You claim to love Hillary because the primaries are over and she conceded. You would never have professed your love for her during the primaries, since Obama supporters are incapable of praising Hillary during a race, unless she's toast, which is the case as I type this.

To play well with others, I just tried to add a "I like Hillary because" post but it disappeared into the ethernet. I think that's a sign, Ripper, that we might want to hold off on this until after high noon tomorrow.

Good post. I tried this two weeks ago. Here's the thread; perhaps it'll be interesting to compare.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/05/what-i-like-about-the-other-ca.php

I'll repeat what I said then. I love Hillary because she looks like the Columbia Pictures torch lady, and because she's incredibly knowledgeable about the ins and outs of policy. Also, because she has confronted, and overcome, an incredible amount of sexist BS.

Sorry, I can't do this. I have a thing about the way in which the word `love` is debased nowadays.

I can say that I respect and admire Hillary's fight for universal healthcare.

I greatly respect (and agree with) her belief that health insurance should be mandated, but am not sure it's a viable proposition in an election campaign or to get through Congress.

I admire her stamina.

I respect - deeply - that she is now committed to party unity and doing whatever she can to help the Democrats win back the Presidency in November, given her private feelings towards Senator Obama.

Far more, I am hugely respectful of the fact that she is able to go through the motions of bouncing back from such a massive loss after the surreal experience of campaigning - the hours, the actulity of sleep deprivation, of constantly performing under such pressure for so long - and do it so quickly without the luxury of at least a week to sleep, to grieve, to pick herself up and put herself back together again.

From my perspective simply as a normal human being, I would have thought it perfectly reasonable to put out a statement congratulating Senator Obama, calling for all Democrats to unify behind him, and stating that she was going to take a week's break to recover from the process and then she would come back to public life and do whatever it takes. That she's been able to more than that I think is truly magnificent.

Sorry, right now, the one good thing I'm willing to say about the race-baiting, sniper-firing ducking, Iraq war and anti-flag-burning voting, 'as-far-as-I-know' smearing, ever-the-victim whining, all-things-to-all-voters pandering Hillary Clinton is that (phew!) she won't be putting all her energy into destroying the chances for a Democrat (other than her) getting into the White House next year.

I loved her wonkishness, her absolute command and control of the minutia of policy. She wasn't afraid to go deep into the weeds on policy or to take us all with her and educate us. This was most notable in the early debates. I also appreciated her grace and poise during those early debates.

You know, I actually admire that she stayed with Bill through it all. That took courage and determination. It also took a lot of sucking up of her personal emotions and ego to do it, since the entire world was watching.

Give me a few days and I can come up with more reasons. She is brilliant and admirable and tenacious and a damned hard worker.

I think the day she impressed me most was the last day of campaigning in Puerto Rico when she stood in the back of that pick up truck and rode all over the island waving at people and smiling for seven hours. Have you ever ridden in the back of a pick up truck? Standing? Your feet get hot and tired. Your leg muscles ache from the strain of continually adjusting your balance. You get dust and grit on your face and the rest of your skin and clothes and your hair feels plastered with it. The sun beats down on you. The wind blows and your skin dries out. In short, it had to have been physically very challenging (the Secret Service was wiped out), but she made it look like fun and the Puerto Ricans loved it enormously. I really, really liked her that day. And I really like the way Chelsea looks at her. She did something very right with her child and she obviously has a side that is softer than the one she often shows the world. I'm gonna like her a whole lot if she's on Obama's side now. She's the kind of person that you want to have on your side if you're in a fight. She sure enough has shown us that she can be a terror if she's not on our side. I'm gonna enjoy seeing her use all that fire to fight republicans!

I can't say that I love HER, but I can say I love THAT Hillary has put so much time and effort into causes important to both women and children, over the last twenty years. Is that at least worth half a point?

For the record Hillary supporters are not democrats. Okay, some are, but most of these so-called Hillary-democrats were once Reagan-democrats. This is a term for people who should be voting democratic, but who've been voting for the republican army since 64-68-72 in greater numbers each passing year. White guys uncomfortable with so much democratic progressive change.

The idea that Hillary has much support at all is beyond belief.

And now that she's had time for the tears to dry, we can move on.

I love Hillary!

Ok, I joined this site many months ago because I saw how we were fighting amongst ourselves as dems and wanted to push unity and a joint ticket...wanted to get people to see the good in both candidates (that didn't work).

I REALLY admired both candidates back then, but preferred Obama. Why did I like Hillary? Lots of reasons. Too many to list and more than enough to happily--proudly--vote for her.

Then I started to dislike Hillary's campaign style and started seeing more and more great things about Obama.

THEN Hillary went ballistic and infuriated me.

But then, strangely enough, the more she insisted on not dropping out, even when her odds were ridiculously low, the more I started liking her again. I would get a smile on my face when I saw reports of her stubborn determination.

She insisted on doing this her way and didn't give up or give in. Maybe it got messy along the way, but I have to say that my final impression is one of head-shaking amazement at the strength of her resolve. If Obama thinks she'd work well with him as VP, I'm back to liking that joint ticket idea. It'd be more than fine with me.

Love is too strong a word. But things I LIKE about Hillary:

She knows her shit on policy deets. Thats important, maybe not for a president, but for his/her closest advisors.

She's not afraid to play dirty. I don't like that when turned against a Democrat like Obama, but it might be necessary against McCain. He wouldn't couldn't shouldn't, but he's gonna need people around who will. This is a backhanded compliment, but its real.

She's tough as nails. She survived all of the crap that got thrown at her without justification in the early '90s. Over time, she provided plenty of justification for having more crap thrown at her, but she still soldiers right on through and keeps coming back for more. That's an infuriating trait when I wanted her out of the race, but still admirable on some level.

She's been a damn good and honestly respected senator. I think she's got a fine future in the Senate, if she wants it.

Her original motives for getting into politics were good ones and, despite the overwhelming ambition, I know they're still buried in there somewhere. I hate her tactics but I know her goals are fundamentally good ones.

She's got the intestinal fortitude to survive in the most insanely publicly dysfunctional marriage in the history of the republic. I can't even begin to imagine how or why, but its something to be admired anyway. Kind of the same thing as 'tough as nails', from above, I think.

Thats the best I can do.

All right, I'll play. I'm not going to say I love Hillary because I don't, except in the way that I love all human beings on earth. But that's an "in spite of" love, not a "because of" love.

I will say that I love that she has shattered many barriers to women and many stereotypes about what women can do.

I will say that I admire her ability to stand tall in the face of some terrible things.

I also admire her fierce protectiveness as a mother. Raising a daughter in the public eye is not an easy thing, and she and Bill did a fine job with Chelsea.

I admire her understanding of policy, particularly healthcare. In general, she's excellent with policy, although she lost a few points with the gas tax holiday. But I'll chalk that up to desperation and call it the exception that proves the rule.

I like her jewelry. She rocked some nice necklaces with those pantsuits.

I admire her energy. The campaign schedule she kept was grueling, and most people would have succumbed to exhaustion.

There. That wasn't so hard.

ARGH!

AVAST ME MATEYS!

ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY
SHE'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME
ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY
AND HER DAUGHTER CHELLY-SEE

CORPORATE RAIDING WAYS!
LOVES LESBIANS AND GAYS!
ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY YOU SEA!

ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY!
HEART SO BRAVE AND TRUE
ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY
LOVES HISPANICS AND THE JEWS!

NO FLOP AND NO FLIP!
SHE'LL GO DOWN ON ME SHIP!
ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY YOU SEA!

ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY
OBAMA HAS JEALOUSY
ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY
IT IS NO FALLACY:

SHE APPEALS TO ME HEAD!
I WANT HER IN ME BED!
ME LOVE WENCH HILLARY YOU SEA!

THERE IS STILL TIME FOR HER TO BRING BACK THE RAIDING 1990S!

ACQUIRE! MERGE! MARAUD! DILUTE! DILUTE!

ARGH!

I like Hillary because she is a tough, tireless, battle-hardened political tank. She's also similarly bristling with guns and knives. She's a devastating and effective weapon for the Democratic cause.

There were days in the dog days of the Primary when Obama looked absolutely exhausted, but Hillary looked as fit and energetic as ever. Now I understand why she put out that "3am Phone Call" ad -- because she is probably always awake at 3AM at the morning working on something!

I also admire her for raising a bright, beautiful, smart and successful daughter. This is perhaps more important than anything Hillary has ever done.

And I love her for endorsing Obama for the greater good of the Democratic party and Democratic, progressive America.

Aw heck, all of love talk this is making me feel mushy inside: just put her on the goddamn ticket already.

I only wish she would've fist bumped Bill. That would've been TIGHT!

I'll say that I like Hillary for seeing the writing on the wall and giving Obama his due today with a grace and dignity that personally surprised me.

I like Hillary for forcing Obama's hand in he VP race, which allows him to make his own decisions.

I like Hillary when she acts like a woman and not a man.

I would like Hillary more if she kicked Bill out on his ear.

I like Chelsea and her devotion to her Mother.

I do admire Hillary. For all the nastiness of the primary campaign, who couldn't? Not only did she give us one of the most entertaining and interesting elections ever, but she broke barriers and boundaries that only a few years prior I would have said would not have been possible.

I admire Hillary because she is a timeless figure of the Democratic Party, and because, despite what her opponents (myself included) may say sometimes, she's doing what she truly believes is best.

She has fought and will continue to fight for the rights of all Americans, black, white, red, brown, yellow and all the shades in between.

I know that despite her loss she will do whatever is required to see that Obama wins and there is a Democrat in the White House. I know that despite her loss she will continue to work towards Universal Healthcare, low-cost education, higher quality of life in all areas.

I admire Hillary because, as frustrating as it is sometimes, she is a fighter. I believe perhaps her Rocky analogy was not incorrect. Perhaps she didn't win the battle, but she went the distance. Thank you Hillary, not only for all you've done for the Democratic party, but for all of America. Thank you!

Really good post.

The Great and Growing Divide
Many of us watched today as Hillary Clinton said something that physically hurt to hear. She asked us to support Barack Obama. Loyal Democrat that she is, and true to her word, Hillary did the unimaginable. She asked the rest of us to support someone that many of us actually loathe. And that is putting it mildly.

But Hillary did something else today that is already having ramifications throughout the country. Hillary supporters are taking sides. And there are basically two camps. One camp that is sticking with the party and one camp that isn’t
Reforming the party from within is wishful thinking. The only way a party reforms is by humiliating defeat, running off the rails, or egregious abuse in the opposition party.
If BO is elected, they will be in charge of the party…in fact are in charge of the party as we speak. Try to go talk to them about reform. Go talk to them about counting every vote…about changing the caucus system to transparent primaries. Tell them how you feel about it. I think we all know what the attitude will be.
For me…my only recourse is to withhold my support from the current party leadership and the BO party leadership. It’s a drop in the bucket but I don’t feel like I will be complicit in Republican style tactics…even if they worked.

Ronmaven echoed the sentiment and clarified it:
The defeat of Obama would be the best kick in the pants for the DNC we could possibly deliver. You want to CHANGE the party? Vote for McCain. You want the party to only get worse? Vote for O.
To some, NOT supporting Obama is the moral thing to do.

Ccwarrior perhaps says it best:
easy decision for me I will sellout the party that SOLD me out. and I can live with that. I would never dis-respect my daughters, and vote for Obama after the treatment they witnessed from him doing this election …NEVER

But I have saved the best for last. Before I put it out there I want to make one thing very clear. I have nothing but the deepest respect for linfar. She has been a staunch Hillary supporter and she is such an excellent writer. I just happen to totally disagree with her about Obama and unfortunately may have to write things in the future that criticize her positions. It isn’t something I look forward to.

But having said that I think that unfortunately linfar grabbed a mug full of the Cult-Aide today because low and behold, she quotes from none other than the Prince of Darkness himself (Jonathan Singer) to make her point.

from mydd
Singer: Can you speak to the online supporters, the people online who are so strong for Hillary, who don’t want to see her leave, as a strong

Hillary supporter yourself?
Sen. Chuck Schumer: As a strong Hillary support I say, look, I was for Hillary all the way. I was sort of the first Senator to endorse her and I guess I’ll be the last off the bandwagon, which I guess will be tomorrow. But, having said that, I would say to all of the people online, there’s too much at stake to sit this out, to be angry, to be bitter. There is too much at stake. A Supreme Court with more Alitos and Roberts. A continuation of the war in Iraq.

A failure to have a healthcare policy that helps people. A failure to have an energy policy that frees us from foreign oil. All these are such huge things that we have to do what Hillary said there, which is overcome, not look back, even though there are lot’s of disappointments, but look forward.

I expected these bugaboos coming from Schumer. But a little reality never hurt anyone. Except Cultists I’m told. We hear the same nonsense you would expect from otherwise seemingly reasonable people. The trouble is that they think they will be able to bamboozle and scare us with their line of bullshit.

Everything Schumer mentions is something that the Congress controls, not the President. Supreme Court… confirmed by the Senate. Iraq War funding…. controlled by Congress. Health Care policy…. written by Congress. Energy policy… written by Congress.

SO WAKE UP! And stop letting these people get away with lying to you.

The reason Bush has got away with so much and has done as much damage as he has these past 7 years is because of a weak, feckless and complicit Congress. A Congress that has allowed him to do everything he has done. Because a strong Congress acting in the best interests of the American people would never have allowed Bush to do many of the things they are so fond of complaining about.

Where were the Articles of Impeachment? The Speaker of the House said that they would never be introduced.

Why has the Congress continued to fund the war? The Senate Majority leader doesn’t know how to throw a knock out punch.

Why are Americans still being spied upon? WHY?!?
In fact, the Supreme Court that Schumer and others are warning us about has done more to stop Bush than all of the Democrats in Congress combined. So enough of these silly myths. I half expect Obama to come out next and state: “You are either for us or against us.” Wanna guess what my answer will be?

These spats. This falling apart is expected. And it will likely become more vicious and personal as the days wear on. I fully understand those that are toeing the party line. I used to be one of them. Until this year. Until the Democratic party proved to me that it didn’t really stand for anything any more.

Hey, what about me? I've identified myself as a Barack Obama supporter since my first post on TPM just before Super Tuesday. And it seems I've spent at least half of my posts defending Hillary Clinton from the excesses of Clinton haters and Obamabots (you know who you are).

I love Barack!

I love Hillary!

So here's something nice to say about Hillary: Mrs. Clinton, your concession speech brought me to tears. I guess I must have been secretly supporting you all along.

I love Hillary because her, "Well, that hurts my feelings," was one of the funniest, realest, most perfect moments in my political memory. I have heard she is very, very funny and the campaign trail did not allow it, but that was total awesomeness.