WE LOVE THEIR YOUTHFUL FOLLIES. The New York Times continues its exploration of the candidates' formative years with another look at the evolution of Hillary Rodham's activism while a Wellesley College undergraduate. As she abandoned the College Republicans -- which she had served as chapter president -- and turned against the Vietnam War, Hillary wrote to her Methodist minister back home, "The combination of bleeding heart liberal and mental conservative is the inevitable conclusion one arrives at after following and pondering political events." What's newer here is an accounting of HRC's activism around racial issues, including her disapproval of civil disobedience and her role in helping to organize a two-day campus strike after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. She also worked alongside black peers to pressure the administration to increase recruitment of black students and faculty. The fascination with Hillary's college years and Obama's time as a community organizer in Chicago reflects, I think, our desire to chart Democratic politicians' compromises between idealism and pragmatism. We've picked apart the iconic liberal moments that foretold bright futures: Hillary's commencement address, Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and, once upon a time, John Kerry's protest rejection of his Purple Heart. I think on some gut level, Democratic primary voters, especially those who are engaged this early in the process, regret John Edwards' lack of such a "lifetime liberal" narrative, no matter that his current positions are consistently to the left of his opponents. Even Chris Dodd served in the Peace Corps, after all. While it may seen unfair, this is part of what I think people are hinting at when they say they just don't "trust" Edwards. Unless they're doctors. Then they really don't trust him. --Dana Goldstein
