I write in response to recent letters to this page. Many women my age supported Hillary Clinton. They told me, “I want to see a woman president before I die.” I am a feminist. If I were a combat veteran, with bodily wounds to show for my service, I could not display more scars than the ones I bear, fighting for equal rights and fairness for women.

But I am voting for more than myself: I am voting for my country, which has been grievously wounded and profoundly dishonored by the Bush administration. And I am voting for my children and my grandchildren.

A staggering amount of work lies ahead, if indeed anyone can repair our savaged reputation, our shredded Constitution, our gasping economy, our damaged environment and so much more.

We need a person, of which gender or race it matters not, who can bring us back. That requires not only vision but also a new spirit, a new energy and the ability to lift and inspire a nation.

Unless we can elect a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate, nothing much will get done by even the most seasoned political operative. But an aroused nation could possibly goad a reluctant group of die-hard Republican senators to vote for bills they meant to kill.

I have friends who say that Hillary has experience, and Obama does not. But what experience? She has served in elected office not that much longer than he has. Being a governor’s or president’s wife is not the equivalent of occupying the seat itself. Her bungled health-care initiative set us back by decades, but that is old news.

We have been electing politicians with “experience” for years, and have little to show for it. Far more important is the quality of a person’s judgment. Hillary showed terrible judgment when she pandered to right-wing conservatives by supporting a bill to amend the Constitution to ban flag-burning. And she has never given a truthful explanation of her vote or her motive in allowing President Bush to hustle us into war. She gave in to a wish to appear tough, a potential commander-in-chief, when what we needed was thoughtfulness, good judgment and wisdom. Even the way she ran her campaign, squandering huge sums of money on pizza and fancy hotel rooms, gave reason for pause.

The importance of the newly energized young people awakened to the political process, as well as of discouraged, disaffected older people who have never previously gone to the polls but would now be inspired to vote, is a vital advantage.

The crucial job ahead for the Democrats is to win back the presidency. All the indications are that Barack Obama can more easily beat John McCain than Hillary Clinton could have. We should keep our eyes on the prize.

MARCIA R. LIEBERMAN

Providence