Clinton Closure at the Convention

By declaring "I will be a pro-life president, and this presidency will have pro-life policies," John McCain should have dispelled any fantasies that unreconciled Hillary Clinton supporters may have about supporting him or sitting out the election.

But disappointment dies hard and, at the Democratic convention next week and its environs, there will undoubtedly be expressions of lingering resentment on the part of women who feel cheated of an historic breakthrough with her candidacy.

Sen. Clinton herself, amid the consolations of a prime-time speech and roll-call vote, will be under pressure not only to offer strong support of Barack Obama but make a persuasive case that McCain's election would be a disaster for her supporters, the Democratic Party and the entire nation.

McCain's promise to the Religious Right that he will appoint Supreme Court justices who don't "legislate from the bench" signals not only the overturn of Roe v Wade if he is elected but chipping away at a wide range of legislation that has leveled the playing field for Americans who don't start life from backgrounds of power and privilege.

At risk will be half a century of progress, not only by women but all disadvantaged members of society not represented by those sitting in the pews of Saddleback Church in well-heeled and self-satisfied Orange County last weekend.

The onus will be on Hillary Clinton to speak for all of them.