President's Perspective
Why we’re for Hillary
Jan 17, 2008 12:42 PM
“If you become a teacher,
By your pupils you'll be taught.”
Those long-forgotten lyrics from “The King and I” went around and around in my head last Tuesday night as I stood in the back of the gym at Southern New Hampshire University waiting to exhale. My feet were cold and damp from slogging through the snow all day canvassing prospective voters. My temples were throbbing, the effect of too much caffeine and too little sleep.
But truth be told I hardly noticed. The early returns had been consistently, if narrowly, in Hillary’s favor since the polls closed an hour earlier, and I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, the feeling that she could win, which had been creeping up on me since late afternoon, might not be so pie-in-the-sky after all.
Ever since Iowa I’d heard how the young people were going for Obama, and I had believed the common wisdom that they would carry the day.
But that day, it was those very young people who changed my perspective. The streets of Manchester were filled with them, traipsing through the slush on behalf of the whole spectrum of candidates. Enthusiasm was just as high for McCain as for Obama, for Clinton as for Romney and Edwards, and for Ron Paul and Huckabee, too. (Not so much for Giuliani, Fred Thompson or Bill Richardson.) And I realized that what we had been witnessing was not simply because there was an eloquent and exciting young man in the race. It was because — after a long hiatus — young people were returning to politics. In fact, judging from the turnout, people of all ages were becoming engaged once again, probably brought out by the combination of frightening conditions at home and abroad and an encouraging array of candidates, all of whom seemed to see the need for new thinking, new approaches, new solutions. That engagement alone, I thought, boded well for democracy in America.
I had spent much of the day with two interns, one a Wellesley student and recently naturalized citizen and the other from Hood College, who, though only in her early 20s, had already worked on more elections than many of us have voted in. Their excitement about the possibility of a woman president was palpable. For years my friends and I — all veterans of the days when feminists were still called “women’s libbers” — had bemoaned the way this generation took for granted the things we fought for so passionately. So I was pleased these two “Echo Boomers” recognized the historical significance of the campaign they were participating in — not just because a woman is running but also, of course, because an African-American is running as well.
Not that this primary is about either gender or race, nor should it be. Still, given that both racism and sexism are far from dead, it is a testament to how far we have come that both a woman and an African-American are viable candidates for president of the United States.
My young companions and I talked, too, about how angry we were that some pundits had put Clinton in such a bind, criticizing her for being imperial when she was tough, and then implying her show of emotion was artificial because it challenged their notion of her. From working in the campaign, both of them had seen for themselves that Clinton was nothing like what the cynics claimed.
I have known Hillary for almost 16 years. And, as a leader of education reform along with her husband when he was governor of Arkansas, she had worked with both Sandy Feldman and Al Shanker long before me. Her detailed familiarity with education issues probably stems from that period, as well as from her earlier experience working for the Children’s Defense Fund. She’s been a fighter for both early childhood education and college affordability, and talks constantly about the need for a broad, well-balanced curriculum. (“We’ve got to make a total change in NCLB. We need to make sure that when we look at our children, we don’t just see a little walking test.”) One need spend only a few seconds with her to see that her vintage line about making America better so that “everybody has the opportunity to live up to their God-given potential” is really her moral imperative.
More than that, she has the know-how to make it happen, to turn rhetoric into reality. She has a record of fighting for change, not just talking about it. Not for nothing is she viewed as one of the most effective senators in Congress, by Republicans and Democrats alike.
As we knocked on doors and went from place to place, the interns and I gabbed and gabbed. By evening, tired as I was, my conversations with them and the other young people I met had — despite the pollsters’ predictions — restored my optimism, not only for Hillary but for America’s future.
So when Hillary opened her victory speech by saying that she came to New Hampshire to listen and found her voice in the process, I knew exactly what she meant. Sometimes you learn in the most unexpected ways. That day the interns I was supposed to mentor taught me a valuable lesson about their generation and gave me confidence that the outcome of the November election was in good hands.
I also want to remind you of something else Clinton said that night that resonated with me: “Politics isn’t a game.” There is a lot of hard work in front of us. Labor gave Clinton the winning edge in New Hampshire. While the vote among non-union voters for Clinton and Obama was a dead heat, union voters gave Clinton 40 percent of their vote compared to 29 percent for Obama. The reason is obvious: When the economy is shaky, working people look for someone they know can navigate in choppy waters.
After Nevada and South Carolina, the next big test is Feb. 5 when New York, New Jersey and 22 other states hold primaries or caucuses. Phone banking has begun in our UFT borough offices. I hope you’ll consider volunteering. And when your UFT chapter leader comes around, please contribute to COPE. That is the way we keep our political action strong. Most of all, remember to vote on Feb. 5. It will make a difference for your students and for your family.
