Read at Joe’s

I sent the following letter to the editor at the New London Day this morning.

The Democratic Party and indeed the nation owe Rep. Charles Rangel of NY (Dem 15th) a well-deserved “Thank you, sir!” According to accounts released yesterday, it was Rep. Rangel who delivered a much-needed dose of cold reality to Sen. Hillary Clinton regarding the necessity of her unequivocally conceding the nomination to Sen. Obama, and leaving the stage.

Her refusal to acknowledge the facts of the situation has and continue to be embarrassing for the party and herself. This excruciating exercise in patent self-deception may indeed have irretrievably damaged any further chance she may have at the White House. I would certainly not want a president who could let herself be enclosed in such a bubble of inside opinion. It is in no small sense a chief executive’s express responsibility to see through the haze of “yes-men” blinded by loyalty. Sen. Clinton and her supporters have been living in a self-manufactured fantasy world for the past few weeks, if the truth be told. Such a capacity for utter denial is not a quality becoming a presidential hopeful. I hope her statements tomorrow reveal a cleared head and no further circumlocution about who won. If she finally does the right thing, we can thank a little tough love administered by Rep. Rangel.