Kristine Gebbie, President Clinton's national AIDS coordinator, resigned Friday, saying her successor "must have the tools necessary" to win the confidence of people suffering from the deadly disease.
Many AIDS activists said they were delighted at the development because they did not believe Gebbie had the competence or the needed White House backing to make inroads against an increasingly lethal disease.In her resignation letter, Gebbie said she decided to step down on Aug. 2 "by mutual agreement" with Clinton. She said she faced "conflicting expectations of what an `AIDS czar' could do, and continued national divisiveness on issues central to ending this great epidemic . . ."
She said she decided to leave after one year on the job because of "the issues being raised about how the office could be more effective, and the changes which are necessary to keep your agenda moving . . ."
Clinton accepted the resignation, saying Gebbie had served "ably and with dedication."
Aides to Gebbie said the core of the problem was a clash between the public perception of her as an AIDS "czar" and her true role inside the federal bureaucracy as an AIDS "coordinator."