The company she keeps

My friend April recently told me that this coming election, she will be considering not just the candidates but the people with whom they surround themselves. April believes that this says so much more about the candidate than any of their platforms. hmm... I hadn't thought about that before. But I think April is on to something. This current administration is a prime example. It was never just W in office (I almost wrote "we didn't elect just W", but then I remembered we didn't elect him at all), there was always Chaney, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Rove, etc.

This past week, I had the opportunity to gather with 40-50 other members of the clergy and meet with Senator Hillary Clinton. She did an excellent job outlining her domestic agenda (expectedly, she shied away from foreign policy and her history of supporting the Iraq war). She shared her own views on faith and politics. She spoke highly of her opponents in the democratic field (she was in Obama territory, after all). And she demonstrated that she is a woman of amazing intellect, as compelling of a speaker as her husband, and a person who cares deeply for this country. But none of this was especially revelatory.

What was most impressive to me was the announcement that Bob Nash, former chairman of Shore Bank in Chicago, had left his position to work on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Now, I am sure that many bankers have worked on many campaigns, but Shore Bank is not like any other bank I know. While it now has branches on both coasts, Shore Bank is an institution of Chicago's South Side. Shore Bank was founded at a time when racial and economic discrimination was "officially sanctioned" in the banking world and from its inception has worked for economic justice and community revitalization. Shore is committed to the communities in which its branches are located, supporting not-for-profit organizations and extending loans for community development. Shore practices socially responsible investing, extends microcredit in developing countries, and was the very first bank to address environmental issues. Like I said, Shore Bank is not like other banks.

I do not know Bob Nash personally, but I know Shore Bank. I have tremendous respect for the institution he served. And it says a lot to me that he would leave a position with an institution whose motto is "Let's change the world" unless he found another way to make an even greater impact on the world. I find it intriguing that he left Shore Bank to work on Hillary Clinton's campaign instead of that of fellow Southsider, Barack Obama.

The election is still a long way off. And I cannot say that Hillary Clinton will have my vote when that time comes. Her foreign policy votes still concern me. (And Obama is my neighbor - seriously he lives one block away!). But while I cannot say if I will vote for her, I will say this: I like the company she keeps.