Hello

Hi, and welcome to the first real post on the Washingtonians for Hillary Clinton blog. It seems every 4 years we get to this earlier and earlier. Still, I've tended to wait until the candidates have done a bit more to woo me. But this time, I'm convinced that of the possible and probable Democratic candidates in '08 that the best is Hillary Clinton. Here's why:

Health care She’s the last person to make a credible push for universal health care in this country. Nominating her gets the issue front and center. And if she wins the election, health care will be at least part of the mandate. I know, the plan wasn’t perfect last time, and it’ll be tough to pass anything, but I think she’s the best to make something happen.

The Minimum Wage If we’re able to pass this thing, it’ll be in large part because HRC understood tying it to the Congressional pay increases. She’s staked out the position finally got the issue some traction.

VRWC She understands it better than any of the other candidates. Hell, she coined the term. We've all seen her beat it back. She’ll be better prepared for it in the general, and better able to deal with it as president than any of the other candidates.

The First Female President These things matter, and we’re at least a half century overdue.

She’s an Honest to Goodness Liberal She’s ranked 10 according to Progressive Punch. While there are some problems with the ranking system, overall, it gets things just about right. She’s with the left wing of the party more than Feingold and more than Harken. While she may talk to her right on a few issues (and speaking to the center is so strange for a politician), she votes with us.

She's a Leader She and Senator Murray were the ones who forced the FDA to act on the morning after pill. She was the one who suggested tying the minimum wage increase to an increase in Congressional pay.

Iraq As someone who was in the streets opposing this awful war before it even started, this was the biggest stumbling block to my support. There's no question that her votes at the outset were pretty bad. But she has come around from her call to fire Rumsfield, to her early opposition to escalation, to her tough questioning of Gates. I think she'll be among the best, if not the best, at finding a way to get us out.