Hackett's exit wasn't all others' fault

[Algorem]

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/elizabeth_auster/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1140860210137270.xml&coll=2

Sunday, February 26, 2006
Elizabeth Auster
Plain Dealer Columnist

When Paul Hackett dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in Ohio, he didn't just disappoint his supporters. He left many of them to conclude that their worst fears about politics were entirely justified.

That may be the saddest legacy of Hackett's ill-fated Senate run.

Hackett ensured that his fans would draw dark conclusions when he attributed his departure, at least at first, to party leaders who pressured him to leave the race. The same leaders who had begged him to run last summer after Sherrod Brown and others announced they wouldn't, he complained, ended up abandoning him when their buddy Brown -- a seven-term congressman -- changed his mind and forced a primary.

Equally troubling, Hackett said, big-name Democrats had been quietly urging his campaign donors not to give him money...

[ClintonTyree]

1. A shooting star......

too bad, Hackett had a lot going for him but he bit off more than he could chew. Maybe if he takes some time off (he hasn't really had a chance to unwind since his Iraq days) and gets himself grounded again he'll reconsider and try again at a later date. I hope so, he has a lot to offer.