The Primaries are Over and Obama Has Won.
Barack Obama has had everything including the kitchen sink thrown at him. This strategy was the Clinton's campaign own admission. The exit polls were clear that most Democrats (2/3) think that her campaign has unfairly attacked Obama.
Obama has also lived through the comments of his minister and his minister subsequently taking his 15 minutes of fame to continue to do damage to his parishor. Obama distanted himself and lived through the incessant coverage of Rev. Wright through multiple news cycles over the course of many weeks.
To be fair, Obama had his own missteps. The bitter comments were misguided by his own admission. Obama has lived through it and has won North Carolina and has kept Indiana to a drawl.
Its now time for the Clinton's to wind down the campaign. They cannot win this. To her credit, Hillary Clinton has fought tenaciously every step of the way. She went from front runner to underdog. The hubris of her campaign had no post Super Tuesday strategy. She came back through a series of losses and found away to win in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
But now its time to bring it together. Furthering the campaign will only hurt our chances for the fall. Its time to bring the party together, to find a way to bring the Clinton and Obama camps together. The Democrats must win this year. The Clintons know that and so they must draw this to a close.
- Stephen Rockwell's blog
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Ego Jim, Ego
I agree with what hs been said here. The kitchen sink would have come in the Fall w/ or w/o Hillary. I long ago here expressed the sense that this is good vetting for Obama. If anyone blames Hillary for the vicious Republican attacks coming this Fall, they are just being naive. The swiftboaters are going to churn up anything they can, w/ or w/o Hillary's help.
What's keeping her in the fight now is ego and the need to show that a woman will not back down from a tough fight. If she leaves too early her supporters, many of them women, might become disheartened and possibly sit out the Fall elections. She does need to hang in there until June 3rd. There will be plenty of time to "repair the fences" this Summer. Once faced w/ the possibility of 4 more years of Bush-lite, the Dems, however reluctantly, will come together and kick the whole herd of Elephants out of the White House and Congress.
BTW I am encouraged by the news Saturday that Obama has said McCain's involvement in the infamous Keating 5 scandal in 1987 will be on the table this Fall. It surprised and heartened me to hear him say that nothing is off the boards come the Fall, so maybe he's got the guts that Kerry didn't have. No mas amigo, no backing down from the inevitable vicious attacks coming. Go Obama!
More Than Ego
I would like to think it is just ego but the Clintons are too smart, too savy, too ambitious, too politcally aware for it to be just ego. They either have a nuclear option plan or are hoping for a long shot Hail Mary pass miracle.
anything goes?
Rich,
A gentle challenge here...what's the point of Hillary sticking around until June 3rd?
Also, are there any limits to the toughening up process? Is it possible that Hillary might have gone too far at points or is it anything goes?
I agree with you and Angelo that a vigorous primary has made Obama a better candidate on all kinds of fronts. He's a better debater now. He's dealt with many of the attacks that are going to come his way in the fall already. However, I do think there are times when they went too far. For example, when Hillary says that she and McCain are ready to lead and Obama is not, that's just going way too far in a Democratic primary. When the racist statements come out, that's too far. When you use the threat of terrorism is used in a Rovian way, that's too far.
Most Democrats believe that Hillary has gone too far and unfairly attacked Obama. Staying in now, when there is no point is another example of going too far in pursuit of the nomination.
If you think Hillary's gone too far, wait a few weeks
Steve,
Yes, in the eyes of many Democrats Hillary is percieved to having gone too far, yet just you wait a few weeks. All the points she raised I am dead certain were long ago privately raised by the Republican attack machine. She's raised nothing they would not. Just you wait 'til the Rove crowd unloads it's 1st salvo. I'ts gonna make Hillary look like a piker, a real amateur.
Let's see now Obama is:
.black, w/ white blood (from a racially mixed marriage, you know, a malotto)
.he was indoctrinated by the anti-American pastor, (well God damn him!)
.his father was a muslim, and attended a anti-American Muslim school- a militant madras terrorist training school in Indonesia, I mean aren't they all?)
.isn't a real patriot, refuses to wear a lapel pin (My God how unAmerican is that?)
.is an aloof egg head, and can't relate to the white working class, (you know, the Real Americans!)
.is from Chicago (and we all know how corrupt Chicago politics are don't we? - wink wink)
.he's just a well intended kid w/o any real Washington political skills (he won't be able to get anything done - he's too naive - and BTW we are gonna make sure he doesn't get anything done - make ready the torpedos -Remember the filibuster, full speed ahead!)
And the list goes on, and on, and on.
Hillary's done us all a favor by toughing up this kid. If you think rumbles in the primaries are bad just wait to the Fall. He's gonna need a hide as thick as, as - well as an Elephant!
Rich
McCain doesn't have Reagan's teflon
I agree with Rich on this. I think Obama is an intelligent man who's learning about the rough and tumble world of politics. Hillary did him a favor by not treating him with kid gloves.
But also, I really think McCain is a lot more vulnerable than Obama. He doesn't have Reagan's charm and likability. He's in a very ackward position. To appease the religious conservatives to get them to stay in the Republican fold, he'll be forced to take positions that'll antagonize centrists and independents. He'll have to defend the Iraq War, and he'll have to defend the 8 years of Bush.
These four months are a long time, politically speaking. It's good that Obama is learning how to defend himself now, and he has time to focus on those groups, like blue collar workers, Hispanics, and the elderly, who are big Clinton supporters. They are steady Clinton supporters for a reason, and Obama has the time to find out what those reasons are and incorporate them into his campaign.
In Defense of Hillary
Well, it seems that Obama has the numbers to finally wrap up the nomination. And he is a good candidate. I have to write though in defense of Hillary staying in the race for this long. In today's Sunday New York Times, Mark Leibovich wrote an article that I deeply agree with. In the article, Leibovich suggests that Hillary's staying in the primaries for this long has actually been a benefit for Obama, by exposing his flaws now in May and June, where he has 4 months to work on them and rectify them, rather than have those flaws exposed in September and October, where he may not have enough time to counter them.
Hillary pointed out some of the concerns I had about Obama. After Dukakis in 1988, after Gore in 2000, and after Kerry in 2004, we should all be sure that Obama has the necessary toughness and political skills to counter the controversies that all candidates face during an election campaign. Hillary exposed Obama's vulnerability with blue collar workers, something that he may not have known had Hillary dropped out early. The Reverend Wright controversy would've popped up anyways, but it's good that it appeared now rather than later. I think Obama has a head start in working on those two weaknesses.
Hillary was not going to give up the Presidency without a fight, and that toughness is something that I really admire about her. It's not enough to find a candidate whose ideas agree with ours, we also need a candidate who can pass those ideas through Congress. The health care legislation, the programs for the poor, the immigration legislation, the withdrawal from Iraq that we want is not going to happen without a fight. If Obama can survive the the eventual Republican onslaught, it'll be because he learned to fight Hillary's challenge.
After Biden and Richardson dropped out, I voted for Hillary during the California primary. If Obama becomes our candidate, I'll volunteer for his campaign. But I think we owe Hillary for making Obama a better candidate. Leibovich wrote:
"But there is a competing view that says that Mrs. Clinton, rather than being a spoiler, has in fact been an unwitting mentor to Mr. Obama, a teaching adversary who made him better. Could competing against Mrs. Clinton have improved Mr. Obama as a candidate in the same way that competing against Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the 1980s made Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan champions in the 1990s?"
good point, but what now?
Angelo,
I think this is an excellent point. Obama has weathered some significant storms and come out on top. This past month has been terrible for him with Rev. Wright, the "bitter" statement, among others. Obama's weathering of the storms and the Clinton campaign's incessant attacks has certainly made him a stronger candidate, but it has weakened his candidacy a bit.
I don't think the kitchen sink strategy was completely good for Obama or for the party. I think its one thing to attack a political opponent on issues, but some of the racism-laden comments of Bill Clinton, Ferraro and even Hillary's comments this past week about white people voting for her, have not done anything to make the Obama candidancy stronger or the Democratic party more united. Furthermore the politics of personal destruction implied by a kitchen sink strategy should no longer be welcome in our political discourse. There have been a lot of low blows from the Clinton camp, low blows that the Republican National Committee could just throw up on television commericals in the fall against Obama.
Obama to his credit has run a different kind of campaign that shows you can in fact demonstrate your political mettle without stooping to school yard antics.
The other question I would for you, Angelo, and other Hillary supporters, is what good is her staying in the race now doing for Obama, Clinton, or the Democrat's chances in 2008. Even if you believe her tossing of the kitchen sink Obama's way has made him a better candidate, do you think its still necessary for her to now be throwing the stove, microwave, or anything else she can find, even after she's clearly lost the race?
re:now what?
Well, I think it's more a psychological thing with Hillary to have her slowly realize that she just doesn't have the numbers. I've been reading that some of her advisors are trying to find a way for her to gracefully bow out, and I think that's wise. I voted for Hillary, but my first choices were Biden and Richardson, so I don't have the emotional attachments if she drops out. I know others though, who are intensely Hillary supporters, and the pressure of the past few months to try to get her to drop out really angers them. So having her save face while bowing out is not only good for her, it's good for her supporters, so they're not alienated from supporting Obama. I'm more than willing to support Obama, I just want a strong Democratic candidate who will beat McCain and be an effective President.
I cringed at some of the things that Clinton tossed Obama's way, but realistically speaking, that's politics. And I think what Hillary tossed at Obama is mild compared to anything the Republicans up their sleeve. But I'm not as worried because I think Obama showed some political skill in handling the crisis of the last few months. And I think McCain is a lot more vulnerable than people think. He has a very tenous relationship with the religious conservatives of his party and he has that Hagee relationship that could become his Reverend Wright type controversy. If Obama is as good as FDR or Lincoln or Truman, he should have the political skills to run a good campaign.
Agreed
The pundits are calculating that Hillary would have to win 70% to 75% of the delegates in the remaining primary states AND get an overwhelming majority of the remaining uncommitted super delegates. In the spirit of victory in the fall Hillary needs to let it go. Its done.
Can anyone smarter than me (that would be easy) tell us why Hillary would keep on going on this point?