The morning after Tuesday's primaries, Hillary Clinton's campaign released a memo titled "The Path to the Presidency." I eagerly dug into the paper, figuring it would explain how Clinton would obtain the Democratic nomination despite an enormous deficit in delegates. Instead, the memo offered a series of arguments as to why Clinton should run against John McCain--i.e., "Hillary is seen as the one who can get the job done"--but nothing about how she actually could. Is she planning a third-party run? Does she think Obama is going to die? The memo does not say.
Be afriad democrats, be very afraid.
Hillary Clinton is playing to the worst of political ballads. Simultaneously playing victim and victimizer, and throwing down the fear card. Her insistence on seating the Michigan and Florida delegation would be admirable if she has made them months before (in fairness, Obama's political maneuvering in connection to his promise to only use public funds for the general election is also, but not equally as, deplorable). Her now openly negative campaign will hurt Obama in the general election, and her future chances at running again in 2012.
Tuesday she netted nine delegates. On Wednesday three new super-delegates came out to support Obama. The only way she wins the nomination is by forcing the party to implode. If Clinton continues to assert herself there are only two end-games; Obama is nominated, but so haggard from the primary (especially in FL, PA, MI) that the general falls to McCain, or Clinton clinches the nomination, but disillusioned democrats and moderates pick the lesser of two evils and McCain wins in an electoral landslide.
The question is when will Gore, Richardson and Dean tell Clinton to get off the stage?
4 comments:
Our democratic spirit should let this near tie between Clinton and Obama play out. Even if Clinton is behind, it really isn't an enormous deficit, all things considered. Clinton wants to win. Obama wants to win. But there is not yet clear who has won...I think they should redo the Mich and Florida voting to see who officially gets these votes, excluding them isn't exactly democratic either.
Mark,
Of course I agree that the 'democratic spirit' is something that should be fanned, not feigned and supressed. However, this isn't about democracy, its about political parties (and this case may be prove as a text book as to why many of the founding father, most particularly Washington despised the idea of political parties). The democratic party want to win not only the White House, but the Senate (they are thinking maybe even 60 seats!) and Congress.
Further, the 'democratic' spirit has already spelled out the fate for Clinton, she will not make up the delegates she needs. The way they apportion delegeates she will not be able to make up the number, even if it is slight. And super-delegates would have already turned to her if they wanted to support her, she was after all, a known quantity.
About Florida and Michigan, though of course I would like to see my fellow Florida and Michigan democrats have a say in our party's presidential nominee, their state DID break party rules, and Clinton, nor the governors (who support McCain and Clinton) never had a problem with the DNC decision, which btw no one is concerned with the RNC stripping half of Florida's delegation's seats. You're right its not exactly democratic, but its not exactly fair to all the other states that followed the DNC rules to just let be seated, maybe a another contest can materialize, but it would have to be paid for by the states of Michigan and Florida.
Mark,
My larger point was that with her negative campaign she will weaken Obama's chances of capturing swing-states in the Fall. She isn't hoping to win, she is running on the hope that he fails (an awful gaffe, perhaps)?
This isn't about the presidential election, this is about the parties vatality.
You can go out and talk to the moon. You can have a conversation and even ask it questions. You can imagine the answers to those questions to be exactly what you want them to be. Now Hillary---that’s a whole different situation. She has a record to defend. She will bring us a new “gate” scandal every couple weeks. In fact She is the only way for McCain to bring out the conservatives. They’ll hold their nose and not really see the name McCain because they wont be voting FOR anybody---just against Hillary. The main thing the conservatives want is for the Clinton debacle to be put to rest once and for all. It’s bad enough to be a liberal but a corrupt liberal----oh wait that’s the same thing. “Mr. Moon---do you stand for change?” I’ll keep the dollar and you can have the change.
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