Why Hillary Clinton is good for America

Come on, America

Elect Hillary already.

How can you not, after the speech she gave officially, launching her campaign yesterday?

It had vision, as she delineated the "Four Fights" she will spearhead for America as president - to build an economy where hard work is rewarded, to strengthen families, to defend America and increase its opportunities all over the world, and to renew the promise of its democracy.

It had vigour, as she stood in her blue pantsuit under the bright New York summer sun, and deftly brought up the eight years she served as New York senator and the four years she served as secretary of state.

It had humour, as she laughed off criticism of her age, saying she would be the youngest woman president ever (she's 67, and Barack Obama, at the end of his term, is a mere 53) and she couldn't get grayer - as she pointed out, she's been colouring her hair for years.

It had hunger, not for herself, but for America's potential.

It had a blueprint, as she spoke of how to make America the most inclusive society possible, judged by how many children climb out of poverty, how many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive, how many young people go to college without drowning in debt, how many people find a good job, and how many families get ahead and stay ahead.

As she said: "It's America's basic bargain. If you do your part you ought to be able to get ahead. And when everybody does their part, America gets ahead too. You worked extra shifts, took second jobs, postponed home repairs... you figured out how to make it work. And now people are beginning to think about their future again - going to college, starting a business, buying a house, finally being able to put away something for retirement."

What makes America great, is what makes Hillary possible.

By cleverly reminding voters of her mother's years as a housemaid, she reiterated the value of hard work.

By recalling the two men she has worked most closely with, and who she said were inspired by Franklin Roosevelt, she reiterated the idea of hope they represented - one a poor white kid from Little Rock, Arkansas, and the other a black boy raised by a single mother.

By repeating the centrality of the family, she went right to the heart of contemporary America's greatest fears - how will they pay for child care, for their chidlren's education, for their retirement, for healthcare. How will they keep their families together?

These are not just women's issues, she reminded America, they are every American's everyday issues.

Look at what you will get, America.

A woman who travelled to more countries as secretary of state than her predecessors, so knows which country to stand up to and which country to support.

A woman who has experience of the White House as First Lady for eight years, of the Senate, and even of Congress, as an intern.

A woman who has survived public scrutiny at every level - her emails, her bank account, her wardrobe, her sex life, her inability to bake cookies.

A woman who knows what it is to stay afloat in the middle class, to scrimp and save, to get to college, to pay for law school, to work pro bono, to raise a child as a working mother, to forgive infidelity, to fall down and get up again.

A woman who can go to war for America (hence her subtle reminder that she was in the room the day America got Osama bin Laden) but who also knows why it is important to keep the peace.

Everybody needs a chance and a champion, she said.

She can be America's.