OK, in spite of what the other people in line at Old Country Buffet my have told you, I’m a patient man. I get that being President was important to her, and I’m willing to cut her some slack, but this is insane. Everyone else in the world, including President Bush, by now has come forward and congratulated Barack Obama on his win in the Democratic primary, except for Hillary, who has yet to concede. Obama was magnanimous last night, as he secured the delegates he needed to win, saying that Hillary was a great competitor. She, however, responded with a bewlidering attack. (For what it’s worth, McCain also gave a terrible speech to mark the occasion.) And, not only hasn’t she conceded, but word today is that she’s still fundraising.
I’ve said it before, but I really do respect her tenacity. If Gore had been as much of a fighter, we might not be where we are today. I get that. But at some point she has to realize, as Howard Dean pointed out the other day, “this isn’t about (her) – it’s about the country.”
Most seem to think that she’s refusing to let go until she’s been offered the VP slot. Personally, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to put the country through this. I’m tired of sitting by, watching her do what’s best for her politically, instead of what’s best for the country. What the party needs right now, is to come together around Obama, not to watch Hillary Clinton hold a knife to his throat, demanding the VP position.
With all that said, I like that Obama hasn’t pushed the issue. I like that he’s giving her time to exit gracefully. But he can’t allow this to go on until the convention. And, if it’s the only way to make it stop, I say that he should make an announcement about his running mate as soon as possible. The question is who, though. Conventional wisdom would say a well-liked southern male with credibility on military issues, someone old enough to add some gravitas to the ticket, but not so old as to make Obama look like a school kid. Some of the people being mentioned are former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, and retired four-star general and Clinton friend Wesley Clark. Neither really hammers home the message of “Change,” but I don’t suppose that people will hold it against him too much. At this point, I don’t think I’d have issues with anyone except for Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton. And, yeah, I don’t think she should be VP. I agree with Jimmy Carter on that.
Anyway, congratulations to Barack Obama for winning on his own terms, with his dignity intact. It’s an incredible accomplishment in today’s world, and I think it’s worth noting. While McCain embraced Hagee and the folks at Bob Jones University, and Clinton tried to pass herself off as a gun-toting Bible thumper, Obama didn’t seem to compromise who he was or what he believed in. And, when everyone else went negative, he didn’t. Sure, he had the dust-up over his pastor, and he may not talk about the civil rights movement as much as some would like, but, on the whole, I think he’s done a damned fine job of staying true to himself. Here’s hoping that he can keep it up from here on out.
update: According to CNN, those close to Hillary say that, in the wake of this MM.com post, she’ll concede on Friday night.
15 Comments
What is the country being “put through,” exactly? This will all shake out in a couple of days.
She’s out fundraising to try and get some of her outstanding debt paid back, which strikes me as an appropriate thing to want to do.
I think by suggesting that her concession matters at this point, you perhaps lend her some power and authority she does not have. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter whether she concedes or not, Obama’s the nominee. If she wants to play a significant part in uniting the party against Obama, she’ll let it go within a week. If that’s not important to her, then she may not.
Oops, typo’d when I edited the comment. It should have said:
“If she wants to play a significant part in uniting the party behind Obama, she’ll let it go within a week.”
Ha! Perhaps a Freudian slip?
Like the saying goes, “Well behaved women rarely make history.”
By “Put through” I mean is that she’s putting our country through a lot of unnecessary grief. She’s hurting Obama’s chances of winning, and, because of that, she’s ultimately hurting our country. I don’t think we can take what amounts to another four years of the Bush presidency. And I think that’s ultimately what she’s going to make happen. I believe every day she stays in, she make Obama look weaker in the eyes of Americans. I believe that. I also believe that she does not have the best interest of the American people in mind. This is about power.
There are different ways to “make history,” Robert… Typhoid Mary made history.
Mark:
Please don’t fool yourself. It’s about power for every last one of ’em.
“Meet the new boss–same as the old boss.”
Plus ca change, plus ca le meme chose.
On an unrelated note: How does YOUR Amazon widget (if that’s the right term) know MY buying habits? Ew. (OK: I guess I *know* how. But…ew!)
I don’t know how well behaved Typhoid Mary was but she certainly would make for a bad dinner guest.
I didn’t mean to rile you. I just thought quoting a bumper sticker would be better for my credibility here than sharing my actual thoughts would be.
The truth is, my visceral reaction to the things Hillary has been doing is probably pretty similar to yours. The difference is that you go in a more idealistic direction from there than I do.
As a consequence of the particular kind of involvement I’ve had with politics, I’ve come to see things from a perspective that is difficult, monotonous, tiresome and time consuming to relate to other people. I increasingly opt for a cop-out.
So now I should probably explain. That is what a normal person would do I guess. However, I’m just going to try to cliff-note it, and most likely fuck things up even more.
To me, politics seems something like a Machiavellian chess match which is masked by a goofy play. I don’t think important things happen BECAUSE of the personality of the individuals involved. Rather, I think the individuals are there because their personalities fit the scenarios involved. Bush makes for a good illustration of what I’m trying to say. Whereas many people think he’s fucking up the country, I think he’s just there because he’s a fuck-up, and a fuck-up is what the scenario called for. It’s hard to rob a country blind if there is a guy in the oval office that might get a clue, or give a shit if he had one.
Movements aren’t created by leaders. Leaders are created by movements. So when I see your hostility toward Hillary, mostly what I am thinking is that you are hostile toward the scenario that calls for her sort of personality. Try to imagine the kind of personality you’d like to see in her. Now try to imagine it doing the things she’s had to do to get where she is. I can’t see it. Can you? Nothing is chance.
I also think it’s very much the case that women are put in an almost impossible position when it comes to ambition and seeking power.
All this aside, my real thought lately is that Hillary knows something that the rest of us don’t and that she can’t tell us. It’s what I always think when a politician behaves in a way that I find counterintuitive. I’m starting to think the Clinton campaign is aware of the existence of something the Republicans have which is damning to Obama. Of course the GOP would want to keep the lid on something like that until only they could benefit from the release of it. The Clinton campaign on the other hand would want to try to get their hands on it themselves and release it before it’s too late to retake enough super delegates to get the nomination.
So this is my fear right now. I worry that Hillary’s hanging in so long and trying to keep in super-delegate-switching range of Obama’s count has as she can, because she has some info which suggests that would be a good idea for her to do. She could also be getting suckered to do this by the Republicans with phony hints.
I hate to be the one to say stuff like this, because I know it makes everybody hate me. But think about why you hate me. It’s not all because of my crappy personality. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll have to admit at least some it is because this fucked-up scenario calls to my crappy personality.
None of this matters now, right? We are all on one team once again. It’s time for unity talk.
I thought Hillary’s concession speech was good, and I think she’ll do her part to get Obama elected. It would be crazy to make her the VP candidate, but an imortant position in an Obama administration would make sense for her if he wins.
John Edwards made it clear a few days ago that the possibility of him being the VP candidate was completely ruled out. I think that is good thing too.
I’m expecting Obama to pick Wesley Clark or someone from an important southern swing state with similar credentials or background to Clark’s.
Virginia and Georgia are now likely going to be the ‘front lines’ during the fall campaign.
I’m happy that Hillary said what she did, but I don’t think it’s over. I’ve heard a lot of Hillary supporters interviewed these last 24 hours, and several of them said that they would not be voting for Obama. Granted, their opinions may change over time, but I do think that there’s a large contingent that won’t support the Democratic candidate, no matter what Hillary says now. And I hold her and her husband responsible for this. Their calling the Obama campaign a “fairy tale” had an impact. Those “hard-working whites” she talked of that supported her took it to heart. Say what you will about Obama, but he never implied that she wasn’t capable to hold the job.He never said, ‘you can’t trust her to answer the red phone at 3:00 AM.’ She built her campaign on his being unqualified, and it will have an impact. So, no, I’m not willing to give her a pass just because she says now that she supports the man.
Well, you know what? I didn’t listen to one word Hillary said during her campaign. I did, however, catch one or two Obama snippets (OK, admittedly, very little), and found myself utterly unimpressed. I may not vote for him, either. I can’t speak for anyone else, but my reasons for voting or not voting for BO or, for that matter, you know who, would have less than nothing to do with HRC.
Snippets are a good way to judge presidential candidates. The number of road signs works too.
Don’t be smart, Andy C. I didn’t say *how* I choose a candidate. But if you want to know, I vote on issues.
The nut-job talk shows are suggesting there is video or audio of Michelle Obama using the term “whitey” and that this is the “bombshell” that will eventually come out.
There probably IS some audio or video of Mrs. Obama saying “whitey” considering how much time she spent in Iowa in the year leading into the caucus there while also considering the fact that Whitey’s serves the best ice cream in the entire state. I’ve said it before!