On Thursday, Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated by a major party for President of the United States. Her nomination capped a four-day infomercial for the Democratic Party that--despite getting off to a rocky start-- shattered expectations.

Now, the American people are faced with two choices this November: Trump or Clinton. If you just squirmed while picturing your hypothetical sample ballot, you’re not alone. These two New Yorkers have horrendous favorability ratings-- some of the worst among major presidential candidates in history. In the back of your mind, you’re probably thinking the (sure let’s go ahead and call him) blonde guy looks sort of good right now. Sure, he’ll be bad, but that will energize the left’s base to come up for a better candidate in 2020, right? Or maybe you’re thinking third-party. Or better yet, you’re turning this decision into a hill of beans. Hillary's a “liar,” they say. She’s “dishonest.” You would never trust her with the presidency.

Step back for a bit, and take a page from the Good Book-- that is, if you still have one (and if you don’t, take a page from Don Henley): forgiveness. I’m going out on a limb here, but I believe Secretary Clinton meant well; she saw an epidemic crushing American inner-cities and tried to stop it. She saw injustice and tried to fix it. But ultimately she had no control on the results of her decisions as a Walmart board member, First Lady, Senator or Secretary of State.

Despite what you've heard, Secretary Clinton is still your best option. No, seriously.

So what makes Clinton so different from the Other Guy? Why should you bother voting for a person that so many Americans paint so grimly instead of just staying home and watching “New Girl” in fetal position on Election Night? Why should you (especially if you were a Bernie bro) even care?

What’s the case for Hillary?

Let me remind you again that Clinton may be to Sanders’s right, but the two have a nearly identical voting record. She’s fought for children’s rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights and people of color rights.

But fellow POCs, let's face it: This woman has a less than stellar record with us. Her sins against African Americans, LGBT Americans, minorities and women (yes, women) could warrant a few Hail Marys.

Back in the early 90s, her husband championed the three strikes legislation which seemed logical enough at first glance: if you committed multiple crimes, you were eventually going away for a very long time. But this, coupled with provisions in the bill for the creation of hundreds of new federal crimes-- pretty much every drug crime we’ve come to know--was disastrous for African Americans. POCs in were locked behind bars in droves for petty offenses. By the time Bill Clinton left the White House, the United States had more people incarcerated than any other nation on Earth. A huge chunk of those people were black lives. And if they weren’t behind bars, they were in poverty.

So what did Hillary have to do with all this? A very active First Lady, she lobbied Congress for “tough on crime” legislation, going so far as to call young African Americans “superpredators,” a quote that Bernie Sanders brought up during one of their debates.

This is of course to say nothing of her shady actions while working for Walmart, or her flip-floppy record on LGBT rights. Oh yeah, and the email thing.

But, at the risk of sounding like a 16-year-old girl trying to get back with her ex-boyfriend-- she’s changed.

More than once since she began her campaign, Hillary regretted her role in pushing mass incarceration in this country. She’s flipped her stance on LGBT rights, and is trying really hard to be way more woke than when she was First Lady.

Yes, her past might be a betrayal to every racial progressive’s agenda. But, unlike the Other Guy, who seems to double down when he’s called out on every racist, misogynistic, and hateful thing he’s said, at least Hillary is freakin’ trying. She now serves as the standard bearer for the most progressive platform in Democratic Party history (and all thanks to you, Bernie!). And she won’t throw a hissy fit every time someone calls her out.

Isn’t that what we really need in the Oval Office? Someone who might not have it all together but at least is willing to put their best foot forward and find out why?

Hillary Clinton the policy leader was formed in the '90s, where everyone thought neon was cool, rapping was super easy, and carrying oversized music players on your waist (along with everything else) seemed totally rad, dude. America didn’t make the greatest choices in the 90s, and neither did Hillary.

The majority of progressives agree: Secretary Clinton serves a way better choice than anybody on the right. She’ll have rising stars--from the first Spanish-speaking VP nominee to the first Indian American Senatorial candidate in California--behind her to help her figure this presidential thing out. That is, if you give her the chance.

Everyone, it's time to forgive her. To get behind her, and to be with her.

It’s time to forgive her, for she knew not what she did.