No Tears

Hillary Clinton may have gotten teary-eyed in New Hampshire last year right before swooping to victory the next day. But I'm not shedding tears now. As a Hillary Clinton supporter (albeit incredibly torn between the candidates) I found myself in the strange position of being able to cast a happy and historical vote no matter which way I cast my ballot.

But the glow of Super Tuesday has long since faded, and now I'm grimly waiting for the end of a great primary season and the start of political grind of politics as usual. Now, Obama may disagree with me, but maybe the thrill of the strong, talented Democratic pool of talent initially blinded me to the fact that in politics, nothing really has changed. After all, our system is just as stupid, inefficient and money-hemorrhaging as ever. Millions have been spent for two strong candidates to battle it out, when I read that there's trouble raising funds toward the Democratic Convention and beyond. Both candidates have made gaffes that were really not much of anything, made much of a lot by the media and the competing campaigns. I laugh when I read that this was a muddy campaign. Ask Michael Dukakis about mud. Ask John Kerry about mud. They had mud.

The campaign that transcended race can't seem to win where lots of white people live. The campaign that transcended gender is crying sexism when that is, in some ways, the least of Clinton's problems.

I am no fool. I don't want to hear Clinton's obituaries written all too eagerly by the likes of Arianna Huffington, who praise Clinton and want to bury her. Clinton has changed the way people see women, or elections, or leaders, or whatever. No, not really. Because what Clinton represents is as exceptional as her rival Obama. They are both stand-outs. And it will be a long, long time before we see another candidate with Clinton's tenancity, fortitude and brass ones. Not to mention name recognition and bundles of money. And really, same for Obama, unless you know of other star black politicians with best-selling memoirs who also graduated from Harvard who can orate like JFK.

It's an exceptional political season. I'm glad I lived to see it. I'm sorry to see it go, because it may not come again in my lifetime.