No, no, no! Don't do that. Do. Not. Cry.

It's no surprise I'll be voting for anyone with a big D on their forehead this and just about any go around.  But I haven't decided which of the two Democratic front runners I'd vote for if my primary counted for something.  

It's an exciting time to be calculating and strategizing.  No matter what, the race will make history.  But most pundits seem to believe that in America today a black man still has a better chance than a white woman to win the big seat.  That being said, I'm not convinced America will accept a black man in the white house either. 

I do know this, crying helps no woman succeed in a professional setting.  Period.  I don't care if she merely "teared up."  It's still tears, and it makes her and, I fear, all woman seem weak. 

Never mind whether or not the tears were sincere, this is a serious blow to her credibility to stand up to leaders on a world stage.  Whoever wins the presidency is going to inherit the mess of our reputation, and it's going to be frustrating and grueling to repair.  Is she going to cry the first time she steps off Air Force One to wave at the teaming crowds of protestors?  Is she going to cry when congress won't do what she wants? 

Sure she's a bit worse for wear on the campaign trail, but you don't see Barak Obama or Smug Edwards chocking back a sniffle.  They look like crap, sure, but no crying there.  And Edwards, damn he's a jerk, has already pounced on her in the exact way that you would expect - he's questioning whether she's fit for the job.  That guy's a snake, and he surely stopped short of suggesting that because she's a woman she can't do it, but there are more than enough hillbillies around the country like that one nodding in agreement -- on both sides of the aisle.

This is surely the nail in her coffin, and honestly I'm sad about that.  I like Mrs. Clinton.  I've never thought she deserved her bad rap.  I don't think any of the pundits and "reporters" have ever given her a fair shake, and I don't believe that she acted entitled.  Indeed, I think the tears are proof that she is sincere about wanting to save our country.   I personally prospered a heck of lot under Bill Clinton's presidency, and it sucks even more that Bush's cronyism has set me up to lose it all in a heartbeat.   I want that all back too, Hillary.  I feel your frustration.

But there's no crying in politics.  Definitely not if you're a woman.  With all the advances over the past four decades, woman still have to work twice as hard for 30 cents per dollar less than our male counterparts.  I've personally been overlooked for promotions that were given to clearly unqualified men.   I've also been sexually harassed by a vice president of a very liberal company, someone who had an open reputation for bad behavior and was never once reprimanded for it.

Everyday women have to fight hard to stay in the game, but we don't cry.  We can't, because we'll loose all the ground we've ever gained.   I've bawled my eyes out every night for weeks at the injustices that plagued me in my office.  But I did it at home.