Pennsylvania Hero and Hillary Clinton

This column focuses on ways for Republican congressional candidates to defeat incumbent Democrats, such as Jason Altmire (opposed by Melissa Hart), Tim Holden (opposed by Toni Gihooley), Patrick Murphy (opposed by Tom Manion), Joe Sestak (opposed by Craig Williams), and Allyson Schwartz (opposed by Marina Kats). The critical need for all the GOP candidates is to attract people who formerly supported Hillary Clinton. The way to get their votes is to ask -- forcefully but politely) for them. People like Altmire, Murphy, and Holden are especially vulnerable because they essentially stabbed Sen. Clinton in the back.

All the highlighted candidates need your support.


In the world of Hillary Supporters, which I now inhabit (as a supporter of John McCain), I hear endless rationalizations of Sen. Clinton's behavior -- particularly her endorsing Barack Obama, a thoroughly inferior candidate. Here's my response to such rationalizations.

No political figure should be immune from criticism. As I've said before, I wish Sen. Clinton had taken other steps than the ones she has tracing back to the "Unity" speech. In a difficult and dangerous world, the need for "party unity" is about number 999 on the list of priorities for any true leade. What the country needs more of might just be "party disunity."

In a previous endless comment about enthanol, I talked about one leader (John McCain) who took the right -- the honest -- position on that fuel, one which has such a devastating effect on food prices. I also talked about other supposed leaders -- Nancy Pelosi mainly, along with Harry Reid and Barack Obama -- who are treating a terrible energy crisis as just another opportunity to take pot shots at George W. Bush. It's shameful, disgusting.

Meanwhile, gas becomes unaffordable, the economy crumbles, people lose their jobs, and others are unable to buy food, but apparently, Nancy is securing her majority in Congress. She's solidifying her (miserable) career.

.I criticized the McCain campaign several times in the last few months. I said that John was naive about the nature of his opponent. I said his campaign manager should be fired. I said he should support drilling in ANWR. I said he should stay several miles away from certain evangelicals. Needless to say, that went over not so well with McCain people.

I respect Hillary Clinton, but the concept of "St. Hillary-who-can-do-no-wrong" is not helpful to her supporters, her country, or even to her. I have problems with the idea that the advancement of her "career" should be her single most important consideration.

We live in a world where crazed Muslims fly airplanes full of people into buildings, and where countries that hate us are trying to develop nuclear bombs. My career, your career, and her career are very secondary to people of character providing real leadership.

There's a Pennsylvania boy (Rod Maginiss) who recently won the Medal of Honor -- posthumously.. He dove on a grenade and saved the lives of four comrades. Obviously, concepts of the primacy of one's "career" would have been meaningless to him -- as well they should have been.

Hillary Clinton can learn from him. We all can.