Hillary and Michelle - The Real Power Couple

North Carolina

Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama's first joint campaign rally made history while creating a scenario unlike anything seen before. The significance of the current first lady campaigning for a former first lady who is running to become president of the United States was unprecedented. Their appearance together wasn't simply about star power, it was woman power.

Both Clinton and Obama know this is a critical election in which women will play a pivotal role. There was no great fanfare preceding the event, but a reported 10,000 people gathered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to hear the two women. Clinton and Obama made their case by building bridges of commonality between themselves and their audience. Side by side they spoke passionately about issues of concern to women who are students, women who work outside the home, and women who work at home.

Clinton’s opponent was addressed. Without name. "When you've raised children in the White House you're reminded of the impact you have," said Obama, "because you think of the millions of children watching us." 

Candidate Clinton, who also raised her daughter in the White House, added, "Dignity and respect for women and girls is also on the ballot in this election, and I want to thank our first lady for her eloquent, powerful defense of that basic value."

The first lady softly said to her partner on stage, "Thank you for that." The simple and complex power of these two women is as remarkable as the times that set that stage. They showed gratitude and respect for each other, and to those who came to hear and see them. This is what women role models at the highest level can look and sound like.

"When they go low, we go high," said Obama. It’s the best campaign slogan yet. Despite her protestations to the contrary, maybe the time has come for its author to put politics in her future, not just in her past. 

"First Ladies. We rock" 

Author once again duly noted.

Trump Borders on Disqualification

Las Vegas Debate

It's almost over. Some questioned why they should have watched the third debate after all that went down in the last, but its importance cannot be underestimated. The debate provided us with a final view of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump side by side, physically, emotionally and intellectually. In the end, we saw Trump come out as a man with more regard for himself than the basis of our democracy. With Clinton now in the lead, he refused to say he'd accept the election results.

After all these months, it's hard not to believe that Trump has viewed becoming president as just another notch on his belt. He has done the real estate business. Tried the tie, wine and steak businesses for diversion. Why not go for the highest office in our country which brings along with it the most esteemed title? 

Donald Trump never expected to win the primary elections. He was admittedly surprised with his success as he noted in his Republican Convention acceptance speech:

"Who would have believed that when we started this journey on June 16th last year, and I say we because we are a team, would have received almost 14 million votes ... Who would have believed this? Who would have believed this?"

His surprise should have been our major clue to all that has gone on since he first announced his candidacy. It becomes clearer that Trump's grand plan has, in all likelihood, been to make a run for the presidency, see how it goes and go from there. He never put together a real campaign staff, fundraising apparatus or ground game that is necessary to win a national election. His campaign has run on few specifics and a lot of Trump personality. 

The Republican nominee has simply winged much of this campaign, winning the hopes of many and losing the minds of many more. In retrospect as well as today, too little has been about making things better for anyone or for our country. It has been about making things better for himself. That's been Trump’s pattern throughout his business career. Remember this is the Donald Trump who declared business bankruptcy four times while walking away with millions for himself and thousands of lost jobs for others. But always figures out a way to say he was the winner.

At this point with polls showing an overwhelming Clinton victory, Trump won't view his loss in the same way as any other Presidential candidate did who came up short in the final tally. No matter what, he’ll see the real victor in this campaign as himself. You can almost smell those words now. 

Losing is not part of Donald Trump's vocabulary. That's one of the main reasons he could go where no other presidential candidate has ever gone, Including Al Gore. In the 2000 presidential election. Gore waited for the votes to be counted against George Bush before challenging the results, Trump is calling the results of the 2016 election into question before it’s even taken place. With total disregard for the ramifications of his words, he shot an arrow into the bedrock of our democracy. "I'll keep you in suspense" was said almost flippantly at the end of the debate.

Less than 24 hours after the debate, Trump told an audience that he would accept the election results ... if he won. Playing games with the peaceful transition of power as the election nears is dangerous business. Beyond anything globally imaginable. It borders on the disqualification of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee.  

Sex. Lies. Groping. Video Tape. and a Debate

St. Louis Debate

We have gone through many stages of Donald Trump during this 2016 presidential campaign, but we’ve now reached the numbing effect. He went to the bottom of the barrel in the St. Louis Presidential Debate and did not come up cleansed. The debate was held several days after the release of the sleazy and lewd Access Hollywood video and audio tapes in which we hear Trump describe kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women despite being married.

Trump apparently felt humiliating Hillary Clinton in a cheap and tawdry way in front of the world audience watching the debate was the best way to redeem himself. In a move few could believe, Trump brought four women to the debate, three of whom accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct in the 90s. His obvious goal was to intimidate Hillary Clinton and embarrass her husband who was seated in the audience next to their daughter Chelsea.

In a plan orchestrated by Trump’s campaign chairman Steve Bannon and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a pre-debate photo op with Trump and the women was held. Trump friend Rudy Giuliani then escorted the women to seats in the main debate room directly in front of Clinton’s podium.

This is the same Donald Trump who told us after the first debate, "I'm really happy I was able to hold back on the indiscretions in respect to Bill Clinton. Because I have a lot of respect for Chelsea Clinton." 

The same Chelsea Clinton who was now forced to sit rows apart from women who had played a very painful role in the Clinton family life when she was a young girl. The same Chelsea who was seated in the St. Louis audience next to her father, the former president of the United States. The same daughter whose good friend Ivanka Trump was also sitting close by next to her siblings and Melania Trump. 

That's what Hillary Clinton saw as she looked out at the audience in the relatively small debate area.

The debate was held on a fine midwestern college campus. In normal times, it would have been a great opportunity for students to have the presidential candidates’ debate on their campus. But what took place last night was something that should never have been seen by any of us as part of the presidential political process.

Donald Trump came on to the debate stage an angry man backed into a self-made corner. You can no longer be dispassionate about Trump. His behavior at the St. Louis debate was repulsive and wrong. He created what was too often an abusive encounter with his opponent.

He tried to make Hillary feel guilty for her husband's alleged indiscretions. Trump showed continual disrespect for the former first lady, senator and secretary of state, telling her if he were in charge "you'd be in jail." He refused to stop interrupting her, shouting at her and walking behind her when she was talking. And this was a presidential debate.

The one thing Trump didn't do last night was offer the American people a major apology for his behaviors showcased on the Access Hollywood tapes. Not the thirty second late night one quickly put together two days before. He wasn't man enough to do the right thing that many were waiting to hear. 

So much damage had been done to this debate by a defiant and arrogant Trump that it was hard to focus on whatever substance there was. What we saw was a Republican candidate seriously out of control.

An Anniversary Retrospective

Boston City Hall Plaza, 1972

One year ago, Political & Otherwise published its first post. I am and always have been a political junkie coming off many years of covering so much of it as a news correspondent, or being in the midst of it working on two presidential campaigns. This was all done, of course, when few women were allowed to cover the hallowed halls of male dominated politics. I just always loved it, and respectfully pushed my way in to City Halls, State Houses, Capitol Hill and the White House, honing my craft as a trained observer. Yes, I do have sympatico with other women who are 'firsts.' It ain't easy. Fast forward to 2015, I knew that lightening was beginning to strike our political process and it was once again time to share added perspective with all of you by publishing this blog. Your support has been overwhelming.

As Political & Otherwise readers, one of my goals is to enable you to gain insight into stories before they appear in major news publications, as was the case with the first post, The 2016 Presidential Campaign and Our Kids. The campaign rhetoric in October, 2015 was already beginning to get out of control, and I could only imagine it's impact on young ears and eyes. The theme had yet to be studied or made into a Clinton campaign commercial - both of which have happened. And from there we went to the two women then running for president, Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump's misogyny reared its ugly head early in the campaign which, among other things, was providing us with a headache. As our first month of publication was ending, it was noted that Jeb Bush was significantly pushing himself out of the race.

The 2016 campaign will not soon be forgotten. Too much negativity will leave a mark on our political process, and too many may think more than twice about running for political office. There was a time when it was considered a higher calling. True public service. The idealist in me would like to believe that those young children I wrote about a year ago will grow up and realize that this turning point in our historic process of electing a president is a goal and an ideal to still be pursued.

No matter which candidate ends up in the White House, a historic Hillary first or a Trump that realized he can indeed be Trumped, there will continue to be much to share and talk about as we inaugurate a new president. Stay tuned ... and thank you for being a part of this year!