Hillary Clinton’s Personal Outreach to Those in Need

After reading about Barack Obama’s decision to break his promise on public funding this week and then seeing his photo above the United States presidential seal - Photoshopped into a campaign prop - the Caucus post (NY Times) titled ‘Aunt Hillary’ Speaks at Bronx Graduation is a poignant reminder of how the Democratic party fell all over itself to award the nomination to the weaker of its two candidates.

Writing for the Caucus, Sharon Otterman movingly reports Hillary Clinton’s compassion for those in need, a recurrent theme throughout her lifetime of public service. Otterman begins:

“Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has been keeping a low profile since conceding the Democratic nomination on June 7, but she made an exception this morning to speak at the high school graduation of a 17-year-old girl from the Bronx who calls her 'Aunt Hillary.'

“Aleatha Williams, 17, first met Senator Clinton at the age of 2, on the shoulder of her mother Patricia. She was one of those innumerable babies at political events that politicians hug, but in the case, the squeeze became the start of a life-long bond.

"Aleatha’s mother, Patricia Williams, then involved in an abusive marriage, was attending the 1992 Democratic Convention as a political volunteer. As Mrs. Clinton, who was soon to be first lady, passed her in the aisle, she reached out to Aleatha. The she put her arms around Patricia.

‘“She knew I needed a hug somehow, and she just squeezed. And I felt a strength and energy flowing through her. She helped to give me the strength I needed at that time to go on with my life and do what’s right for my daughter,’ Ms. Williams said in an interview after the graduation ceremony.”

Read the rest of the story here.