Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Hillary Clinton: The Side Few See

Jim Wallis on the Sojourners Blog writes about his son meeting Senator Hillary Clinton and witnessing a side of her that few people see:

“My 9-year-old son, Luke, considers Hillary a “friend,” having met her at a New Year’s weekend retreat that both of our families attended. Hillary very graciously sends him little personal notes to congratulate him on his Little League baseball successes. It's a wonderful gesture that utterly defies the harsh commentaries on her style that she sadly so often receives.”

“At the CNN candidate forum on faith, values, and poverty that Sojourners co-sponsored last June, Luke got to meet her again and told the senator privately, ‘Hillary, I can’t vote, but if I could, I would vote for you.’ She beamed the biggest smile back to my son and said, ‘Oh Luke, that means so much to me!’”

“Luke has remained totally faithful to Hillary during the primary political season, proudly wearing a Clinton button on his safety patrol belt, and was one of her disappointed supporters when she finally had to concede. Five-year-old Jack voted just the way his big brother did in their D.C. public school primary, resisting the Obama landslide.”

“My boys, like lots of little girls and boys, now believe that a woman running for president is normal, possible, and to be expected, as they do for an African-American candidate. Luke is looking forward to the day when a black woman will be able to run. ‘Wouldn’t that be cool, Dad?’ he says. It surely would, and for that we have both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to thank.”

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Hillary Clinton