On 2016 and President Hillary Rodham Clinton

Much as I would love, love, love to have a woman, specifically Hillary Clinton, as next president of these United States and as good as that would be, in at least some, if not a lot of ways, I've come to the conclusion that, even though it should be inconsequential--a woman as president--it will, quite likely, tear the nation apart.

I was speaking with an older, white friend last evening--and I mention his color because it does, in fact, matter--and mind you, he's beyond Right Wing, he's that far out there, and the anger and invective that came from his mouth at the mention of Hillary Clinton as next president of the nation was extremely strong and swift.

I think, for these people, quite likely a great deal of them, they feel or have felt that the election of the first black as president, Barack Obama, of course, was an aberration, whether they think the election was stolen or that he was put in there by some Left Wing cabal or the "Illuminati" or whatever. They'd like to get away from that aberration, naturally, in this line of thought, and getting back to some man--nearly any man but preferably, again, of course, a Republican, first but just ANY man would be accepted and an improvement, even if he's a Librul, God forbid.

Going from, first, a black man--a Kenyan, at that, they think--to a woman, THAT woman, Hillary Rodham Clinton--will just be continuing the nightmare for these people. Sure, it would do wonders for Fox "News" and Rush "Porkulus" Limbaugh and Bill O'Really and Glen Beck and Mike "Huckster" Huckabee and all the haters but with both their hate and anger, I believe they may well come to the conclusion, for all their hysterical but deeply held beliefs and "reasons", that we, America and Americans, really are "going to hell" and Hillary Clinton as president, if even for only 4 years would be beyond the pale.  It would be too far. It would be too much. For them, anyway.

Forget that, as I said above, you'd think and hope that it's inconsequential that she happens to be female. Forget the historic factor of, not just finally, finally, as a nation, having our first female elected president or that she would be, in fact, also following the first elected black president and forget that there would also, at the same time, be a former president as sitting "First Man" in the White House. Forget all that, sweep that aside, monumental as it would all be.

The fact is, Ms. Clinton has a good to great shot at being the next president of this country.  Naturally, it's a long, long way from November, 2016 politically but it is coming up on the time horizon very quickly, nonetheless. The race has clearly already begun, for that matter. The positioning for the job began at least months ago.

The possibilities and likelihoods of all this for the nation is both exciting and scary, all at once.

These are fascinating times in which we live.

I could go for a bit less "fascinating", however.

Other nations can have a female leader for their countries.

We Americans just don't seem to be that intelligent, mature or open-minded to it yet.  We aren't ready.

I'd love to be wrong about that.