As readers of my journal may have noticed, I am an ardent Obama supporter. I admit that the past few months of increasingly combative rhetoric emanating from the Clinton camp has significantly lowered my opinion of both the Clintons, which I find personally disappointing, considering I actually worked on Bill's first campaign.

However, I am distressed at the extent of some of the anti-Hillary sentiment I've seen expressed.

I can understand why people think she seems to think she's "entitled" to the Presidency. I actually do understand those who complain that she's tearing the party apart by refusing to accept that Obama has a majority of the popular vote, and I understand those who believe that her unwillingness to concede defeat is an indication that she thinks it's all about her and her selfish and ego-driven need to win.

The thing is, I believe that her choice to stick it out is not solely due to issues with her ego. I believe that she is sincerely terrified of Obama -- not because he's winning, but because, in her eyes, he's an inexperienced, touchy-feely idealist with no sense of Reality, a starry-eyed neophyte who is going to get us all killed.

And let's face it -- it's not as though she's been getting completely skunked at the polls. An awful lot of people have voted for her, and once you take out those who are swayed by race or gender or loud-mouthed associates of either candidate, it stands to reason that a large number of those voters agree with her fears.

I was pleasantly surprised when Obama didn't rule out asking her to be his running mate. Sure, it could be seen as humiliating to accept second fiddle, but there is part of me that hopes that Hillary's sense of duty and responsibility toward her country will allow her to accept the position if offered. Personally, I like the idea of a starry-eyed (but intelligent) idealist in charge of the country for a while -- but it can't hurt to have a pragmatist on board as well.

Regardless of whether or not such a ticket emerges, I still have hope that, if we so choose, it is still possible for us as a nation to pull together for a better future. And with that hopeful note, I'd like to leave y'all with an essay by a friend of mine about his attempt to become an Obama delegate. He called it, "Backyard Democracy," but I prefer,

With Malice Toward None.