Much has been written about the sexism and racism that was laid bare during this campaign.  There are loads of issues simmering in our national subconscious... and some incredibly dark things surfaced during this long season.

Still, in a time when the first female National Security Advisor cum Secretary of State precedes the first female Speaker of the House... when Germany elects its first female Chancellor and Benazir Bhutto inspired her nation before her tragic end, I think there are many achievements for women to celebrate too.  This is part of Hillary's legacy.  Without the needless spin of questionable statistics, she galvanized a huge part of the American electorate.  This is unquestionable.

During the best parts of her journey, she advanced causes like health care and brought the voices of the working poor to a national stage.  She also dragged the U.S. electorate into awareness of a fact that many other G8 nations already knew... a woman can compete and lead a major nation.

Some have mourned her loss in desperate terms, as though Clinton was the one chance to have a woman in the Oval office.  However, Kathleen Sebelius, Janet Napolitano, Christine Gregoire... there are many sterling examples of achievement across the leadership of our nation.  I'm not saying that this supersedes the presidency in importance, but certainly Hillary Clinton is not the ONLY American woman with a chance to lead our nation in the near future.

I am excited and heartened by the doors opened by the Democratic party this election cycle.  I am less heartened by the apparent willingness of some to abandon the party that opened those doors in favor of the club whose candidates consisted SOLELY of older white men.

Is that what Hillary's ground-breaking campaign represented?  Is that the way to honor her legacy?

REALLY?