Letter to Hillary

As I thought about the state of the Union and the 2008 election, I decided to write a letter.

Dear Hillary:

We Americans are all facing a wild two years. There have probably been longer presidential campaigns in history, but I can't find a record of one.

Abraham Lincoln gave his first campaign speech at Cooper Union College Just three months before the election of 1860. You are stuck with 20 months of campaigning. So, of course are your opponents.

I get awfully tired of the reasons people give for opposing you. I hope you are ignoring them.

They say you should have divorced Bill. Obviously you believe that is your own business, and your reasons are purely personal.

Oh yes, some say that if you were elected Bill would run the country. They don't know much about strong women, do they? We can think for ourselves. I know you would find the smartest, best informed people of both sexes for your advisors. Bill might be one. After all, He was President for two terms. But you are quite capable of making your own decisions.

Let's see: what else can they find to criticize? Of course. We can't have a woman President! But it is long past time to have a woman President. The old sexism has to go.

If, in spite of being female, you are elected, Hilary, the problems you will face are overwhelming. Here are three that I hope you will give the highest priority.

I believe that the number one issue in this election will be the Iraq War. Yes, you voted for it back in 2002. So did nearly every Senator and Representative, having been told that we were in imminent danger from weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Saddam Hussein. We were all told that we would go in, find the weapons and get Hussein and get out. Well, we found the weapons and got Hussein but here we are mired down years later.

You are being criticized for changing your mind – voting for the war and then revising your stand.

Well, Hillary, I do believe that the intelligent, thinking person is obliged to keep an open mind.

The situation has changed drastically as new facts have emerged. So please, Hillary, get us out of it and save American lives.

Another vital issue is Health Care. You started your term as First Lady with an extensive study of the problem. The plan was killed, but your experience and knowledge will be valuable now.

This issue has so many kinds of problems that it will take a miracle to solve it.

Doctors particularly primary care doctors, are leaving their practices in frightening numbers.

Medicare patients are hit hardest. Most doctors refuse to accept new Medicare patients. For anyone needing a new doctor, the waiting line is often months long.

Emergency rooms are taking up some of he slack, but that is not a solution

Yes, Hillary, that's a tough one, but you are qualified to tackle it.

Another major problem is education. Things like No Child Left Behind are causing teachers to gnash their teeth. Efforts to bring religion into the schools is causing dangerous divisions in administration. The demand for more science and math is coming from all directions.

The list is endless.

Gee, Hillary, why would any sane person want to have the job of President in 2008? But according to Time there were 20 of you a few weeks ago. We need a person with intelligence, one who is willing to study and search for facts and keep an open mind even to start getting us back on track.

I hope you are thinking as much about the issues as about campaigning. In any case, good luck.

Very sincerely, Henrietta W. Hay