So what do you do when the country's perfect presidential candidate narrowly misses the nomination? Do you throw in the towel? No. The time to sulk is over.
I was never more excited for a qualified woman to run our country, but unfortunately Hillary Clinton is out of the picture. Many Clinton supporters, including myself, have sulked and complained for too long. It's been two months since Clinton suspended her campaign, and like it or not, Barack Obama is the Democratic Party's future for the impending election. We as Clinton supporters need quit mourning and follow Clinton's lead by supporting Obama.
Clinton may have been the No. 1 choice of many Democrats and independents, but so often in life we have to resort to our second choice
To avoid putting our country into more turmoil, we must recognize the similarities between Clinton's and Obama's platforms. No Clinton supporter would approve of the multi-billion dollar war in Iraq, a faltering economy, high fuel prices and absolutely ridiculous health care costs. Neither would an Obama supporter. My fellow Hillary supporters been so blinded by our disappointment that we cannot even acknowledge Obama's campaign can carry forth the same mantle that Clinton's campaign started.
Many Americans recognize that nothing will change under McCain. He is a third term for the policies of George W. Bush. It's time to accept that Obama will pull us from our gloom and open our eyes to the bigger picture of our country's need. Our country, our family, is faltering around us, and as a result we must support Obama. He might be our second choice, but he is definitely better than our third choice. McCain will inevitably fail to please any Clinton supporters if he takes the White House.
Obama has a serious chance to win the election but only if he can gain the vote of Clinton fans. We need to move past our denial phase and embrace the future by lending Obama the support he needs in the battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Clinton won more than 50 percent of the vote. The chances of Obama taking the White House without at least one or both of these states will be unlikely, and does Clinton really want another Republican leading our country? Absolutely not.
Hillary Clinton graciously accepted her loss and endorsed Obama with open arms and hopes that her supporters will, too. Clinton is speaking at the Convention next week in an attempt to unite the party, and she is doing everything she can do to help Obama be the next President of the United States. If Clinton is openly and enthusiastically supporting Obama, then why can't her supporters do the same?
Clinton fans know they need to support Obama, but they still want to complain about incidents like Florida and Michigan. There is no more time for complaining. We can do nothing to change Clinton's loss. However, there is something we can do to show our love for our country and for Hillary. We can go to the polls on Nov. 4 and vote for Obama. It is too dangerous and too costly for our country to sit back and whine any longer.
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Jessica Kline, of Altoona, is a junior at Juniata College. She is attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo.
