Hearts and Minds

Hilary Clinton has always had my mind. But she took at least a little piece of my heart during Tuesday night's debate, when she described herself as, "a progressive who likes to get things done." A  turn of phrase that could describe me as well as it does Clinton, and gave me a sense of connection to Clinton I'd never felt before. It also does a great job of summarizing why she's had my support since before she ever announced her candidacy for 2016.

Maybe there was a time when I'd have fallen in love with Bernie Sanders and his calls for revolution, but I doubt it. My political leanings have always been as pragmatic as they are progressive. I certainly want all the things Bernie champions. Tax the 1% into oblivion, open the doors to all the public universities, it all sounds great to me. Unfortunately, none of it will be happening in this country anytime soon. As everyone with two brain cells to rub together knows, whether they choose to admit it to themselves or not.

With his focus on impossible dreams, Sanders ignores the possible. When pressed on issues other than income inequality, he says more or less the right things, but his heart doesn't really seem to be in it. His passion for ameliorating economic injustice is admirable, I guess, but even there, his plans seem vague, at best. How's he going to fund public universities in the absence of tuition, or convince Congress to tax the richest of the rich at the rates he supports? If the devil is in the details, Bernie's soul is safe as houses.

Clinton, on the other hand, is all about the details. She dives right in to the often tedious work of getting things done, and, well, she gets them done. Her accomplishments may not rise to the level of Bernie's dreams, they probably won't. But they'll be steps in the right direction. And they'll be real. When it comes to matters of my heart, reality, however difficult, will always beat out even the loveliest of dreams.