Why I’m gladly voting for Hillary Clinton on November 8

You could say that I’m an above-average social studies student. I finished my college civics courses while I was still in high school. As a high school senior, I made it to the state finals of the American Legion Citizenship Bee. You’ll still find a “Social Studies Student of the Year” plaque with my name on it in the trophy case at Ashland High School in Ashland, Ohio.

I’ve followed civics, current events, history, legal issues, and politics even closer in adulthood than I did in high school. I not only vote in every election, I spend months or even years carefully studying candidates and issues so I’m confident that I’m making the best decision when I fill out my ballot. Over the course of 20 years, I’ve voted for both Democrats and Republicans in local, state, and national elections.

Participating in civics for all these years built up a good amount of perspective and changed the way I hear and see elections. For example, I do not listen to a single word that candidates say. Not a word. Candidates–Democrat or Republican–will say anything to get elected. That’s the game of politics that politicians have to play to get votes.

Instead of listening to what candidates say, I study what they do, have done, and propose to do. The clearest indicator of what a candidate will do in the future is what he or she did in the past. Likewise, the way the candidate did things in the past is the way he or she is most likely to do it in the future. I want to know how candidates choose and listen to advisors, gather and process information, and make decisions. I want to know how deftly they manage the political process. I want to know how deeply they understand issues and how their decisions will affect different constituencies. In short, I want to know how well-prepared they are for the job.

That has a lot more to do with my decision than ideology, which is where I feel so many people start and end their consideration.

Ideology is a factor in my decision. But what if someone has the right ideology, but lacks the experience, knowledge, skill, or wisdom to do the job? Voting someone like that into office actually sets back the ideology I want to promote and endangers us all.

For the sake of the nation and the people I love, I would rather vote for a candidate who can govern effectively, but whose ideology does not match mine on all points.

Here’s where perspective comes into play. I’ve been a close follower of seven presidential elections now (starting with Bill Clinton’s first campaign in 1992). Every candidate promises the exact same thing: “I’m going to bring change to Washington.” Look it up. Every single one makes that promise.

But perspective proves that Washington doesn’t change and hasn’t changed. If every president we’ve elected won on the promise of changing Washington, shouldn’t Washington be different by now?

Politics is a human thing and humanity doesn’t change much. Humans will be humans and therefore politics will be politics. Study political history. Politics is pretty much the same in all places and all times. Washington is not going to change because Washington is full of humans doing what humans do when they are in a political climate. It is naive to believe that voting a single president into office will be the magic bullet.

Here’s another thing that candidates promise, but rarely deliver: Solutions. Let me clarify this point. When a candidate runs for office, he or she promises solutions that will energize and mobilize his or her base of voters. So, for example, a Republican candidate may promise to appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade. The solution seems simple enough. But it ignores the fact that nominees to the Supreme Court must go through a very difficult political appointment process that prevents strong anti-Roe v. Wade justices making it to the bench.

Another example: A candidate may promise universal health coverage. This is a solution that energizes a voting bloc that can get the candidate into office. But universal health coverage as the candidate proposed it has no chance of becoming law once Congress gets ahold of it. The eventual law will look nothing like the program the candidate promised. This is the nature of American politics. Compromises are the only way to get things done. This is why I don’t hold candidates to their promises. They do not have the power to actually deliver those promises once they’re in office.

So, what’s the point?

It’s this: I expect the people I elect to get a few things done that move us in the direction that I think we need to go as a nation. I don’t expect that candidates will give us exactly what they promise; they can’t. I don’t expect that candidates will “change Washington”; they won’t. They can, however, change a few things for the better.

So I base my decision on which candidate I believe will: a) move us in the direction we need to go, b) be most effective at the job of governing, and c) be most effective at navigating politics both at home and abroad. Nothing better indicates a candidate’s readiness for all three of these criteria than her or his track record.

This is why, in politics, the perceived status quo is sometimes better than so-called change. When an outsider comes along and promises “change” or something better than the status quo, it is foolish to take what he or she says at face value. On what basis does this candidate believe he or she can bring about change? Does anything in this candidate’s background, personality, or social savvy indicate that he or she has unique qualifications to bring about the change he or she promises?

It seems to me that in our current political climate, voters are ignoring these questions and turning instead to bluster and braggadocio. Candidates are effective who claim they will “storm the gates” of the status quo and force the powers therein to bend to their will.

But this simply does not happen and will not happen for two reasons: 1) History shows that the political system does not change in that way, 2) Human history shows that today’s change agent becomes tomorrow’s defender of the status quo. The candidate for whom you vote today will not be the person you find in office tomorrow.

And this is why I am voting for Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. Based on my three general criteria, she is the best candidate in this field:

a) She does not perfectly fit my ideology, but her values and vision for America are in line with the direction I believe we need to go as a country and as a human society. Studying her body of work over a lifetime demonstrates her consistency and persistence on issues that matter to the American people.

b) Her 40+ years in government exposure and service are a deep reservoir of experience, knowledge, and savvy that make her one of the most prepared and qualified candidates of all time. She has a fantastic understanding of the forces shaping our world, the issues confronting our people, and the tools available for effectively governing.

c) As First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State, she has proven to be deft at playing the political game. In politics, networks and relationships are vital to getting things done. She knows the players and the pressure points that she can effectively engage to get things done in the best way.

I cannot say any of these things about Ms. Clinton’s opponent.

Finally, I do not expect Hillary Clinton to change Washington or single-handedly solve the biggest problems confronting the nation or the world. No president can do that. Change in our country happens over generations, which is to say over many presidential administrations. Hillary Clinton will finish what some other presidents started. She will start some things that future presidents will have to finish. But I have the utmost confidence that she can manage to keep us from falling back in some areas while she moves us forward in others. If she does that, she will be a very good president.

All things considered, Ms. Clinton is not only a better candidate than Donald Trump. She is one of the best candidates for whom I’ve ever voted. For the reasons I stated in this post, I believe Hillary Clinton will prove to be an excellent president for whom all of us will be very thankful someday.

I’m not one of those voters who will hold my nose as I vote. Indeed, it will be one of the most significant and proudest moments of my life when I cast my vote for her.