Great post!  Reminds us that underneath all the camera flashes, the TV coverage, the blogs, the polls, the fund raisers and gym rallies, there are the working class who make up the bulk of our great Democratic party.

The working class appreciates hard work.  Let's hope that Ohio and Texas put Hillary back into the game.

I feel very good about tomorrow. Hillary is going to win Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. Thanks for the diary.

Beautifully put...the truth is in the real stories, the real lives that people lead...not in the rhetoric...Thank you so much for this wonderful perspective...Hillary all the way!!!

Clinton always fight for the people who need help.

My prayer is that the republicans in Texas who have been encouraged to vote against Hillary in the democratic primary do not throw this election to Obama.  It would be a shame if that were allowed to happen because a few far left people have used this open system to pretend that Obama is the working persons candidate.  He is not! He was raised in Hawaii, went to private school and attended Harvard.  He is not the working man's man at all.  He is not the real in the hood black candidate either.  His background has been changed to appear to be something he is not.  He now claims he was never a Muslim, but his father was, and for Muslims, that is determinative, even if he renounces that he should at least be honest about his background.  I don't care about his parentage but I do want him to be honest and not twist the facts.    He buys a 3.2 million dollar home.  He has no plan to rescue homeowners but wants to rescue the financial companies that support his campaign, nor does he have a plan to deal with that part of this mortgage crisis.  He says that those who failed to buy wisely should not be given a bail out, but does not see that these people were taken advantage of.

Hillary sees the people, all Obama sees is the bright lights in his eyes and his own elevation to the presidency. He has grandiose visions of the position, Hillary has already been in the WH and has no illusions about the job.  She knows what faces her, he does not.

Terrific post. Spot on.

Your story reminds me of my immigrant grandparents (who both worked) and my mother's childhood.

You are a very good writer.

Nice diary.  :)

THis is a great diary. I am so glad that you wrote this because it illustrates that Senator Clinton really is the candidate who stands up for the working people.  She has done this her whole life and when she says that she will remember the faces of people she saw on the campaign trail, she means it.  She often says, "I want to be accountable to you."  She means it.  And it is an invitation to continue to participate in partnership with her when she becomes president. Thank you for writing this.

Wonderful diary. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it.

Really sums up what Hillary is all about. Terrific diary, many thanks.

great diary! Thanks for writing and sharing in what has often seemed to be devisive, defensive, and sometimes ugly times on the blogs. And it touched my heart too.

Great diary. Thanks. The more Hillary gets out there and meets people the more they realize that all that crazy hateful talk about her is made-up GOP rhetoric to keep a strong woman from becoming president.

I'm the daughter of an ironworker, so your words really hit home with me.  Guess that's why I'm a Hillary supporter.  She tells it the way it is; no b.s.  I can just see her standing there at 5:30 in the morning, and shaking hands with each and every one of those workers.  Makes me proud to be a Democrat; makes me proud to support Hill.

A beautiful very moving diary.

Kudos!

Wonderful diary! Wish I could recommend it twice.

On the surface, I look like the stereotypical Obama voter.  But, I remember my mom being gone when I got home from school b/c she had to work the evening shift, or going in at midnight to get some overtime.  I remember my dad working in a warehouse and coming home to farm.  They worked so hard to move into the middle class, and I can't express how proud of them I am.  They were both lucky and hard working.

I've always been proud to vote for both Clintons because I know they understand how hard people work for their families, and how important it is that work be respected and rewarded.

Thank you.  You just described the lives of so many Michigan Democrats who can't take the evening off to caucus, who shouldn't be blamed for the mistakes of the state party and who don't need hope, they need help.

The fortunate ones still have their factory jobs.  The rest drive past their shuttered and crumbling factory to whatever work they can piece together to survive.  For many, their immigrant parents worked on those lines for forty years trying their best to provide a better life for their kids.  Now those second and third generation union families struggle just to keep their noses above water.

These are the Democrats who voted the party line for decades, saw their kids sent off to war,  only to be told this year their opinion is less important than the new rules and they need to get out of the way for progress.

Good for Senator Clinton showing up to meet the backbone of the Democratic party.  

This is just a beautiful diary, linfar. With your permission, I'd like to show it to my students who are studying creative non-fiction.

Great post! Thanks for the info. I think Hillary will win tomorrow - and go on to win the nomination and the general election and be sworn in as our 44th President. She is by far our best candidate in a generation.

I agree, great post! I watched Hillary's Texas townhall meeting tonight on Hillary's site. It was just wonderful!

Hillary will win TX, OH, and RI tomorrow and go on to win the nomination. There's so much that needs to be done and she's the one who will do it.

I surely hope you are right about her sweep of tomorrow.  God knows the country needs it.

she mentioned it on John Stewart too!

Um, Hillary Rodham grew up in an upper class suburbs of Chicago.  Bill was poor.  She was not.

A teacher just asked what she would do about something called the "Social Security Offset Windfall Provision".

What on earth is that? I have no clue. But Hillary Clinton did, and she explained it to everyone.

Earlier, she recognized that a questioner was wearing a United Farm Workers shirt.

What an impressive person. I'm proud to support her.

Beautifully written and truly meaningful diary!  Thanks for sharing and pointing out something that could perhaps be so easily overlooked by many!  And I share your hope and belief that Hillary will regain true momentum tomorrow! Here's praying for all of us!

This post got mentioned at TalkLeft!

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/3/3/2 127/63617

You go, linfar!  GREAT POST!!!!

GIve me a break. You act like Obama went to school with the Paris Hiltons of the world using the "private school" word. And even if he did, so what?

Nothing wrong with choosing a private school. Did the Clintons stick to state schools for their university level education?

Hillary Clinton's background is blue collar? Also I take it from your implication that Obama probably spent a cushier life. Explain.

I grew up in a lower class family. We never owned a home, lived in a hotel for a while, suffered through my Dad's unemployment and disappearances often. I know the difference between a politician that pretends to understand what goes in on that world, and those that fake it.

I'm always impressed with Senator Clinton when she visits workplaces, because she's not there to get a photo op (there's very few photo ops that come out of those visits), you can see her curiosity about their jobs and their lives.

I choose candidates that "get it." Hillary Clinton "gets it."  

Big deal.

I went through my factory's gate at about 5:30 AM this morning like every morning after getting up at 3:45 AM.

Go Obama

Thanks for an absolutely wonderful post.

You brought back great memories of how my mom  essentially raised three of us by herself. She used to work swing shift so that she could be there to get us dinner and breakfast. Later she worked at the railroad, whose shift started at 7:00 a.m. Along with all her single mother coworkers she lined up at the phone to call and make sure we were up and ready for school (despite being told they couldn't use the phone).

That's how you go through life in our families. You worked your ass off to make sure your kids got their education and could move up in the world.

Hillary and Bill - for all their supposed failings - get that point. It's what makes them our presidents of choice.

I know somewhere my mom is cheering Hillary on right now. That makes yesterday all that much sweeter.