blog entry

Do the Right Thing

Liz O'Donnell

Wow. What an amazing convention the Democrats staged. And what an emotional roller coaster for Hillary supporters like me.

Her speech Tuesday night was fantastic. She was powerful, authentic, professional -- the ultimate team player. And I was heartbroken listening to her. Not because she was my preferred candidate and didn’t win. I dealt with that in June. What saddened me was watching her do the right thing. Yes, her campaign was historic. And yes, she made it further than any other woman, so far. Yes, she put eighteen million cracks in the glass ceiling. But in the end, she did what women always do – she fell in line and did the right thing.

We see it in households where both the woman and the man work. Women do more than fifty percent of the housework and child care duties. They pick up the dishes, make the pediatrician appointments, handle the school activities. Why? Because they won’t risk what might happen if they don’t. We see it in the office. Women volunteer to take the minutes, they manage to budget, they make sure the conference room is picked up before and after a meeting. Why? Because they won’t risk what might happen if they don’t. And we saw it in Denver. Hillary got behind Barack. She urged her delegates to do the same. She moved the question during the roll call. Why? Because she wouldn’t risk what might happen if she didn’t. She wouldn’t risk another four years of Republican rule.

Hillary did the right thing for her party and her supporters. I applaud her for that. Now I look forward to the day when everyone will do the right thing --not just the woman.