No one has ever run for President of the USA with the background and experience of HIllary Clinton. She was a super smart student who fought from the start for civil rights and better rights for women, was the first lady of the US for 8 years, living in the White House, served part of two terms as an elected Senator of the notoriously corrupt state of New York with not even the whiff of a scandal, working often in a bipartisan way with Republicans in the Senate, and served as Secretary of State in an era where the US needed to rebalance and reestablish its reputation in a very complex world, working well and closely with the man who defeated her in her attempt to be the first female president in 2008. She undoubtedly knows her stuff. She is calm under pressure, and her every word has been picked over and manipulated for decades. Anyone who has seen her knows she is funny, smart, and has more than her best interests on her mind. Yet she may not even get the nomination to run for president as a Democrat.

People say she doesn't connect, she changes her positions to suit the audience, she isn't trustworthy, she is too militaristic, but she really isn't any of those things. Look at the people she is running against, and then look at her again. Not so bad now, is she? Look at Barack Obama. Who has anything good to say about him at this point? But he will go down as one of the greatest presidents ever, overcoming huge opposition and racist hatred to have diplomatic breakthroughs across the globe and landmark changes for the better here. There is no one of his caliber in this election, but of those who have stood up so far, Hillary Clinton is by far the best. The bonus with her is her husband is one of the smartest, best-connected and wisest politicians in the last 40 years, and he will be there when she needs him.

So, what should she say? In order to get the nomination, she need not pander, but she needs to be honest. Bernie Sanders has a lot of good ideas: she should say that, again and again, and she will work closely with him after she gets the nomination to craft realistic and passable legislation to change things for the better: raise the minimum wage, improve education, help people pay for higher education, continue to reform health care and allow a single payer-type option for those who would rather be on a medicare-like system than using private insurers (they would then pay their "premiums" as higher taxes to the government). Cover everyone with chronic diseases with a government funded program that can negotiate lower prices, so their insurance premiums and those of everyone else will come down. Emphasize that she has accomplished a lot with her life, more than she ever dreamed, and now is her opportunity to make the lives of others' better with her experience and her connections. Diplomacy over war. Easing refugee crises by helping to improve the areas from which they are fleeing - it will cost less to do that in the long run - by working with the international community and the U.N. in Syria, Libya, and Iraq. Continue to open the doors to Iran, Myanmar, and North Korea, and be realistic with Israel: they cannot do whatever they want and expect us to back them up. Be positive, and emphasize how she worked with the other party while a Senator.

If she gets the nomination, she will win, but that is not enough. She needs to get a majority back in the Senate and get a turnaround in the House. Those are the absolute keys to improving America and changing it for the better, and both she and Senator Sanders need to keep saying that at every chance: turn up to vote and turn out those in the way of progress.

Comment