"Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward."

Hillary Clinton, in her concession speech Saturday, said the right things, did the right thing, and did more.  She set up the proposed future of the name Hillary Clinton.

She could have ended up a pariah, an unspeakable name that would have sent shivers and shocks down the spine of many Americans for generations to come. By using division and combativeness in the 2008 primary, she brought the Democratic party to the brink of collapse, by tearing it in two.  In her concession speech, she brought it back together, by rallying the great majority of her supporters to Barack Obama's side.  As if there were sides to be taken.  For years to come, she will be remembered as the person who tore Democrats apart, only to put them back together again.  And the wound still needs time to heal.

But Hillary Clinton did something else in her speech Saturday.  She set up her own future.  She let the crowd, and America, know what she would be up to for the rest of her life.  She wants to be a historical figure in the fight for women's rights.

A great majority of her speech was dedicated to what she has accomplished by fighting in the primary for so long – that it would no longer be remarkable for a woman to run for president in a serious way.  That there is no room for prejudice of any kind in the United States anymore.  That staying in the fight is a noble, and essential act.

We shall see, over the years that will come, if her future deeds in the fight for civil rights, against discrimination, and as a model for women's power will reform her name, and how she is remembered in the annals of history.  One thing is certain, she's set her game with this speech, and now she intends to play it.

Like so many women of her generation, she has shown the talent for deep, strong, and visible transformation. In twenty minutes, she went from a symbol of unyielding, divisive ambition, to one of compassion, patriotism, and women's rights. 

In order to be depicted on money at some point in the distant future, she needs now to make that transformation stick.  Without real action, demonstrated will in this new fight for equality and civil rights, for universal health care, and leadership in our country's own deep, visible transformation, the current impression of her will not fade.

Indeed, in order for it to be unremarkable for a woman to run for president again, she needs to act now in this new role, to do as much for equality as Al Gore has done for global warming.  She needs to show she can be cherished by history without the presidency.  And, knowing many people of her generation who were faced with the necessity of their own personal transformation, I know she can perform that magic now.

I sent this through Harry Reid's website today, and thought I'd share it with you here.

Dear Senator Reid,

You are a fine elder statesman and do a great service to our country and your state.  I honor your  legacy.  I am glad I can write to you to say that your gently assertive, deliberative, and gentlemanly style of leadership has had its place in our government for many years, and still has a vital role to play.  Yet there is vast evidence that your style of governance is a mismatch for the kind of Senate leader we have needed, and will need during the coming years. You may not know this, but you're getting panned out here in the real United States, for your lack of action, for your complacence, ineffective pressure, and unnecessary compromise.

I ask that you remain a vocal and important leader in the Senate, but that you step down from the role of Senate Majority Leader.

The coming years will require swift, brash reforms, ones that will greatly reshape the government, and the public view of it.  Over the next decade, will see a great swell of civic interest, involvement, and scrutiny (something we already see with the current presidential contest).  That means that your back-room style of gentle pressure and secret compromises will come under the microscope, and your culpability in the state of our nation will be uncovered.  In this new era, those types of deals, done far away from the public they affect, will be frowned upon, even if they were "for the best", or "all we could do."

This new era will require those deals to be made publicly, and with the voice of the people behind them.  Think of the changes we've seen in the past five years alone – local campaigns and speeches make the national news, lists of contributors are easy to acquire, and following the money, once impossible, is now commonplace.  Things said in private are regularly leaked.  These are all good things, in my opinion, because they allow a more direct democracy to take place.  We watch because we care, because we want to know, and want to have a claim in what our government does in our name.  

As an adult entering the prime of my life, I feel this country is mine to steward. I, along with many others of my generation, will encourage an upcoming era of transparency and direct change that may seem quite unnatural to you.  This change is occurring now, and it will occur with or without your help.  I ask that you let this happen more rapidly, by stepping down from your leadership role.  

I know you have a difficult job with a fragile majority, but in reality, it is much simpler than you make it: what we need is honesty, transparency, and responsibility – for this war, for our debts, for inaction in the face of dwindling resources, and for this hostile takeover of the executive branch.  I realize that you may be incapable of taking that great step into responsibility and transparency in all your dealings, to be proactive with revealing what you have actually done or not done behind closed doors, which would involve implicating yourself in some of the tragic decisions and votes that have led us to where we are now.  That is why I ask you to step down so this necessary level of healing can begin swiftly, and without sacrificing your good name.

If you do take up this challenge, I ask you to consider who would be your replacement.  Here is my short list of suggestions, in order of my preference:

Joe Biden
Patrick Leahy
Chris Dodd

These fine gentlemen have served our country well, with unrelenting passion for the good of this nation.  And they are all more senior members of the senate than you.  I ask that you do the right thing, and step aside so that the Senate can have a great impact in shaping the nation that I will be living with for the next 50 or more years. Thank you.