The Hillary Clinton Puzzle

It ain’t over till the fat lady sings, and Hillary ain’t fat (not even her ankles).  These are grim days for Hillary Clinton and her campaign.  Several pundits are already doing her political obituary.  Not so fast.

As I have said before, I once was a member of the Republican hate-Hillary camp.  I succumbed to the media brain washing.  Then I met her.  But not just a meet and greet.  This was a sit down in her office, with two other folks, and I briefed her on a range of national security issues.  The woman I met that morning was the most impressive person I have ever briefed.
She was the opposite of everything I had been told by the media.  She was warm, witty, charming, and scary smart.  I left that first briefing having to rethink all of my previous biases towards Hillary.  This is one of the reasons I think she is hands down the best person to govern this nation in the face of the awful challenges ahead.

But I also acknowledge she has run a terrible campaign.  Or more correctly, those put in charge of running her campaign have failed her.  Today’s front page piece in the New York Times by Luo, Becker and Healy is ugly but accurate, Donors Worried by Clinton Campaign Spending.  Over spending is the least of the  campaign’s problems. They forgot the basics of organizing.  They forgot the need to identify supporters and remain in constant communication with those supporters.  I have checked with friends around the country and have received the same grim reports–people who make financial contributions are not regularly contacted; people wishing to volunteer have trouble finding something to do; and average registered democrats have not heard from her campaign.

A friend of mine, who actually worked on the Vice Presidential campaign of Bill Miller back in 1964, contributed money last November to both Hillary and Barack.  He was conducting his own research of sorts to see how both campaigns reacted.  He lives in Maryland.  The Obama folks were all over him.  Regular communication.  Notes from the campaign.  Signed notes from Barack.  They let him know, “we care.”

Hillary’s campaign?  Virtual crickets.  An occasional email.  One phone call before the primaries.  No visits.  The Barack people sent out a team of two to knock on his door and ask for his vote.   I am glad Hillary fired her campaign manager.  Unfortunately, it may be too late.  For the sake of the country, I hope not.

I realize some will be tempted to say, “well, if she can’t run a campaign, how can she run the country?”  A fair question.  In my view governing and campaigning are two very different activities.  The task of governing starts with a basic understanding of the President’s real powers and the bureaucratic environment that can choke the life out of the most noble policy aspiration.  Hillary understands that in a way that Obama does not (and probably never will).  She has learned the hard way during her husband’s presidency.  She is not the kind of person to make the same mistake twice.

If Hillary falls short in Texas, I hope she sues Wolfson and Gruenwald for malpractice.  I don’t blame them for spending too much money on food, hotel rooms, or snow shovels.  But I sure as hell blame them for not doing the basic work of building a volunteer network  to get the votes out for Hillary.  Fortunately, there is still time in Texas.  To know her is to like her.  She’s not a rock star, she is simply rock solid.