-Editorial

WEB DESK: Hillary Clinton has finally managed to break the glass ceiling and become the first woman in America to win party nomination for election to the nation's highest office. Mindful of the fact that more women than men vote in the US elections, in her acceptance speech Clinton devoted considerable attention to the gender aspect of her candidature saying "when any barrier falls in America, for anyone, it clears the way for everyone. When there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit."

Notably, however, during the campaign for Democratic Party's ticket, surveys found that more women supported Bernie Sanders, a self-described "democratic socialist", than his female rival, which of course meant ideas held greater appeal than the candidates' personalities. Sanders' campaign has forced Clinton to embrace some of his progressive ideas to try and win over his supporters. She told them "your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy and passion," promising to bring about campaign finance reform, limit executive bonuses, raise minimum wage, take up "affordable healthcare", support equal pay for women, oppose "unfair trade deals," and make college education tuition-free for the middle class.

While her Republican rival Donald Trump's xenophobic remarks have made him a much disliked figure abroad and a divisive figure at home while Clinton's message has been one of optimism and inclusion. She offered hope to illegal immigrants saying "we'll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy." Perhaps the strongest rebuttal to Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US was Clinton campaign's decision to bring on stage Pakistani-American parents of a US army officer, Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004.

The slain soldier's father, Khizer Khan, made an impassioned case for inclusiveness, drawing a rapturous applause from the audience after he asked Trump to "go look at the graves of brave Americans who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing... if it was up to Donald Trump [Humayun] never would have been in America."

Notably, as a former secretary of state who has been visiting Pakistan to meet with not only government officials but also media and civil society groups, Clinton is knowledgeable about the issues of conflict in this region as well as public sensitivities. That experience might help create a better understanding with Islamabad in the event Hillary Clinton rather than an impetuous Donald Trump wins the US presidency.

Source: Business Recorder