Hillary Clinton, a former United States Senator and Secretary of State, is the Democratic front-runner and the likely nominee for the 2016 presidential election. Various polls show her with 47 percent of the votes. But the heavy clouds of Benghazi are still hanging over her head. And the use of her family's private email server for her official email communications rather than utilizing the official State Department email accounts remains unresolved.
In U.S. history, it is reported that five other women have run for president, but they were mostly marginal candidates, except Linda Jenness, who ran in 1972 under the Social Workers Party who had a total of 83,380 votes, and Jill Stein, who ran in 2012 under the Green Party, who had 469,015 votes. Clinton is the sixth American female presidential candidate who seems to be on her way to making history. So far, she is the likely winner of the Democratic nomination, which is one step to the presidency. It’s a big step forward for American women in this country, considering their role in society over a century ago. The same could be said of Jews, African-Americans and others. The U.S. has come a long way, but the way ahead is a torturous journey that would take an eternity to reach.
Hillary Clinton is a potential presidential candidate who is well qualified and experienced to lead the nation. No one can question Clinton’s ability to run the U.S., but is she a winnable candidate? Will the political issues that haunt her go away? Is her credibility no longer a matter of criticism from her opponents? Has she been truthful throughout her political ordeal? .Whether one sees her as a friend or foe, one thing one cannot take away from her is her leadership and her commitment to public service. But questions regarding Benghazi and email issues that her opponents keep bringing up to derail her political locomotive seem ineffective. But playing politics with such an important issue is unfair.
In my opinion, terrorists would bomb our embassy in Benghazi regardless of who was Secretary of State. Blaming her for the tragedy is like making her a scapegoat. By the way, the deaths of the embassy staff members and Christopher, our ambassador in Benghazi, Libya, were both tragic and painful. But the Republicans who faulted Clinton for the lax security that led to the tragedy in Benghazi should first blame themselves because they had turned down Clinton’s request for funds that would have been used to keep that embassy secure.
On the other hand, Clinton is a part of the political establishment of the country. Therefore, politicians do things like politicians. As such, she is no different from any regular politicians. Without judging her credibility regarding the emails drama, what is obvious was her inconsistency in some of her responses on the issues of Benghazi and the email situation. She would earn the trust and the understanding of most of the voters if she had said, “I am sorry, I made a mistake; I did it.” Next time that she responds yes or no to a question, she would appear more credible. However, if the email issue is a fact, it does not amount to treason.
If the American voters think that a Republican candidate or Clinton is the lesser of the two evils, why don't they give that person their votes? However, if it’s Clinton, this would probably bring former President Bill Clinton’s era back to the country: the good economy and the surplus. He could again be the president behind the scene calling the shots. On the other hand, if the Republican candidate of your choice could bring the era of Ronald Reagan back to the country, vote for that person. If that’s what it takes, we, the voters, need to weigh the pluses and the minuses of every candidate, Republican or Democrat, before we cast our votes.
If it is the era for minority candidates in American politics, Clinton, like President Obama, will likely make history by winning both the Democratic nomination and the presidency. Until her locomotive reaches the end point, let’s all keep our fingers crossed because the White House is the finish line at which every presidential contender is aiming in full speed.
