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Hillary For President: Why I'm Supporting Her
June 01, 2007

I think we can all agree that the next presidential election will be the most important one in our political lifetime. The next president will inherit two wars, a raging Middle East, a lack of any meaningful energy policy and an unprecedented loss of American prestige around the world. This is on top of a massive deficit, global warming, unprecedented Washington corruption, a rapidly growing China and a loss of democracy in Russia...this is no ordinary time and one that begs for strong and unique leadership. We cannot afford the luxury of on the job training for our next president. They have to be able to step in and lead on the very first day in office.

Over the past 6 months I have had the privilege of spending considerable personal time with all of the Democratic presidential candidates. Private lunches, dinners and visits to their homes. All in all, I found them to have skill sets that would make each of them a good president. This year the Democratic Party is blessed with a very strong field and any of the contenders have the potential to be a strong leader. This is in stark contrast to the Republicans, who are still without a candidate that can win...or make a great president.

So, after months of meetings and discussions with the entire field, I have decided to become one of the co-chairs of Hillary Clinton’s campaign in New Jersey. The irony is that I had started out thinking that I would work for anyone but Hillary. But after meeting extensively with each of the candidates there is really no choice. Hillary is smart, warm and has a deep grasp of the issues facing us domestically and internationally. She can hit the ground running unlike any other potential president. Plus, she has already stated the she will use Bill Clinton as a special ambassador to work with countries around the world to reestablish our critical relationships. While others like Obama, Richardson and Biden would all make good Presidents, none have the depth of experience, the grasp of the issues and the relationships around the world that must be immediately dealt with by our next chief executive.

The times are tough and demanding...our future, in many ways is at stake...and in my mind, Hillary is the only one ready to take on the challenge and lead us out of this mess created by George Bush. No president in modern times has inherited two wars, plus the all of the other major issues that will need to be dealt with on day one...we can’t afford to lose a year of leadership while someone learns how to be president.

This election is the most critical in modern history. That is why I am working hard to make sure that Hillary Clinton is our next president.

Posted by Michael Kempner at June 1, 2007 02:58 PM