Editor’s note: This is part of a two-part series examining the strong affection toward the candidates amongst American voters
It’s easy to scroll through Reddit and find anonymous human beings who will hate one candidate or the other, and in fact we have recounted the top reasons nobody could get on board with a President Hillary Clinton.
But did you just read that? President Hillary Clinton.
Indeed, history could be made in just a few days if our nation were to elect its first woman president, completing a long journey of women’s suffrage and civil rights activists who thought we may never live to see the day. That’s enough for some to show some affection to Hillary, while still many others thing her levelheadedness is exactly what we need with growing challenges to the global economy.
Here’s a list of five reasons why people love Hillary:
She reminds us of the ’90s
Back before the War on Terror, when “socialist” was still a bad word politically and Mariah Carey graced our small screens in this thing called “music television,” the Clintons enjoyed a certain popularity in America as peace and prosperity became the norm following a Recession-plagued era in the ’80s and a one-term letdown by George H.W. Bush.
While Hillary was first lady in the White House, the internet was invented; Michael Jordan inspired kids to be like him; Leo and Kate captured hearts in Titanic; Jim Carrey made us laugh and everything seemed to be generally OK in the world. Everything but the O.J. Simpson trial.
She appears to be highly qualified
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4oBjzUIwJA
A list of Clinton’s positions include First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State.
Yet, her actions while in those positions is not as lengthy as presidential hopefuls in years past. George W. Bush, a former Texas governor, balanced the state’s budget and cut $2 billion in taxes as one of the most pro-business legislators of his time. Her husband was also a marquee governor in the ’80s that accomplished much for Arkansas.
Clinton can claim that she is a fighter. Although she can provide no specific policy accomplishments when asked, her record speaks for itself: She has given the voiceless support on the international stage, stood up for LGBT rights, played a key role in foreign policy victories for the Obama administration, and helped bring swift justice to Osama Bin Laden in a critical decision.
She’s open to change, and Bernie’s progressivism
This alone might express why there’s a feeling within the campaign that Secretary Clinton win the election: More support from millennials than all of her rivals combined. Young people now match the Baby Boomers as the largest groups of voting-aged people in America, and while she had trouble connecting with them during Bernie’s run, she has since made up a ton of lost ground as she became “cool under fire” during the debates and exhibited a blue-blooded demeanor that rivaled Trump’s temperamental outbursts.
And, with Bernie’s encouragement, Hillary has accepted ideas for free public university, a $15 minimum wage and an opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
She’d be the first woman president
Many feminists have gathered around the common goal of putting a woman in the White House, and see it as just one more step forward in their march to a more egalitarian society. In an outstanding effort to round up Clinton’s support amongst left-leaning feminists and activists of the intelligentsia, Vox found one writer to go on the record and wrap up this accomplishment in history in under three sentences:
I’m moved that we actually got here in my lifetime, and I’m glad that it’s her: This woman, of all women, has had to fight to earn her place at the table. She deserves this.
Regardless of her background as a hawkish legislator whose family foundation has taken shadowy money and granted power to elites with pledged support, make no mistake — it would be a watershed moment should a woman take the oath of office in America less than 100 years after women even earned the right to vote.
She’s not Donald Trump
The villainy felt by the threat of a Trump presidency is enough to turn even a harsh Hillary critic into someone that digs down deep and searches their soul to find the soft spot required to lend her some love. While not everyone will trust her White House to be scandal free, there is a common sense of urgency among her supporters in defeating Trump, whom they fear would deal a blow to America’s democracy that might be hard to recover from.
It’s enough for some to get over their “lack of excitement” with Clinton and chant three familiar words: I’m with her.