Well, North Carolina is finally on the presidential radar. Bill Clinton came to Asheville last week and Leah and I went to Asheville High School to hear him speak. Live and in person. He spoke for one hour and it was the last stop of his seven city tour of NC last Friday. Whew!
I went for several reasons. 1) I wanted to see a former president. And what better speaker than Bill Clinton. 2) I wanted to see him as part of the presidential campaign. 3) I wanted to learn more about Hillary.
The first two reasons were checked off the list early. It was like a rock concert. Thousands of us jammed into a hot high school auditorium, craning our necks to see Bill Clinton speak. Of course Leah and I are, well, on the petite side, so we were at a bit of a disadvantage.
But the real learning came from his speech. I was on the fence before the event. Barack, Hillary, Barack, Hillary. Back and forth. Call it fear of commitment. I haven't been ready to give myself to just one candidate. But whoa. Hold on for Hillary.
Bill was great -- never criticized the other candidates. He just clearly stated why Hillary is running, what she's achieved in the past, and what she plans to do in the future. And thank god he had an hour, because all I've gotten up to now has been media pre-digested sound bites that are taken out of context. I was so glad to have the opportunity to actually hear what she plans to do about creating jobs and caring for the environment, offering healthcare to all, and supporting veterans. I can't repeat the details -- that's the gift that Bill has -- to provide all the details in such a conversational way. I understood it all in the moment, but it was such a full speech there is no way I can comprehensively summarize it.
I guess the bottom line is that I walked away feeling she is the right person for the job at the right time. She has vast experience as a lawyer, first lady, senator, and activist. She has valuable experience working with both Democrats and Republicans and what surprised me the most on my running pro and con list, was the pro that she's got such a positive track record when it comes to military and veterans affairs. I didn't realize that would matter to me so much. But he was able to put a personal face to it and also show how she's been involved.
So I guess I drank the Kool-Aid. That is, until Michelle Obama comes to town (will I slide that way if I get to hear her speak?)
Most of all, I'm just glad I will have the chance to vote in the most historic presidential primary of my lifetime and to feel like it just might matter.
