Dear Sen. Clinton...
An open letter to Sen. Hillary Clinton
May 10, 2008
By Kelsey Hayes
Dear Sen. Clinton,
It's over. Please accept reality — Sen. Obama leads in pledged delegates, super delegates, the popular vote and states won — and bow out gracefully. Wait until you win West Virginia if you want to go out on a triumphant note. But please do it soon.
As soon as John Kerry lost the 2004 election, I knew that you'd more than likely be the 2008 Democratic nominee for president. You had power, money, influence and an air of inevitability. Eventually I'd also see more than hint of entitlement, which is how this story came to its conclusion.
You believed that after Super Tuesday, you would be the nominee. You didn't plan, strategically or financially, to wage war beyond Feb. 5. And because of that, you were ill-equipped. Where Obama's campaign waged a 50-state strategy, you seemed lost. You've had your victories since then, yes. But they came at a cost — instilling a sense of division between the old and young, black and white, white- and blue-collar, educated and not, a division that we cannot have as we exit the Bush era. Our current social, militaristic and economic problems can only be solved if we work together.
There was no reason for you not to win this nomination. You were a powerful senator, former first lady, wealthy and running against a biracial, first-term senator whose surname rhymes with 'Osama.' The nomination should have been yours. Instead you were defeated through careful strategy and the grassroots efforts of a bunch of college kids.
Please don't think that I don't respect your work in public life. Your contributions to healthcare and your grace in humiliating circumstances mean that I will always hold you in some esteem. I also have to thank you for giving women the chance to finally be taken seriously as presidential candidates. But I've come far enough to know that voting for a woman only because she's a woman does as much damage to our cause as people NOT voting for someone because she's a woman.
There is most certainly a place for you in government, and there's no reason why you can't continue to become a modern stateswoman. Your true gifts lie in legislating, and I'm confident that you have a good future in the Senate. I hope that you will support Sen. Obama in his campaign, whether you are chosen as his running mate or not. I hope that you will encourage your followers to do the same. I especially hope that you don't see a failure on Obama's part to mean a 2012 run for yourself and work to make that the scenario. I hope that you do indeed have the interests of the country at heart.
You've run a good campaign and very nearly won the nomination. But the time has come to step aside.
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