The Worst Of Hillary

After the White House years, Hillary Clinton had a chance to remake her public image and replace our memories of Whitewater, travelgate, filegate, vast-right-wing-conspiracy-gate, pardon-gate and every other minor or major scandal she foisted on us as first lady for eight years.
She succeeded in every possible way as a serious and hard-working, clearly ambitious senator who wasn't just hungry for publicity as a stepping stone to the presidency, but understood the issues she faced and how to best serve the people of her state, bringing home, according to today's NY Post, $2.2 billion in federal cash between 2002 and 2006. She also became a credible voice on foreign policy, notwithstanding her flop on the Iraq war, and a sensible critic of the Bush administration who could also be effectively bipartisan.
She started her campaign on solid footing, recovering from early losses and gaining momentum. But as her fortunes began to fade, we began to see the return of the 90s Hillary, stubborn rather than determined, petulant rather than graceful, and quick to cry conspiracy (sexist commentators, pro-Obama debate planners) to offset her own missteps.
We may never know what kept her in the race this long, but it's fair to question whether it was anything noble. In the speech that might have been her concession last night, but presented the bizarre notion that she still had options, Hillary gave out her Web site address and asked people to "help any way they can."
Anyone who donates to her now will prove the adage that a fool and his or her money are easily parted. But clearly she aims to use every last moment to pay down her campaign debt from other people's wallets rather than cut into the considerable fortune she and her husband have built.
Avarice and greed are not the characteristics of the senator we came to know in the past seven years. And so we wonder which Hillary stands to become our vice president, and how much oscillation between the two we will see as she continues what is sure to be a long career in public life.