A (Nomi)Nation Moves Forward. Slowly, at first.

The long and heated, sometime ugly, sometimes inspiring, Democratic nomination fight has come to a close. Barriers were broken, but so were a lot of other things. The exposed wounds are not yet healed.

But they will be.

As a Clinton supporter, my disappointment is mixed with relief that the primary process is over, and frustration with the diehard Obama supporters angry that Hillary has not yet kissed the coronation ring.

Give her, and her supporters, some time.

Give us some time and we will rally around your candidate.

We will support his charismatic leadership, his vision of a nation that can do better than we are doing now, his belief in diplomacy, his personification of a multi-faceted nation, somehow united.

We will encourage him as he crafts his foreign policy, even as it evolves from where he began. That is good. It shows growth and an ability to adapt to "the reality on the ground." Something the country desperately needs after 5 years of unsuccessful "staying the course."

We will applaud when he stands as a champion for affordable health care, job development, sustainable energy policy, and educational innovation.

And when the time comes, we will defend his flaws.

Just as we defended Hillary's. And Bill's.  Because for all of his impressive qualities, Barack Obama is still human.

Similarly, we will support Michelle Obama, because as Hillary supporters, we have seen what she will soon be experiencing, and much of it ain't pretty.

But please don't shake a finger at us because we are not there yet. It's been a long battle, a hard road. We are weary.

But we are still strong, and we'll be there when you need us most.