Aqueduct

Posted by amy at January 12th, 2008

From Richardson’s last email:

Running for president brings out the best in everyone who graces the stage, and I have learned much from the other candidates running. They have all brought great talents and abilities to the campaign.

Senator Biden’s passion and intellect are remarkable.

Senator Dodd is the epitome of selfless dedication to public service and the Democratic Party.

Senator Edwards is a singular voice for the most downtrodden and forgotten among us.

Senator Obama is a bright light of hope and optimism at a time of great national unease, yet he is also grounded in thoughtful wisdom beyond his years.

Senator Clinton’s poise in the face of adversity is matched only by her lifetime of achievement and deep understanding of the challenges we face.

Representative Kucinich is a man of great decency and dedication who will faithfully soldier on no matter how great the odds.

And all of us in the Democratic Party owe Senator Mike Gravel our appreciation for his leadership during the national turmoil of Vietnam.

I am honored to have shared the stage with each of these Democrats. And I am enormously grateful to all of my supporters who chose to stand with me despite so many other candidates of accomplishment and potential.

Something happened on early last week, between the last debate and the misty Clinton diner moment, which is that Clinton went from a candidate I wouldn’t back, to a candidate I’m now rooting for. There was a moment in the debate where Clinton talked about the economy and her hope that by really looking to solve our energy crisis we can create a new economy that will essentially buy our way out of the recession. We can’t look to consumers to do it, we can’t look to the fed to continue playing with interest rates in some kind of giant ponzi scheme, we must look to what we do best, which is innovate. I must say, an economic plan that doesn’t rely on consumer spending is a refreshing idea. And though I’m the first to resist big government spending, this is a plan I could get behind, this is a debt I’d be willing to shoulder, if it meant we didn’t have to wage wars in foreign lands over substances that are slowly but surely poisoning us. One of the great successes of ancient roman empires was their indoor plumbing, I’ve heard rumors that one of the reason of their downfall was lead poisoning from said plumbing. Our dependence on oil seems to be similar.

And while John Edwards can proudly rail against greed and be an advocate of the downtrodden, I’m enough of a realist to recognize that a little greed is good. The connections between corporations and wall street and pension funds for state workers is clear in my mind. Innovation and rewards are good, people want to be recognized for the work they do, you want your pension fund manager to invest in companies that will make money so that when you retire, you don’t have to live on cat food in a cardboard box under a bridge. And it doesn’t mean that we have to settle for blind investing, fund managers for socially-minded investors had a greater return on their investments than traditional fund manager over the last 10 years.

And what can I say about Obama, if he is the nominee, I will pull the lever? George Bush said last week that if he were running for president right now, even he would be running on a campaign of change, but change into what?

I still hope to see Bill Richardson’s name on my front lawn come November, albeit in smaller letters and under someone else’s name, but for the short game, I’m going to be watching Hillary.