As a 60-year-old woman I have traversed the spectrum from joy at the availability of great choices for the Democratic nominee to just plain despair about who Clinton has shown herself to be.  I have threatened at times not to vote for her, but I am asking everyone who is threatening a protest vote or non vote this year to take a deep breath and open your eyes.

Take a good look at McCain. The MSM has labeled him a Maverick. He is given an easy pass on his actions because of it. Usually the line runs like this:  Well, yes, McCain HAS lots of lobbyist working for him but he hates them in principle and only uses them because political circumstances force him to do so.  This the-devil-made-me-do-it schtick is McCain's stock-in- trade way of appearing devoted to high standards while in reality being anything but. Look at his actual record. If you think his saying his hero is Teddy Roosevelt means he will be a reformer himself you are wrong. His actual actions and voting record should make any Democrat cringe. Think about who has become his BFF.  Is Lieberman the kind of Democrat you want as our model going forward? Do you like his DINO politics? These two represent a kind of politics that make even Bush look truthful.

Obama supporters are holding on to the hope that we have found in him a candidate who is our last chance to rise above the huckster politics of someone like McCain who is merely the newest front for everything we have come to detest from the Republican side. (Never EVER trust a politician whose favorite tag line used ad naseum is “my friends.”) We are also Democrats who have watched in horror as Hillary decided she wanted the presidency so desperately she became willing to walk through the deepest swamp of political necessity to get it not caring how mucky she became doing so. Of course she frequently praises McCain. They are both slogging along the same path.

So I am asking everyone who is considering a protest vote for McCain or Nadar or even not voting if Hillary is or is not the nominee to think carefully about your throwaway vote. I truly believe we are at a tipping point. We are like a car hanging over the edge of a precipice. Don't give us the final push.