Courage takes on many forms, sadly, it is rarely used in conjunction with women, their sacrifice and hard work.

Like many, I’ve been watching the terrific HBO series John Adams, fascinated & quite taken back with both John and Abigail Adams.

John was a complicated man. Tenacious and honest, he was blessed with great intellect. He also had genuine affection and deep love for his wife and family. He was conflicted with the many absences he and his family had to withstand while he was on this country’s business. John Adams was also bullheaded, (some said) vain and occasionally tone deaf both in his personal and political life; a complicated man to be sure.

Abigail was a wonderful woman, John’s equal in every way . . . his rock, lover, friend. John was absent 7 of the first 14 years they were married, leaving Abigail alone to singlehandedly school and care for their children, plant the crops to feed them, make their clothes, survive illness, etc. etc. These selfless acts of necessity took courage, the kind of courage that is often overlooked or dismissed.

This country is most fortunate that John, Abigail, and their contemporaries were willing to sacrifice so much so that we might benefit from their vision of a political system where all men and women are created equal. How can one not ask if the hand of the Divine didn’t play some part in the birth of United States of America . . . particularly since both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died 50 years to the day the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1826.

And what does this have to do with Hillary’s courage? I’ve been thinking about the onslaught and barrage of negativism Hillary faced on a daily basis because she was a woman and because she was Bill’s wife.

For the misogynistic morons (that’s most of the media, both male and female, especially MSNBC, Keith Olbermann, and Chris “cheap shot” Matthews) who want to jump ugly, suck it in. Hillary didn’t lose because she was a woman, however, the constant drum beat of hate filled speech didn’t help her candidacy or the country.

It was shameful demonstration of how far we still have to travel when it comes to respecting women and their points of view. BTW, just because there were woman jumped on the “Bash Hillary bandwagon” that doesn’t mean their comments were any less hateful, hurtful, or misogynistic. Yup, women can be “suck ups” and jerks too!

I don’t know how Hillary had the strength and fortitude to get up every day facing this negativism before she uttered one word on the campaign trail. She did, and this country owes her a debt of gratitude.

While she was fighting against incredible odds, against “conventional wisdom”, against the backdrop of a Obama biased media, shouts for her to get out, the machinations of Howard Dean and the DNC, the following took place:

• more people registered to vote than ever before

• more people cast votes in primaries than ever before

• 18,000,000 people cast votes just for Hillary

• this contest went down to the wire and States like South Dakota, Colorado, etc. had a voice in the outcome for the first time in my memory

• her candidacy took this country to a place it had never gone before and in the process this democracy is stronger, more voters young and old are participating . . . and that’s a very good thing!

If Hillary’s critics had had their way, Obama’s selection would have taken place months earlier and the voices of millions of voters across this country would never have been heard.

Since we’re talking about courage and tenacity have you ever wondered why:

• Gore didn’t have more of tenacity in 2000? Yes, his case went to the Supreme Court, but he still had options that he refused to consider. What if he’d fought on? Where would this country’s energy policy be today? Think we’d be facing a recession and gas at $4 a gallon? Would there have been a 9-11 or war in Iraq? We’ll never know.

• While talking about courage and tenacity, why didn’t Kerry contest the voting in Ohio in 2004? There were so many irregularities that it remains incomprehensible to me why he didn’t fight. How much courage and tenacity would that have taken? In my book, not much. Even a cursory look shows massive voting irregularities and fraud. This is a mystery that Stephen Marks brings up in his book Confessions of a Political Hitman.

• Question: Mr. Dean while one of your party’s female candidates was taking a brutal sexist beating in the press by the MSM how much courage would it have taken to go on record with the media, putting them “on notice” and saying, “enough!” Answer: More courage than you had, given the fact you made no secret of the fact you were really supporting Obama.

Mr. Obama we already know you’ll do and say anything to get elected so we don’t have to ask why YOU didn’t say something about the reprehensible sexist behavior of the MSM when they were “reporting” on Hillary.

Your only acknowledgment of Hillary’s fight was made during the “unity” appearance when you were looking for votes from her supporters! What a joke. Seems to me that a real man would have stopped his campaign and delivered a speech to the media, his supporters, and the world that he didn’t want to win in such a scurrilous manner.

What sir, will you tell your daughters if they suffer the residual effects of sexism because you were silent????

Here’s something else, a savvy politician would have seen the benefits of doing this. You made a speech about racism and you should have made one on sexism. Had you done so, many in us in Hillary’s army would hold a different opinion of you now.

Now all we’re left with is the question I have been asking for months, “how much courage does it take to cast a vote?” Until someone presents facts to the contrary, you are the only politician I am aware of who has placed 130 present votes, not yes or no . . . present!

Like I said, courage takes many forms!