Hillary called. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in 2008. The New York Times lay scattered about. Fire roaring. Likely sipping a Dubonnet, I almost did not pick up, and even when I did I thought it was a crank call—until, that is, I heard the unmistakable hearty Hillary laugh. She had lost the primary but called to thank me for Vermont Woman’s endorsement, the only newspaper in Vermont to do so. Her call was a classy gesture, which I cherish.

2008 Was Obama’s Time

At an Obama primary event held at UVM’s Ira Allan Chapel, lines stretched all the way to Main Street and beyond. Obama later spoke outside on the chapel steps to those who could not get in.

His campaign was racking up money, endorsements, and youth energy. Obama’s message of hope and change turned crowds into cheering frenzies. You could feel the excitement sweeping the nation that something big, something transformative, something never done before was possible.

We were wary, agreeing with Gloria Steinem, who endorsed Hillary, that no woman with a résumé as slender as Obama’s would have possibly been nominated. But postprimary, we joined
Vermont voters and the country to elect Obama. He went on to handily win two terms. (Boohoo Karl Rove, Mitch McConnell, Koch brothers, and Fox News).

Obama’s presidency was to be transformative. How could it not be? We Vermonters helped elect a 42-year-old former community organizer, about halfway through his first term as a US Senator, with a gift for communication. Articulate, intelligent, and optimistic, he had all the qualities greatly needed and desired post Dubya.

Obama’s presidency was good for this country. Here’s why. As the nation’s first black president, he publicly endured invisible racism and, along with his family, was faced with risk every day.

He inherited Bush’s wars, financial crisis, and soaring national debt. And yet with dignity and courage and an administration free from corruption, he guided our nation through a recession, a financial meltdown, a steady recovery, universal health care, the appointment of two Supreme Court justices, the Iran deal, and an Asian trade deal He scaled-down the US military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, liberated Libya, improved the US image abroad, approved same-sex marriage, killed the Keystone Pipeline and Osama Bin Laden—and much more. All the while enduring unrelenting attacks from a reckless, disrespectful, and uncompromising Republican-controlled Congress and their super PAC ads. Plus, he managed these successes with a cool head and a warm heart. (His pastoral, emotional responses to Sandy Hook, Charleston, and the Boston Marathon come to mind.) Of course, there were mistakes, and there remains much more to do, and of course, many are angry and disappointed that he fell short of expectations. Still, his accomplishments are pretty amazing. Perhaps rhetoric over experience really does matter after all?

So What About 2016?

We have the chance again to elect a transformative figure. This time not based solely on the rhetoric of a savior but on a candidate with deep legislative and policy experience. Let’s get real. Just because you are president doesn’t mean you can get things done. The president is not a dictator. The president does not write bills or get them on the floor for a vote. That is the job of Congress. All the ideology, dreams, and goals in the world will come to nothing if bills you support are not voted on or do not pass.

But the president leads, sets the agenda, and knows where the votes are and how to get them to go his or her way. Politics is hard work, a slow slog through the bureaucracy, a ton of schmoozing, courting, deal making, arm twisting, and leverage building—skills needed to move toward your goals, even if incrementally. Politics is not puppies, lollipops, and ice cream or kindergarten. It’s not wish and hope and yell, and then pick up your toys and go home. It’s not hiding out. It’s vicious, particularly now with a Congress controlled by a significant number of extreme right-wing nut cases, which is very likely to continue because of gerrymandering. That’s how it works (or doesn’t).

Only in Vermont

Truly, there must be something in the reservoirs in the wee state of Vermont, because not only have we had two presidents (Coolidge and Arthur), we have also had the Dr. Dean presidential candidacy and now the presidential candidacy of US Senator Bernie Sanders. Vermont Woman has supported Bernie through all his elections. We value his hard work and believe in his 40-year message and fight for fairer economic status for the middle and lower classes. We admire his willingness to take his message of revolutionary change onto the national stage. We are in awe of his unrelenting energy and his ability to draw huge crowds (and money) and acknowledge the critical importance of his ideas to goad the Republicans and move Hillary to the left on several issues. We even love his unusual public playfulness, like dancing with Ellen DeGeneres. But we do not think he will win the primary.

This Is Hillary’s Time

We strongly feel that this time, (and there is a year to go folks, and a lot can happen) is Hillary’s time. And please, hold onto your pantaloons. We don’t just mindlessly support the female gender, otherwise we would have voted for Sarah Palin (shame McCain), Michele Bachmann (Is she for real?), or Carly Fiorina (OMG).

Still, a woman president does matter.

Hillary’s 11-hour performance at the Benghazi hearings in front of those potato heads was nothing short of stellar. Can you imagine any man in her place? Never has happened, never will. And she was informed, measured, poignant, and powerful. I cannot see how anyone would not come away from that show with any question of her competence, yet I am hearing and reading the same criticisms from women that were leveled at Hillary in 2008: too strident, inauthentic, too war happy, too distant, too aloof, too fake—the hair, the clothes, the husband.

Lately it’s that she changes her mind too much. That’s a good one. True, she changed her mind on same-sex marriage, gun control, crime, trade policy, and Keystone (the last not a change, just a late decision). So? She says she made a mistake on the Iraq war resolution (duh). But isn’t changing your views under pressure or after having gathered new information what politicians are supposed to do? It’s fantasy if you think candidates stick with their convictions or ideas forever. They must listen, learn, grow, and adjust. Even Bernie is adjusting his rather extreme stands on gun control. Can you name one politician who has a squeaky clean background and also one that has never changed his or her mind?

Vermonters know our vote does not matter nationally because of our small population (three electoral votes). However, Vermonters take their politics very seriously, and most will not throw their vote away just to make a statement. We also know that the nation often looks to Vermont to take the lead.

Since Bernie has always run as an Independent (until this primary), for this and other reasons, most Vermont Democratic leaders have endorsed Hillary. Yet, understandably as Vermont’s favorite son (and other reasons), Bernie is polling ahead of Hillary in the state.

So why do some women still feel queasy about voting for Hillary? One reason may be that when it comes to Hillary, internalized sexism could be raising its ugly head.

Internalized sexism is defined as the involuntary belief by girls and women that the lies, stereotypes and myths about girls and women that are delivered to everyone in a sexist society are true. Girls and women, boys and men hear the sexist messages (lies and stereotypes) about women over their entire lifetimes.

Hillary’s harshest criticisms mostly come from right. But men and many women on the left also bristle at the mention of her name. What is that about? Perhaps it’s because we all grew up in the same culture. We heard, saw, and experienced the same sexist stereotypes and messaging, much of it reinforced by the media, advertising, movies, celebrities, and our parents and by virtually every system we live under: religion, military, education, health, finance, sports, work, marriage, and, of course, government and political systems. We were involuntarily subsumed, over and over again, in lies and false information, which translates for girls and women into low self- esteem, defeatism, distrust of each other, negative competition, and sometimes illness.

For now, ask yourself if your hesitancy about Hillary has to do with internalized sexism (information on Internet). If so, then a great exercise is to find its source within you, acknowledge it as such, and then get rid of it. Internalized sexism could be holding back your unique and wonderful self from a fuller more joyous life.

The Choice

The choice for those on the left is to cast a vote, like a roll of the dice, for the candidate who wants a revolution, which even if he were elected president he would be very unlikely to achieve.

Or to vote for the candidate who will be the most likely to get elected president and who will very likely be able to achieve some revolutionary changes, at least incrementally.

The stakes have never been higher: nuclear threats, rogue leaders, spreading terrorism, soaring debt, difficult budget choices, and appointing perhaps as many as four Supreme Court justices (who will be in their eighties), to name a few.

Hillary says, “I am a progressive who can get things done.” Her overall trajectory is toward the left. She’s made mistakes and learned from them. She is smart, thoughtful, thorough, tough, and decisive.

She knows how to get bills passed because she knows how the system works and knows the players and how to play hardball.

She has won endorsements from more than half of the congressional delegation, along with hundreds of organizations and unions. As secretary of the state, she has developed respectful relationships with world leaders, personally, and is deeply knowledgeable about nearly every culture and political system in every country in the world. She has always been on the side of lower- and middle-class women, mothers, and working women in the United States and worldwide. And she has a marvelous sense of humor. She’s ready.

The time has come. It’s here. We are damn lucky to have Hillary at the top of her game.

As we move on through the next few months, many unforeseen events will unfold. It is too soon to make a formal endorsement. Although we strongly lean toward Hillary here at Vermont Woman, we also strongly support Bernie’s continued participation in the primary.

The best all of us can do, and particularly as women, is to recognize that a most extraordinary event may take place in our lifetime. In 2016 we may elect the first woman president of the United States in our two centuries of existence. Not just any woman. The best candidate in the race.

And to think I almost missed her call.

Suzanne Gillis has been publisher of Vermont Woman from its founding; in 2010 she was admitted to the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s Hall of Fame.