What has Senator Hillary Clinton done that alienates the American people? We veterans tend to be moderate conservatives, but few seem to support her and I have found none who can say why.  So, the question is why can't Hillary win in 2008? Leftist? In a broad stoke, we veterans tend to think of leftists as people who are anti-military - kind of Jane Fonda-ish.

If she is a leftist, then why did she vote for the war in Iraq? In a time of American crisis, she believed the President. She strongly supports our men and women who are in harms way in Iraq even as she recognizes the political mistakes that led us into this conflict. Over 70 percent of Americans agree with this position. If she is a leftist, then why has she pushed several times for a strong veterans health care system? And why does she want a health care system available to everyone across our nation?

Clinton's voting record shows she believes in fiscal responsibility, a strong military, and free trade.  So why does the very mention of her name cause such a negative reaction in some cirles?

I think it started with President Clinton's off-the-cuff humor about the nation 'getting two for the price of one' when he was elected.  We did not like the joke, if it was one. Then, almost immediately Hillary led a closed door committee to find some way to develop an affordable, accessible universal health care system. The pundits (and much of the American public) trashed her for her efforts. Ironically, when Dick Cheney hosted closed door committee meetings with energy officials many thought it was a wonderful idea. Today, gas prices soar while American families go further and further into debt because of a broken medical care system, yet the Vice President's SCD meetings never produced the national rancor that the then-First Lady's did.

Senator Clinton is the first woman to serve on the Senate Armed Forces Committee. She has visited Iraq, Afghanistan, and has journeyed many times the short distance to Walter Reed to visit the wounded. She votes in favor of bills and budgets that push adequate veteran health care along with a capable military that can act in the interests of National Security. She co-sponsored a bill to guarantee VA health care funding. (It was killed by the administration.) She is pushing another bill to guarantee veteran health care while the administration tries to impose an annual enrollment fee on certain classes of veterans. She demanded answers from Secretary Rumsfeld when others gave him carte blanche. In many cases, time has vindicated her political positions.

So why can't Hillary win (and why won't veterans support her)?  She grasps foreign policy, military requirements, and the needs of this nation's veterans. If we're smart, we'll give her a good look in 2008. The truth is there for those who can mute their personal ire long enough to see that she is a first-rate politician trying to do the right thing.