business and Professional Women USA, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, American Public Health Association, National Breast Cancer Coalition, Global AIDS Alliance, American Medical Association, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Service Employees International Union, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Worker, AFL-CIO, American Postal Workers Union, United Auto Workers (110 percent- ?), Communications Workers of America, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, American Federation of Government Employees, Transportation Communications Union, Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, United Food & Commercial Workers, Americans for Democratic Action, Non Commissioned Officers Association, Parkinsons Action Network, Alliance for Retired Americans, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Alliance for Retired Americans, Secular Coalition for America, NETWORK- A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Population Action International, Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, Population Institute, Population Connection, Zero Population Growth, Californians for Population Stabilization, National Youth Advocacy Coalition, Disabled American Veterans, Bread for the World, The Partnership for the Homeless.
And she received at least one rating of 90 percent or higher from:
Public Citizen's Congress Watch, National Parent Teacher Association, League of Conservation Voters, State PIRGs Working Together, Americans for Democratic Action, National Committee for an Effective Congress, People for the American Way, Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) and-WILL, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave her a grade of (A-).
She has received 0 percent ratings at least once from the following organizations:
National Right to Life Committee, Democrats for Life of America, National Tax Limitation Committee, FreedomWorks, American Shareholders Association, National Association of Government Contractors, Americans for Prosperity, Christian Coalition, American Conservative Union, Center for Reclaiming America, Concerned Women for America, English First, American Coalition for Ethanol, American Land Rights Association, Family Research Council, American Family Association, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA), Citizens Against Government Waste, National Rifle Association (F), Gun Owners of America, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, Protect Patients Now!, Federation for American Immigration Reform, Americans for Better Immigration, American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Association for the Self-Employed, American Benefits Council.
And she received a less than ten percent rating at least once from:
National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, and the National Tax Limitation Committee, National Association of Manufacturers, Christian Action Network, Campaign for Working Families, John Birch Society's Conservative Index, Citizens Against Government Waste, U.S. Border Control, Council for Government Reform
And Peace Action gave her ratings as various as 0 percent in 2001, 100 percent in 2003, and 89 percent in 2005.
Her National Journal Ratings are as follows:
National Journal - Composite Conservative Score's calculations:
2002 more conservative on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 13 percent
2003 more conservative on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 11 percent
2005 more conservative on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 20 percent
National Journal - Composite Liberal Score's calculations:
2002 more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 87 percent
2003 more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 89 percent
2005 more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 80 percent
National Journal - Conservative on Economic Policy's calculations:
2001 more conservative on economic policy issues than 13 percent
2002 more conservative on economic policy issues than 0
2003 more conservative on economic policy issues than 7 percent
2004 more conservative on economic policy issues than 36 percent
2005 more conservative on economic policy issues than 15
National Journal - Conservative on Social Policy's calculations:
2001 more conservative on social policy issues than 20 percent
2002 more conservative on social policy issues than 0 percent
2003 more conservative on social policy issues than 0 percent
2004 more conservative on social policy issues than 0 percent
2005 more conservative on social policy issues than 10 percent
National Journal - Conservative on Foreign Policy's calculations:
2001 more conservative on foreign policy issues than 27 percent
2002 more conservative on foreign policy issues than 27 percent
2003 more conservative on foreign policy issues than 14 percent
2004 more conservative on foreign policy issues than 41 percent
2005 more conservative on foreign policy issues than 29 percent
National Journal - Liberal on Economic Policy's calculations:
2001 more liberal on economic policy issues than 87 percent
2002 more liberal on economic policy issues than 95 percent
2003 more liberal on economic policy issues than 90 percent
2004 more liberal on economic policy issues than 63 percent
2005 more liberal on economic policy issues than 84 percent
National Journal - Liberal on Social Policy's calculations:
2001 more liberal on social policy issues than 70 percent
2002 more liberal on social policy issues than 82 percent
2003 more liberal on social policy issues than 85 percent
2004 more liberal on social policy issues than 82 percent
2005 more liberal on social policy issues than 83 percent
National Journal - Liberal on Foreign Policy's calculations
2001 more liberal on foreign policy issues than 61 percent
2002 more liberal on foreign policy issues than 70 percent
2003 more liberal on foreign policy issues than 79 percent
2004 more liberal on foreign policy issues than 58 percent
2005 more liberal on foreign policy issues than 66 percent
Do any of you seriously believe any of the Republican candidates is close to her, on these issues? Would any of them come anywhere as close to representing your values?
Here's another secret, for all those of you engaged in the broader candidate wars: none of our candidates is as good as their supporters make them out to be, and none is as bad as their critics make them out to be. Not even Hillary. Flawed as she is.