Month: April 2008

Geoff Garin, Hillary’s new campaign manager, wrote:

We want to know what you think — about the state of the race, our campaign strategy, or your ideas for doing things differently. You’ve made an investment in this campaign, and I want your input as we plan the days, weeks, and months to come. Share your thoughts.

I admire Hillary’s tenacity, brains, and moxie. I supported her. But now, I am beginning to think she should concede – not just because Obama has garnered so much support, but because she does not keep her commitments. I say this not because of anything that has been well-publicized. Two friends of mine who work with separate non-profit organizations have told me that she twice broke promises – once to meet with their representatives, and once to attend a fundraiser – this at great expense to the organizations who had gone to great lengths to get her attention. I am also wary of her connections, recently pointed out by Barbara Ehrenreich, to right-wing prayer groups, as well of as the gross mismanagement of her campaign so far. I don’t want to “take back” my $100; hers is truly a historic candidacy, and I think she would make a brilliant, if somewhat Nixonian, president. I love her pragmatism and her grasp of policy. She errs, though, in repeatedly compromising her integrity. I earlier tried to explain away her vote to authorize the Iraq war as a self-masculinizing gesture, but now I think I need to see it for what it is: a Faustian bargain. Obama’s not perfect, but I’d rather switch than fight for a candidate who has become so disappointing. It’s too late to “do things differently,” I think, and that makes me rather sad.

r.i.p Rochelle Ratner

Here’s her blog

It’s very touching.