I'm voting for Hillary

In my neighborhood the Obama signs are sprouting faster than the dandelions. And I keep getting invited to more and more Obama campaign events.

But I'm for Hillary Clinton.

It's not that I don't like Barack Obama. He's an appealing choice. He'd be easy to support. And if he becomes the nominee I will work hard to see that he gets elected.

But I'm for Hillary.

Barack Obama is like the new kid who moved into town during his sophomore year. He's likable and smart and is elected class president even though he's only been at that school for two months. By his senior year he is Student Council President and King of the Prom. Did he work hard for those things or did he just get picked because he's a boy and we were fascinated by his biracial background?

Hillary Clinton is like my best friend's older sister. The one who explained the facts of life to us and who invited us to her Women's Consciousness Raising Group, even though we were only 12. She joined the Chess Club even though she was the only girl in it. She ran for class president too, but she only got enough votes to be secretary. But she kept working at it.

Hillary reminds me of that girl who finally made it to vice-president of the Student Council and the president was a boy who played football. There were no sports for girls back then -- unless you counted cheerleading or being a majorette for the marching band. But Hillary has thick ankles and doesn't care about those things anyway.

I'm for Hillary.

I think it's true that women have to work twice as hard as men to get to the same level of respect. We live in a sexist world. And I'm sure Barack was a very nice boy in high school. I'll bet he didn't have to work as hard as she did.