It's Personal

Tom French: TAMPA — Inside the slightly dusty Mazda 626, carpooling it across Tampa Bay, the conversation kept turning to Hillary's motives and Hillary's flaws and the eclipse of the dream that Hillary had come to represent.

Behind the wheel, Susan Lockwood — a 64-year-old unreconstructed feminist — was mourning the end of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's historic campaign. But on Wednesday morning she was also trying to pierce the mystery of why the senator had not formally conceded. As usual, Lockwood interpreted Clinton's behavior in the most positive light possible.

"I would like to think that she is being careful, putting the interest of the party and the country ahead of her own personal interest."

Chiming in from the passenger seat, her friend Laurie Berlin wasn't so sure about Clinton's selflessness.

"I hope someone gave her a good talking-to," said Berlin, 53. "Because it's all about November now."