Senator Clinton Cried Today...

Ok, to be perfectly accurate, she had 'wet eyes'.

In any event I heard two stories on NPR today that, in my opinion, are related...and bode poorly for our country.

The story about Senator Clinton becoming emotional after being asked by Marianne Pernold Young, a freelance photographer, "...how do you do it? [...] How do you, how do you keep upbeat and so wonderful?"

Sen. Clinton replied that, "It's not easy, and I couldn't do it if I didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know, I have so many opportunities from this country just don't want to see us fall backwards." She said this with a tremble in her voice and a tear in her eye.

The second story was actually earlier in the day, but the piece on Senator Clinton sets the stage well for it. The story was on NPR's Talk of the Nation and was discussing, among other topics "Political Branding". One of the points made by the panelists was that after Gov. Huckabee's and Sen. Obama's won the Iowa Caucus, the other candidates were seeking to change their brand and messaging'. Many callers wanted to know what I was thinking - aren't they really just saying whatever people want to hear?

Which brings us back to Senator Clinton, today; she was one of the 're-branders' mentioned in the Talk of the Nation discussion. Specifically, she's re-branding herself to be more in line with what Obama is saying. Nothing really shocking, there...he's doing well...she wants to be doing well. All good, right?

No. Not in my book. If she was actually as passionate about her message as she claimed today, she wouldn't change it. She would be stoked about her message....her goals...her vision. Instead, she's stoked about taking power. Lest anyone think that I am just bashing her - I'm not. John Edwards and Mitt Romney are also hopping on the 'change' bandwagon. To me, that says these folks care more about getting into office than they do about why they are getting into office.

Whether you like these candidates or not - there is a problem. Compounding that problem is a shortened (compressed) primary season and LOTS AND LOTS of money. When all is said and done, I'm concerned that we will have glossed over why we are picking candidates to run for President.

So...why are you?