Yes, Hillary, we are so proud

Watching Hillary Rodham Clinton's concession speech on Saturday was a very emotional experience for me. My feelings are complicated. First, there is the sadness that her campaign is now coming to a close in what has been a long campaign full of twists and turns. I voted for Hillary Clinton, because I felt she was the best candidate for the job. I LOVED voting for her because she is a woman. My emotional response is centered there, as I am woman and I have a daughter who will grow up to be a woman. While I sat with my husband in the living room, watching Hillary's rousing and gracious speech, with my 3 year old daughter perched at my side, I found tears coursing down my face. I felt so very connected to her words. Although she did not "win the race," she did win. She won a lot. She went further than any woman has gone before. She ran a race hoping to become the next President of the United States! Think about that for a minute. Savor the idea of a woman running our country. Savor it, because someday it will be a reality. And that will be a glorious day! In years to come, my daughter will look back on Hillary Rodham Clinton as a woman who changed history. Who didn't say: I can't do this because no woman has ever done it before. She believed she could do it. She felt she was the most qualified. And she just did it. With tremendous opposition, irrational hatred and sexism opposing her. And she just did it. That is how history is made.

As the camera panned the crowd, I saw Gloria Steinem. And I felt my blood sing imagining all the women who have gone before who helped make this day possible for Hillary Clinton. A path has been hacked through the jungle, and now it is our job to keep the path free of choking vines. If you have a daughter, hug her and tell her that with hard work, determination and belief in herself anything is possible. If you have a son, hug him and tell him how lucky he is to grow up in a world where woman are equal to men. Hug your sisters, hug your friends, and celebrate what being a woman means today, in June 2008. We live in exciting times. As Hillary Clinton said, we can be so proud that now "it will be unremarkable to have a woman as President of the United States." Yes, Hillary, we are so proud. And I feel confident that those suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 are proud, too. Thank you for your inspiration. Thank you for your guts and determination. Thank you for having a voice and for not being afraid to use it. Thank you for making me feel alive. And I can't wait to see what mountains you conquer next!


Below are my favorite moments from Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech. For the full speech go here.

"...to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, See, you can be anything you want to be."

"We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality, from civil rights to labor rights, from women's rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization, to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. And we all want to restore America's standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, and once again lead by the power of our values, and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming."

" Now, on a personal note, when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for president, I always gave the same answer, that I was proud to be running as a woman, but I was running because I thought I'd be the best president.

But I am a woman and, like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us.

I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter's future and a mother who wants to leave all children brighter tomorrows.

To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and their mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect.

Let us resolve and work toward achieving very simple propositions.

There are no acceptable limits, and there are no acceptable prejudices in the twenty first century in our country.

You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends."

To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.

Always aim high, work hard and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you're knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on.

As we gather here today in this historic, magnificent building, the fiftieth woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast fifty women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.

Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it - and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.

That has always been the history of progress in America.

Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes.

Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and foot soldiers who marched, protested and risked their lives to bring about the end of segregation and Jim Crow.

Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote and, because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together.

Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States.

And so, when that day arrives, and a woman takes the oath of office as our president, we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream big and that her dreams can come true in America.

And all of you will know that, because of your passion and hard work, you helped pave the way for that day.

So I want to say to my supporters: When you hear people saying or think to yourself, If only, or, What if, I say, please, don't go there.

Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.

Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next president.

And I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort. "

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