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Hillary Is Just Hillary -- No More and No Less
Apparently Hillary intends to do something Saturday -- who knows just what she intends to do. One more wrinkle in badly wrinkled plot line. What can we say. She's just Hillary, nothing more and nothing less.
Our challenge as we go forward is to avoid both underestimating and undervaluing Hillary. She is an extraordinary human being and a unique woman. The Democratic Party needs her drive, intellect and experience. We can't afford the error of failing to acknowledge her worth or refusing to invite her participation in the campaign.
But we need to be honest. Hillary has not won the nomination. Obama has won enough delegates to assure nomination. Hillary, being Hillary, does not come easily to the point of honestly acknowledging her errors. She shares that character defect with both Bush and McCain.
I recently saw some footage of Robert Kennedy on PBS that brought home to me just how important such an admission can be to a candidate.
In the clip, Robert Kennedy was admitting (and explaining) his error in supporting the Vietnam war during his brother's administration. He was able to make that admission in a strong and forthright manner and his admission came across as courageous and principled. Kennedy was able to speak so effectively because he had admitted his error to himself and had come to grips with the fact that he had to live with his actions.
Frankly, I think Hillary, Bush and McCain are unable to admit, either to others or to themselves, their errors in starting and supporting the Iraq war.
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