For anyone who doubted...

...I wasn't once a Hillary fan. That's me in the 2000 NYC marathon in handmade, rhinestone-studded Hillary for Senate t-shirt.

Comments

[gwen]

I logged on today for the first time in a few weeks, and I am sort of disappointed because your blog has become more anti-Clinton rather than pro-Obama. I thought I would be reading something other than what everyone else is saying! What's up?!

[Teddy]

I wholeheartedly agree with Gwench.
Happy birthday, by the way.

[Patrick Kowalczyk]

Good point. I realize that it probably becomes tiresome to readers.

I do want to add one point, however.

When I look at the photo above, this is what I think:

People say this 16-month campaign has been too long. Think again. It's been going on for eight years.

We all knew Hillary moved to New York to run for Senate so she could run for President.

We were all in on this plan. It was exciting. It was fun. It was history-making. (Although not so fun for Congresswoman Nita Lowey who was planning to run for Moynihan's seat but was asked to step aside when Hillary decided to move to New York and run. Nita Lowey like would have been New York's first female Senator.)

But that was eight years ago.

The world is a fundamentally differently place. A world largely definined by 9/11, the Iraq War, and toxic politics that prevents any truth from being told or progress from being made. Events that have dominated every political conversation I have had with anyone for the past 7 years.

I donated to Hillary and signed up for her emails, but in December I decided that this eight-year old campaign felt outdated, irrelevant. Running an idea that had been hatched eight years ago just seemed meaningless and empty. When she announced her campaign she said she was "In it to win it." And, to me, that's really all it felt like. Just another campaign to win. Just another laundry list of Democratic policies and programs with nothing tying it all togeter. No big picture. Nothing to aspire to.

That's why I am so frustrated that this eight-year old campaign isn't ending even though all signs, as my two previous posts demonstrate pretty convincingly, that it should be. But I'll try to keep my frustration in check and highlight some more interesting takes from now on...

[Karen]

Also why didn't Hillary run in 2004. She probably could have won then (they could not have swift boated her like they did John Kerry - she says she's been fully vetted) and saved us from these past four years. She took the easy way out by waiting until 2008 and it proved not to be a cakewalk.

[Andy]

That's another reason why I like barack. He felt that he could bring something to the presidency and he ran now instead of waiting until his turn.

[gretchen]

I think it's totally relevant for Pat to be talking as much about why he's disappointed in Hillary as why he's pro-Obama. This race sums up the two very different directions the party could take, and it's interesting to hear the perspective of someone who, after giving it a lot of thought, changed his mind about who's headed in the right direction.

Is my mouth really that big? Me and Balletto were separated at birth. Who knew?

[Dave]

I think we have that shirt.

[gwench]

gretchen f u and your big mouth for dissing me like that. pppllltttt!!!!