Is Clinton Looking For An "I Told You So" Moment?

Mother Jones:

Why is Hillary Clinton still in the race?

Ever since she failed to cream Barack Obama in Indiana, pundits and analysts have been chewing this over--and now that the West Virginia primary is done, even though she won by a massive two-to-one margin, the question still hovers. After all, Obama has racked up an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates and has pulled ahead in the superdelegate count, meaning the race is essentially complete. Clinton and her campaign advisers have argued that she can still win the nomination if she does well in the last few primaries and then persuades superdelegates she is the better candidate to do battle with John McCain. But the superdelegates don't seem receptive to her case. And the fact that she has throttled back on the anti-Obama rhetoric in recent days--she barely she criticized her in her not-so-jubilant West Virginia victory speech--is a signal that she may not believe her own spin and is merely halfheartedly trudging toward the last primaries (Montana and South Dakota) on June 3.

Yet there she is--an active and hard-working candidate. And the commentators have come up with several obvious explanations:

* She wants to remain in the hunt just in case something happens. (A video appears of Wright calling for armed revolution? Fox News produces Obama's Secret Muslim Membership card?)

* She is staying in for one last round of fundraising. (Her campaign is $20 million in debt and owes her $11 million.)

* She wants to end her historic campaign with a string of victories: West Virginia, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico. (Puerto Rico? She is a senator from New York.)

* And the most obvious of them all: she's not yet ready to face the music.

Read the whole story: Mother Jones

Comments

[PhDiva]

The author missed the most obvious reason. She is trying to destroy Obama's campaign so she can run in 2012. Period. That's what this is about. How could you write this article and not list her 2012 ambitions as key to her current campaign strategy?

[KillTheMessenger]

If Senator Obama loses this time, his supporters will not vote for her. That will leave her with no chance to win next time, either.

[doonie]

Remember, Senator Obama has and had already conceded West Virginia, KY and PR to HRC. He's expecting to win Oregon, Montana and South Dakota so whichever state comes next, which may be hers, we've been forewarned. I happily give her those states. But following that, with the popular vote in, SD's in, and the backing of his colleagues, I expect her to gracefully bow out, at long last.

[Oldtt]

The GE hasn't even been held, and already Clinton is being set up as the fall guy in case Obama loses. If you want Obama to be the leader of the free world, start by making him responsible for his own successes or failures.

[DemocraticRN]

Oldtt: But he is not responsible for anything.

He could be caught in bed with a 16 year old girl and his supporters would say that Professor Obama was conducting a class in Sex Education with only one pupil.

He is Teflon coated and nothing will touch him but the Republicans. That is what has happened the last two elections because Democrats allow the Republicans to select both the Republican and Democratic candidate with their stupid rules. The superdelegates don't have the guts to nominate the strongest candidate because the Obamabots threatened to riot in the streets.

[Aloanstar]

Her ambitions were 2008, not 2012....sh­e won't run again. She is intent on winning this campaign, yet if that doesn't happen she has repeatedly claimed her support for the Democratic nominee...­.her heart has been with this party for nearly 30 years. She is DEDICATED!!!! Leave her alone and let the rest of America cast their votes!!!

[kdublya]

Simpering bellyachers,

Over the past 8 years, the Democratic Party has been afflicted with hindsight.
Knowledge without power.

Four more years? Eight?

My humble suggestion, snap the hell out of it.

[realtalk]

Truthmeter - I urge you and other HILLARY supporters to take a look at this very revealing information about Hillary and Bill Clinton. (I urge you to watch the whole thing, see the the testimony of police officers, prosecutors, government officials, lawyers, civilians, about who the Clintons are. )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnq5U9ovtaE

[DemocraticRN]

realtalk: If you are going to post this, you should have the guts to reveal where it is coming from. Just wait until these guys start in on Obama after you Obamabots destroy Hillary for them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Her_Now
I no longer choose to be in the same Party as African-Americans and Eggheads. Just remember, you can't win without Hillary Clinton's supporters. Even though your Idol says to lay off Clinton, you continue this stuff.
So much for kiss and make-up. You are Manic.

[doonie]

"you don't choose to be in the same Party as African-Americans andEggheads" Does this mean your a racist?

[KarenKaren]

I hope you're not seriously an RN.

[SoyAA]

I'm a AA egghead, so I do not matter to you or the Clinton's Democratic party. DemocraticRN do you and your fellow Clinton supporters feel Sen Clinton can win with only her "hard working, white" supporters? If so you do not have to leave the party. By all means stay. I will leave and encourge all the AA's and eggheads I can to join me.

[bikemessenger]

Or read this Bob Herbert column from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/opinion/10herbert.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

It begins: "The Clintons have never understood how to exit the stage gracefully­..."

It's a devasting demonstration of what the Republikaner could present if she were on the ticket in the fall.

[Truthmeter]

With all the bashing by Oba-mites over the last 6 month's in order for Hillary to have a chance next time around the Hillary supporters should vote for McCain...h­e's a 4 yr President.­.then Hillary can run again and it will be Obama who?Payback's a b*tch.

[Aleka4]

---With all the bashing by Oba-mites over the last 6 month's in order for Hillary to have a chance next time around the Hillary supporters should vote for McCain...h­e's a 4 yr President.­.then Hillary can run again and it will be Obama who?Payback's a b*tch.---

What are you, 12?

People like oyu don't deserve a vote - it s a serious responsibility, not something to throw away as "payback" in a teenage snit.

[doonie]

Get real, there are far more educated and informed Obama supporters who are young, old, rich,poor, black, white,brown then there are Clinton supporters. We're not looking for payback so much as a win and we'll get it. You can vote for the liar, or you can vote for the candidate who shows his integrity and class in everything he does and says. Your choice. But I wish you'd leave the dark side and join us where you'll be a much happier camper.

[HopeGirl]

John....Mc­Cain??? Is that you? Get back to bed, you aren't as young as you used to be.

[MM5]

At this point she is certifiably insane. Bring out the meds and a ride to the psych ward.

[gevan]

For the most part, she is making this her only chance for the top spot. It's all or nothing in this one shot deal. If Obama is the candidate and loses, the party would be loathe to turn to her in 2012, and she know it. Of course Chelsea will be eligible to run for her Senate seat in 2012...so keep tuned.

[Oldtt]

If Obama loses in November, his supporters will blame Clinton and hate her twice as much in 2012.

[Aloanstar]

Why blame Clinton? If Obama can't bring in her constituency, why would it be her fault? She's already said she would be open to campaigning for the Dem. nominee. She believes in the Democratic party, and will do all she can to help defeat McCain in November. Leave her alone....l­et the rest of the country have their say. Apparently, you've had yours. The process will play out, therefore, give your fellow Americans a chance to cast their vote, just as you did!!!!!

[HopeGirl]

selfish maniac.

[EvoMan]

Here's an interesting factoid. No Democrat has EVER won the White House without winning Missouri. Remember that the next time some Clinton supporter brings up the equally meaningless, "No Democrat since 1916 has won the White House without winning West Virginia," B.S.

[HopeGirl]

Here is another fact:

No woman has won the WH ever. So what.

Ego maniac.

[EvoMan]

And no black man has ever won the WH either. Another, "So what?"

It's amazing how much meanlingless stuff keeps getting trotted out in this campaign.

[NetWeasel]

No woman has ever won a Presidential election.

No person of African descent has won either.

Nor has anyone as old as McCain.

So a lot of the "no one has one the election without winning X" arguments are completely moot.

[4wehttam]

Yeah it makes me sick when people keep bringing up shit like that. Geez! Why are they trying to live in the past. This isn't 1916 or 1960......­....we are in 2008 for heavens sake!

It's like saying no woman or black candidate has ever been a nominee for the presidency­.....HELLL­OOOOO, things change, and change they have.

[verlaine]

The drip drip drip of superdelgates endorsing Obama needs to become an avalanche. Superdelegates need to make it loud and clear to Hillary that her race is done. It's time for Hillary and her supporting cast of liars to give it up and get the heck out of Obama's way.

[Oldtt]

They need to act quickly before Obama takes another beating, this time from Kentucky redneck racists. Incidentally, Clinton won the WV college-grad vote by 15% tonight. I guess living in the state polluted their intellectual superiority by cultural osmosis.

[HopeGirl]

WV has college graduates?

Who knew.

[Aloanstar]

Okay...let­'s talk about racism here....

[DemocraticRN]

Oldtt, Don't you realize by now that only the elite, Ivy League graduates are considered educated. They attended classes taught by Professor Barack Obama and Professor William Ayres. They come out of these instutions knowing more than someone who has been through the "School of Hard Knocks". They have even convinced their parents they are smarter than they are and can tell them how to vote.
Graduates from Engineering schools who become working class Engineers and Programmers are not counted as educated. You must have a degree in English, History, or Political Science from a Cracker-Jack diploma mill to vote for Obama. Everyone who supports Hillary Clinton has to be classed as illiterate by the MSM and Obama supporters.
I am "bitter" because I got my degree before these kids were a gleam in their Father's eye and I am not ready to abdicate my responsibilities to them. I just hope the superdelegates don't either.

[genia]

Is Clinton waiting for the I told you so moment?
Better question..­..........­..........­..........­....
Is Clinton planning the I told you so moment ?

[SouthFloridaDem]

Yeah, that's the one that's got me wondering. Her campaign so far has been all about gotcha -- not winning honestly, completely on the up-and-up, but by gotchas, smears, innuendo, all the dirty tricks in the book. What's honorable about "winning" that way, when it's not even really winning? How can her supporters want to win that way? I just don't get it.

[eej]

It makes me sick to consider what she may know is going to happen, whether she causes it or not.

[Oldtt]

No need to plan for the inevitable.

[gaynelle38]

I am a resident of WV and was upset to hear and see some of the negative behaviors from the residents of the state. I have lived here a long time and to see that nothing has changed in the ways of attitudes and behaviors is very disheartening. Individuals where saying on national t.v. and in local papers that the only reason they where not voting for Mr. Obama was his race and him being a muslim. WV is pretty much last in everything (ie. education, jobs, cultural awarness and many other areas) When Mrs. Clinton started talking about the gas tax for the summer and how she wants to suspend it I knew someone was going to buy her logic what West Virginians fail to understand is that we have state taxes on gas and they just increased by 3% so even if the federal tax was gone there would still be state taxes on gas and by the way we have the highest gas taxes. So those individuals that bought that hype and they did by the exit polls is willing to buy anything. I have supported the Clintons in the past but I feel that the country is in need of change and we need to leave some hope for the younger generation(s). I am an educated african american woman and my background is political science either could have had my vote but the things that have come out of the Clinton campaign turned me off.

[kevenseven]

Clinton is reduced to taking donations from little kids.

That is going to be a hoot on the Sunday morning talk shows.

She is desperately in debt. The money has stopped.

Most politicians recognize that as the time to quit the race.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

Not Her. She's special. She's entitled. She's the hard working white's champion.

[fungeezer]

She wants to drag him down to try and make him lose the general. Isn't that what the pundits have been saying? Seriously, though, she can;t drop out. Then she might have to face that ugly trial in California.

[elbowguts]

Given how free I've felt to complain about Clinton's bad behavior, I kinda feel obligated to say that I think her WV victory speech showed more grace than she's ever shown previously in this campaign (I only read the transcript; did not hear the actual speech).

I can't stand the woman, but I feel like I have to finally give her some credit.

Now, I just hope that her supporters will realize that the West Virginia result was completely meaningless and does not alter her chances to get the nomination. Please stop with the "he'll never win in November" crap. The nature of these elections is such that you will never know how well Senator Clinton would've done against McCain. Please don't get all twisted up in "woulda coulda shoulda" and instead do your best to honestly compare Obama to McCain and vote for the one you think best represents your values. And if you support what Hillary says her policies as president would be, then I think Obama is the closest match among the candidates you'll have to choose from in November.

As someone who voted in a U.S. Presidential election five times before voting for either a Republican or a Democrat, I strongly support the concept of voting for the person on the ballot whom you think would make the best president. If you think that person is McCain, go for it. But please don't vote for him out of spite.

[eej]

I did not like her speech at all. The performers behind her seemed planted, too, and they were bad overactors.

25% of Hillary voters said race was a factor, in the exit polls. 10% of Obama supporters did too.

If you throw those out, her win is not so huge she should be puffed up like a peacock.

[hillarysupporter]

Even though we don't like it, you can't just ignore the race factor. Its on both sides.
Its there . The fact that 67% of the voters in W. Va. voted for Clinton is a fact that needs to be paid attention to. Superdelegates need to pay attention. If Obama loses in the general election, the superdelegates will be blamed.

[DemocraticRN]

Roland Martin just confirmed my greatest fear. Teddy Kennedy convinced Senator Barack Obama to run for President of the United States so Kennedy could be the power behind the throne. His dream is to be Obama's Dick Cheney.
Why else would the DNC agree to disenfranchise two major states and allow the first viable African-American candidate to run against the first viable Female candidate? If Hillary Clinton had been the candidate from the start, she could have defeated John McCain hands down, in fact she still can.
Teddy Kennedy introduced Obama as a spoiler and split the party like he did in 1980 against Jimmy Carter. Tonight proved that Senator Kennedy is still the best candidate against John McCain and I hope the superdelegates realize that Obama is just an image created by David Axelrod to create the perfect Democratic nominee to sell to the African-American voters and the young impressionable first time voters.
We have been duped by Edward (Ted) Kennedy in his quest to be a kingmaker.

[Oldtt]

I don't know about the conspiracy theory you advance, but clearly Obama will be entirely dependent on supporters like Ted Kennedy for any programs he wants to get through the Senate. I see him as another weak President like Jimmy Carter - well intentioned but lacking the skills to succeed.

[eej]

As opposed to... some president you think had the skills to success, obviously, but who would that be?

[doonie]

And I see him as a bipartisan unifier who walked the floor of the legislature earlier this week and was greeted with handshakes and applause from both sides of the aisle. Nancy Pelosi walked away from a meeting with the press to have a chance to stand next to him. That's charisma. You know Oldtt, I don't think you have an open mind. Wassup with that?