The (Lebanon) Valley News (N.H.), June 13:
It now appears all but certain that Hillary Clinton is one election away from attaining the glittering prize that eluded her eight years ago. It is a signal moment for her and in the life of the nation: For the first time, a woman is on the verge of capturing the presidential nomination of a major political party.
As staff writer Rob Wolfe reported last week, after Clinton had secured sufficient delegates to become the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, her achievement resonated deeply with women in public life in the Twin States, especially those of her generation. “This has been a long transition, a long journey, to get to where we are,” said state Rep. Sharon Nordgren of Hanover. “… Here we are. We’ve arrived.”
In making the journey to the brink of nomination, Clinton fended off a determined and inspired challenge from the left in the person of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In doing so, she displayed the persistence and discipline that are the signature attributes of her public life, as well as displaying a mastery of policy and process that President Obama alluded to in endorsing her last Thursday. “I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office,” said the president, whom Clinton served as secretary of state.
Clinton has struck a blow for equality of opportunity, but it’s now up to her to make the most of that opportunity. Should she fail to defeat Donald Trump, probably the least qualified candidate ever to become a major party nominee, the milestone, while noteworthy, will become a mere historical footnote. Obama’s pledge to campaign enthusiastically for her is one important step toward ensuring victory.
Nothing in our experience over 25 years leads us to think that Sanders himself would allow any personal resentment to get in the way of defeating Trump, who is almost the perfect plutocratic foil for his democratic populism. But getting his supporters – younger and more independent-minded than party regulars – on board is going to require more than just respectful treatment by Clinton. She will need to make concessions both on policy matters and the presidential nominating process to channel the energy of Sanderistas into her campaign.
The other key to victory will be to avoid making the election a personal referendum on her and Trump. Tempting as it will be to expose him as the charlatan he is, Trump excels at that kind of mud wrestling, and Clinton carries sufficient baggage of her own to render reliance on such a strategy extremely risky. In a year when popular sentiment seems to favor overthrowing the established order, Clinton’s task is to stamp her brand of incremental progressivism on the broader electorate. It is who she is, and what her life’s work has been about.
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