Barack Obama won North Carolina by about 15 points last night, and lost Indiana by 2. Tim Russert said last night that Obama was now "the nominee." Stephanopolous said to expect superdelegates to start coming over to Obama "5 and 6 at a time." Hillary supporter George McGovern has already called on her to drop out, and according to HuffingtonPost, Clinton campaign officials expect more supporters to do the same soon.
Could it be the end? Could Hillary be seeing, finally, the writing on the wall?
I sure hope so. Bad campaign managers and an overall desperation has turned Hillary from a polished and decent-seeming general election candidate into a say-anything-to-win panderer trying to make less cagey Democratic voters think she's one of them. It hasn't been pretty or dignified. And now in the face of defeat in the wake of NC and IN, her people are out there on conference calls with reporters saying "We are a nation of 50 states." Meaning a.) she's going to take her fight to be president as far as she can on the basis that, somehow, the people of Florida and Michigan were "disenfranchised," and b.) reclaiming her good name isn't her priority quite yet. Trying to steal delegates from Florida and Michigan, states who broke the rules fair and square, is a weak justification to continue this fight for the nomination, but, then again, she's never actually said why she's running for president. She ought to be president, well ... well just because.
Anyway, Hillary can still, of course, redeem herself. The loser of this contest will, I believe, have much more to do with a Democratic victory than the winner because the loser will be the one most responsible for uniting the party once this process is over. If she can manage true graciousness in defeat, she'll go a long way in repairing the damage she's done to her once formidable reputation. and because I think she still cares about the Clinton "brand," once she steps aside, I expect her to get behind Barack as hard as she's been trying to beat him.
12 comments:
but what would you have to blog about...?
Needless to say, there are millions of democrats who are not happy. And for all the children who support Obama, all their mothers who know what "feminism is all about, who lived through all the struggles, that are now taken for granted" all I can say is perhaps we will decide to live the stereotypes that are assigned to to middle age women who had the audacity to demand equal rights for women "screw Obama, we are staying home in November
Hopefully, when you say you are staying that means in the kitchen making some pie...
PS I do not support any candidate in this election. They are all weaksauce as far as I'm concerned.
I just saw a good place to make a funny.
mmm, pie
barack should offer to pay off her campaign debts from his coffers and offer the vp slot for dropping out
Then, after he wins, he can sideline the shit out of her for the next 4-8 years
Did you see the footage of Hillary taking on some hokey accent as she spoke to a crowd in Indiana? And then spoke from the bed of a pickup truck? Sad, sad, sad...
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167642&title=headlines-panderers-box
And to the anonymous who suggested that democrat women should stay home in November in protest of Hillary's loss (as if somehow this nomination has been stolen from her instead of the reality that she just isn't getting enough votes), forgive me but I fail to see how handing John McCain the presidency will do anything positive for American feminism. That sounds like a very shortsighted and selfish idea, honestly.
Furthermore, aside from being a role model for feminists simply because she's a female candidate, what radical plans for improvements in gender equality is Hillary promising on the campaign trail??? When I see her speak it's health care, Iraq, gas prices, the economy, etc. It's the same with Obama. He's not out there saying that if he wins African Americans are going to suddenly overcome all injustices of race. Expecting dramatic changes in race/gender equality if one of these two should become President is probably setting yourself up for some dramatic disappointments. It's just not that easy.
I don't condemn anyone for voting because of their desire to have a role model, but I can't help but think "all the struggles" of feminists past have only little to do with the serious, significant struggles the entire country currently faces. The Iraq war was not created because women did not have a voice in our governing parties at the time (and Hillary shoulders some of the specific blame, in fact).
So don't begrudge the "children" who put these issues and the well-being of all genders and all races ahead of any specific desire to see a minority race or a woman in the oval office. Some of us are actually making our decision based upon who we think will do the best job and not who is owed the job because of past injustices. Hillary is the best candidate for many women (not all of whom are or want to be mothers, by the way - an idea a feminist should be very familiar with) but she is not the best candidate for all women.
Do you also think black men who are voting for Hillary should say "Screw Obama" and stay home in November? How does that gel with your view of implied solidarity?
In November, this election will have little if nothing to do with race or gender. Don't let the cable news networks kid you into thinking otherwise.
Obama is the one...Best Empire can do to save itself.
McCain is Bob Dole revisisted and Hilary is a chameleon with trust issues and a complete allegiance to AIPAC.
I'm saying this to all of you now -and it is of tremendous concern - but the inner elite (military industrial complex and other assorted gremlins and racists) in this country will not like him in there just one bit - he is in the long line of enemies to the US system: like JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King...Those rouge elements in this country who took them out -are still here, still powerful, still have the ability to make things happen from the inside. They control the spy agencies, they mediate things and they can make easy scapegoats for the protection of "national interest and security". They are not to be taken lightly - Obama must know this - but also shows signs of going against the establishment. He BETTER have solid protection once he wins - which he will.
Of course, everyone here knows my politics - but I do happen to like Obama (albiet with great reservations) - but I think he could do much to help us re-enter the international community.
I fear for him and for this country if he is taken out - which is a distinct possibility.
- PAPA
Would Obama be behaving the same way Hillary is now if their roles were reversed? Who knows?
Not voting in November because your candidate didn't get the nomination seems less feminist than petulant, to me. It's a big fat case of taking your ball and going home.
Oh, this is sooooo Brian Crane... Love it. Smackdown!
I'm starting to wonder if Crane's Inanities could finally be... over.
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