She's been the target of Republican attacks for 25 years now.  They have mercilessly criticized her character, publicly questioned her patriotism, and spent a hundred million dollars of public funds to try to find something - anything, they could use to stop her progressive march towards equality and justice.  And today, she still stands strong, leading the national polls, and poised to become the first female president of the United States.

The primary season is about to begin, and Democrats will choose the candidate to square off against the Republicans and their ferocious Right-Wing Attack Machine.  As voters go to the polls, they should keep the end goal in mind:  A November victory resulting in a Democratic Whitehouse in January 2009.  The chosen candidate must not only be able to withstand the inevitable attacks (which only Hillary has proven capable of doing), he/she must also be someone with the proven political leadership and experience to lead a national campaign to elect Democrats.  The goal should be set high: let the new commander in chief be well supported by a Democratic House and Senate.

The results of a Hillary Clinton administration would be sweeping and bold:  Hillary declared in September that the realization of universal health care would be her "highest domestic priority".  Her plan to finally implement a health care system that would cover EVERY American might be one of the toughest goals any presidential candidate has set for himself.  The opposition from the drug and insurance companies will surely be enormously well funded and organized.  And they are already cowering.  Among those in these industries who consider profit to be the one and only priority, Hillary is their worst nightmare.  Her first attempt to implement universal health care failed.  Her next one, armed with the executive powers of the presidency, and the solid, united will of a Democratic Congress, will succeed.  The United States will finally, at long last, join every other industrialized country in the world in providing healthcare to its citizens.

With regards to the economy, considering the growing chorus of warnings about the trouble ahead, it is a fine time to return to the proven effectiveness of "Clinton Economics".  Last Monday Paul Krugman, the award winning economist and New York Times Columnist, warned of a coming financial crisis of epic proportions.  

"How bad is it? Well, I've never seen financial insiders this spooked -- not even during the Asian crisis of 1997-98, when economic dominoes seemed to be falling all around the world.

This time, market players seem truly horrified -- because they've suddenly realized that they don't understand the complex financial system they created."

The nature and effectiveness of "Clinton Economics" was proven in the 90s, when Hillary's husband inherited a financial mess from George H W Bush, but with sound, economic policy, founded in progressive ideals and an unshakable commitment to the American middle class, led the country back to prosperity and fiscal responsibility.   23 million American jobs were created under that administration, 6 million during the first two years alone.  And when President Clinton left office, he passed on a budget with the largest surplus in American history.  

This has all been squandered by the newest Bush administration.   The unnecessary war in Iraq has crippled the economy.   The national debt has ballooned to $9 trillion dollars.  Every man, woman and child owes $30 000 in taxes to pay for this debt.  And social security is again in danger.  With such challenges ahead, this is no time for an amateur in the Whitehouse.  Among all the Democratic candidates, Hillary is the only one with the proven record of accomplishment and leadership to lead the country back to prosperity for the middle class.  

Hillary has received endorsements from a long list of well known, trustworthy patriots including Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Wesley Clark, Richard Holbrooke and Charles Rangel.  For almost the entire campaign, she has lead the polls in potential matchups against hypothetical Republican opponents.  And she is a strong and reliable candidate, fiercely committed to the progressive ideals that the Democratic Party believes in.

She will be an excellent commander in chief, and she deserves the support of Democrats this primary season.