A CAUTION FOR DISGRUNTLED CLINTON SUPPORTERS

For Obama supporters, it is easy to dismiss the disenchantment of Clinton supporters as sore losers. However, such an approach is conducive to making a bad situation worse.

Hillary Clinton, love her or hate her, is the first truly serious candidate for the presidency who happens to be a female. It is not too much of a stretch to realize that while women as a whole have escaped the Stepford Wife existence expected of them not that long ago, there is more to attain. Sen. Clinton embodies that for a lot of women.

I think.

I say that because I am not a woman. But, I realize that while at this time enthusiastic about an Obama/Biden ticket, ignoring the deep-felt emotions of fellow humans is not the best way to proceed. Obama doesn't need to salve the feelings of Sen. Clinton so much as he does those of her followers. They deserve more than just "you lost!"

What DOES disturb me the greatest though, is the notion that a large number of Clinton supporters yearn to vote for John McCain this November. If it's to teach Sen. Obama a lesson, it might be considered a case of cutting off one's nose to spite their face.

A friend once remarked to me that Hillary Clinton is the smartest woman in the world. I sharply disagreed, saying that my daughter was the smartest person in the world. So I'm biased.....sue me. Or, it may be one of my two sisters. Or maybe it might have been my mother. I know it isn't my wife because she showed the poor judgment of marrying ME.

But seriously, I mention the above because I'm one of those men who grew up and have lived with a great deal of love and respect for women. My parents fought a lot...imagine George W. Bush and Ralph Nader trapped together in a liferaft. That's nothing compared to the fireworks that went on between my mother and father.

It wasn't until the age of six or seven that I learned that "son of a bitch" wasn't one word. I learned lots of words growing up...mostly from the Old Man....and what gaps there were in my vocabulary were quickly filled by two drill instructors at Lackland Air Force Base.

Yet even as one as profane as myself has limits. There are certain words that go outside the bounds of what I consider acceptable. And that's really saying something.

So it came as a bit of a shock to learn that John McCain addressed his wife as a "stupid c***" in front of witnesses. To say it in the privacy of one of their homes would be bad enough, but to let loose such an epithet in public is beyond comprehension.

THAT is what ANY woman contemplating votiing for John McCain should consider. It was not a faxu pas; it was a revealing statement of what this man thinks of women. And so what if he'd had a long day...is life in the White House not tiring?

Before pulling the voting lever this November for John McCain, I ask you to consider what your vote means. It would be an endorsment of someone who holds women in contempt. That means my wife, my daughter, my mother, and my sisters. Not to mention all the other women in my life (doctors, lawyers, nurses, waitresses). Not a one of them deserve the "c" word. Even in jest, because there is nothing to joke about here.

It's NOT a small point. It's the only point as far as this voter is concerned.

Women and men are very different. They are also very equal. Anyone who does not grasp that by adulthood hasn't really grown in their hearts or minds.

John McCain should know better. And so should you.