Hillary Clinton finally nails down nomination

Much of what has occurred during this often bizarre and occasionally frightening presidential primary season is open to interpretation. But it is an indisputable fact that Hillary Clinton made history this week, becoming the first woman to be nominated to head the ticket for a major political party.

Incidentally, she also is the first spouse of a former president to be chosen by her party to run for the White House, but that is a less momentous occurrence. The big deal is that she is the first woman to break the proverbial glass ceiling that has prevented women from attaining this goal throughout the nation’s history.

That Clinton is the first to achieve this feat is unwelcome news to many, particularly the legions of Republicans who despise her. And it is an open question as to whether the fans of insurgent Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders will warm to the idea of voting for her in November.

Polls indicate that voters have a more negative image of Clinton than nearly any former presidential candidate at this point in the campaign. Fortunately for her, the only candidate with a more negative rating is Republican nominee Donald Trump.

That means unless either of the two is able to substantially improve those numbers over the next five months, this is likely to be a lesser-of-two-evils election. And if Clinton wins, it would be disappointing in a sense that the first woman to occupy the Oval Office is so unpopular.

But poll numbers are never carved in granite. While Clinton might begin her presidency with high negatives, she could leave office eight years from now with voters begging to see her face on Mt. Rushmore.

But whatever the outcome of this election, she will have achieved a historical first. And, like her or not, Americans should acknowledge that a woman running for the presidency has been a long time coming.

Yes, historically speaking it has been only a blink of an eye since women in the U.S. were given the right to vote. But in the modern era, women have been elected leaders of England, Germany, Israel, India, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Switzerland, Burma, Argentina, Pakistan, Norway, Liberia, Finland, Brazil, Chile, Guyana, Lithuania and Sri Lanka, to name a few.

Electing a woman as president of the United States, however, would have the added impact of making a woman the leader of the free world, and unquestionably the most powerful woman in the world. That ain’t beanbag.

Of course that hasn’t happened yet. Clinton would have to be elected first, and any number of things could occur to prevent that from happening.

And if she fails to win in November, the fact that she was the first woman candidate is likely to end up as little more than a historical footnote, much like Geraldine Ferraro’s candidacy for the vice presidency in 1984. Nonetheless, as Clinton claims the nomination, it is a landmark worth noting for both her and the nation.

And perhaps the most gratifying thing about her win is that it feels perfectly normal. Progress really is possible.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Hillary Clinton finally nails down nomination."