I’ve spent a lot of time on here lately pointing out just how empty Barack Obama’s campaign really is. From the vapid promises to the supporters who know nothing about him to his non-existent record, there’s not much about Barack Obama worth talking about. Oh sure he’s the darling of the media and all they can talk about is how he’s black and he speaks well (as if a man running for President should show up at the debate yelling “I’m gone be Prez-o-dent”) but despite the folks that are ramming Obama down everyone’s throat, I never bought into the “hope” and “change” stuff.

I’ve also never bought into the “inspirational” thing, because if you need an outside person to inspire you, you probably should be looking elsewhere than a political candidate. That being said, some people have credentials, and some people have promises.

Hillary Clinton has credentials.

The automatic assumption, based on skin color no doubt, is that Barack Obama is a uniter. Hillary Clinton, however, has proved after working in the Senate for 8 years that she’s a doer, not a talker, and that’s evidenced by her 60% approval rating in a state where people were sharply divided about even electing her in the first place. She’s so popular in New York, in fact, that the GOP didn’t even run an actual candidate against her in the last Senatorial election.

That’s inspirational.

Though unsuccessful, she immediately acted as soon as she became First Lady to become more than just a figurehead for the President and spokesperson for some governmental program, and began working on a plan that would guarantee health insurance for all americans. Her reputation as an active First Lady often drew scorn and the term “bitch” has been used to describe her more times than I care to count, but in the end, she has forever changed the perception of the duties of the First Lady.

That’s inspirational.

In the 1960’s, when the civil rights movement was ramping up, she was there in the trenches. In 1965, she challenged segregation by bringing a black classmate to her all-white church, causing a minor uproar at the church. In 1995, she gave a speech in China that criticized China for its continued oppression of women. In many ways, Hillary Clinton has spent most of her adult life fighting for the rights of women both in the United States and abroad, and despite being diplomatic at times, spares no one from criticism for their policies when they’re anti-woman. She’s been on the front lines since day one.

That’s inspirational.

In 2006, she voted against the bill and constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration, proving that free speech is exactly that; free speech. Despite the unpopular nature of her opinion, she stuck to it and voted against it. Free speech is free speech; end of story.

That’s inspirational.

When her husband cheated on her with an intern in the Oval Office, instead of running out, playing the oppressed woman, and breaking up her marriage and family, she stood by her husband, much to the chagrin of many who thought it demonstrated weakness on her part. Most of those same people, of course, patted David Vitter’s wife on the back for forgiving her husband for a similar indiscretion. In the end, Hillary and Bill Clinton are still married and, as far as we know, happily so.

That’s inspirational.

While I’ve disagreed with Hillary Clinton over the years on many an issue (Affirmative action being one, her endorsement of punishing hate crimes differently another), her rise to become one of the most influential Senators in Washington is nothing short of incredible. Rising from an idealistic young college protestor to the First Lady of Arkansas to a prototypical new-age First Lady in Washington to a Senator in one of the biggest states in the country to a candidate for President of the United States is a story that’s not matched by anyone in this election or in any elections past.

If you seek your inspiration in someone’s ability to speak, then by all means, go with the silver-tongued Senator from Illinois. If, however, you want a story that’s just a hair more substantive than “she can speak really well!” then do what you have to do today. Vote for Hillary Clinton to represent the Democratic Party in November.