Billary -- What Has Become of Them?

Bill Clinton is in Africa working on his HIV/AIDS initiatives. Good for him. Still it's not like he can't be in touch with the Obama campaign to say when he'll hit the hustings for the presumed Democratic nominee. (See my earlier Huffington Post about how easy it was to reach Clinton's press secretary when they were traveling in Africa, and to hear Bill's distinctive voice in the background.)

Not all is lost for Bill Clinton junkies. In the current low-road shouting match between Obama and McCain, Bill Clinton's name took center stage, put there not by Obama but by John McCain's chief handler, Steve Schmidt:

"Say whatever you want about Bill Clinton, but it's deeply unfair to suggest his criticism of Obama was race-based. President Clinton was a force for unity in this country on this subject. Every American should be proud of his record as both a governor and president."...

For Hillary diehards or PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass), for those still ignorant of the acronym's meaning, there's news this morning from the New York Daily News that the senator from New York has asked not to be nominated at the Denver convention later this month. According to reporter, Michael Saul, she would have to file a formal request to join Obama in the nomination roll call and she hasn't done so. Saul speculates that when she speaks to the convention she will formally release her delegates.

Hillary's delegates could embarrass Obama by ignoring what she says and voting for Hillary. Marc Rubin, half of the duo behind the Denver Group which has been pushing the superdelegates to switch at the convention to the more electable candidate, Hillary Clinton still expects them to do so. Rubin, who stipulates that he speaks only for himself not for the Denver Group, says that Saul's speculation that Hillary will release her delegates is "utter clap trap," as is his assertion that "she has counseled her 1,886 delegates to vote for Obama." Rubin claims to be "in touch with many delegates around the country and not one has told me that. In fact they have received only brief communications from the campaign and they have never been counseled to vote for Obama and as of now are all holding together for Clinton."

Rubin also argues that Hillary doesn't have to do anything to put her name in nomination, nothing has to be put in writing. He claims that "any delegate" could put Hillary's name in nomination, "and as long as it's seconded, her name goes into nomination." He lambastes the Daily News reporter with "jumping to his own conclusions because he is ignorant of party rules procedures....I think you will agree that it would be highly unlikely that a decision of this magnitude would first be leaked to a reporter at the Daily News.

Media reports have Hillary speaking on the Tuesday night of the convention; Wednesday is typically reserved for the vice president, so it seems that Hillary is out of the running. (The fact that she was never asked for documents means, I believe, that she was never in the race for the second spot.) Her backers are now backing away from the effort to push Obama to put her on the ticket.

In the meantime they seem to have made it impossible for Obama to select a woman as vice president for fear that it would further antagonize Hilllary backers, which has the weird effect of seeming to say that there is only one woman with the credentials to be Obama's number two. Should Obama win, that woman -- Sebelius of Kansas or Napolitano of Arizona, for example -- would be in line in 2016 to be the first female president. But not, that spot, apparently, must be reserved for Hillary.

At the same time, John McCain is reportedly looking seriously at Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. (The latter has as part of her portfolio wooing disaffected Clinton supporters to vote for McCain.)

Perhaps most revealing of how little Hillary, in the end, reaped form the brutal campaign which cost her and Bill $12 million -- more than Bill made in speeches last year -- and, to some extent, Bill's reputation -- is a push now to get her health care mandate on the party platform. (Clinton wanted health insurance for all; Obama only mandated insurance for children.) Her backers also want written recognition in the platform that sexism -- "Iron my shirt!" shouted to her at a rally is an oft-mentioned example -- played a part in her defeat. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, some Clinton supporters want words to the effect that the primary elections "exposed pervasive gender bias in the media." Furthermore, they're calling on party leaders, whom Clinton supporters claim stayed silent, to take "`immediate and public steps'" to condemn future perceived instances of bias."

Those party leaders must be quaking in their loafers.

The party platform? Do you know anyone who reads the platform or gives it a moment's thought to it post convention? I don't.

On the other hand, we haven't heard much about health insurance during the campaign. Britney Spears and whose face is on the dollar bill, yes, but coverage for the millions of uninsured, no.

Comments

[RapidRay]

In your paragraphs the one that tickles me most is the prejudice against women problem that is holding Hillary back.
Didn't she have some sort of bodacious/humungous lead before this problem reared it's ugly head?
We've come a long way baby from a few years ago when Mrs.Colin Powell was fearful that REAL prejudice would endanger her husband's life if he ran.
America has offered a limited supply of non white, non male Presidents in this green and growing land (0) so there is plenty of prejudice to go around. Hopefully our sad lack of unmarried, Asian, cross dressing, non loafered candidates, of any of the 7 currently recognized genders, will be included in "any perceived instances of bias" mentioned in the party platform.

[gigi09]

Johnnn...n­o one said they owed Obama anything! The question is, are they democrats or republicans? Or just racists that have a problem with the fact that Obama is African American. They would rather throw the election, and they would throw it! They are so into themselves that they actually believe that the OTHER 18,000,000 voters will vote to someone that is tearing the party apart. Or, are they assuming that the economy situation would force AA to vote for her anyway? I don't think so! These are women that cannot retire the Clintons debt and THEY FEEL THAT OBAMA SHOULD RETIRE HER DEBT! The Hillary HELLRaisers make me sick, and to hell with the women's movement, If this is what it's about, I would stay at home and bake cookies and raise my daughters and grandaughers to be decent fair minded women. Women with integrity and a sense of decency, which they do not have. The silly, silly HELLRAISERS ! Obama 08!

[closetodemfection]

The Hillraisers are maxed out for HRC's primary campaign and so the money is being raised in a grassroots way. The July numbers will reflect the debt is nearly gone.

Please stop insinuating that anyone who doesn't support Obama is a racist. Obama does not possess the qualities that many voters want. Not to mention, he only served 143 days in the US Senate before he started campaigning. Many people are very uncomfortable with on the job training during a period of crisis. Obama will not win the general, the Dems should nominate HRC if they want to win.

[debwarot]

'The July numbers will reflect the debt is nearly gone." So, that is what you are now saying, huh? Just like Hillary did in the primaries, you just keep moving that goalpost, don't ya?

What happened to your prediction that her campaign debt would be retired by the middle of July? ("Oh and BTW, her debt will be gone by mid-July. Then she won't have to suffer your powerful scrutiny anymore". Posted 03:13 AM on 07/10/2008) Today is August 2, and her web site is still running a plea for money - now with the added enticement of a 'summer dinner' with Hillary.

For all intensive purposes, this seems to illustrate that, when all is said and done, you really just plain don't know what you are talking about!

[Jwoman]

I think its time for the Clinton's get over themselves. I don't dislike Hillary, but she is not the nominee and we need to move on. If she really believes in all the issues she espoused during the campaign, she will do everything she can to help Obama in whatever way possible. And that should be true for her supporters as well. McCain's views are anathema to all thinking Americans and especially to women. So lets get on to beating McCain.

[closetodemfection]

No one is the nominee yet. The nominee will be decided in Denver on August 28th. Please turn off MSNBC and take a history class.

[MR]

Now that we know the daily news story was totally bogus and there wasn't a single factual truth anywhere in the article, was it simply just another inept incompetent journalist in Obama's pocket looking stupid in a major newspaper or is there more to it?

The really interesting thing would be to find out how this story got into print in the first place and where it came from. We know where it didnt come from. It didnt come from anyone in the Clinton camp as the story falsely alleged. So where did it come from? Who was really the source? Who might be running scared that maybe the nomination isnt as sewed up as some might want it to be? Finding out the source and where it came from will be far more interesting than anything that was in the bogus daily news story.

Marc Rubin

[closetodemfection]

I agree completely. I suspect it was planted by Obama. They are getting terrified this convention might actually be democratic.

[Freesia2]

Well one possibility Mr. Rubin, is that the story came from within your own camp. It would be one way of keeping the scenario alive in the press. Wouldn't it?

Funny thing popped into my head today. I don't know why. A friend of mine once had mice in her kitchen. The best way to prevent them from returning of course, is to block their point of entry. So she found the place in the wall where they gnawed their way through and blocked it. But sure enough, they just found another spot and chewed another hole and wiggled back in. Blocked it again - they just chewed though once more. Tenacious little boogers. But there was something in her kitchen that they wanted, and right or wrong they just kept coming back to try again to take it.

[RENREVARD]

The Clintons are helping Mccain run his campaign. The top advisors like Wolfson and then Lanny Davis bad mouthing Obama on Fox and in the WSJ. Mccain campaign is the Hillary campaign on steroids! The Clintons wrote the playbook and gave it happily to Mccain. Hillary 2012!

[biographer]

Since I posted this this morning, this You Tube has come to light. In it Hillary, at an event in San Francisco, Hillary indicates that she's perfectly happy with the idea of her name being put in nomination and even seems to confirm it. She also tells her backers that there's no chance she'll be nominee and that they should all get behind Obama. the You Tube is definitely worth a look and listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8gdU_1MM44&eurl=http://alegrescorner.soapblox.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=431

[Rockerbabe]

Hillary and Bill Clinton are probably taking a long and much needed break from all the nastiness. I'm sure Senator Clinton will display much more grace, thoughtfullness and poise than most of the bloggers and posters on this site. As to her intentions, only she can speak to those; it is not helpful for you to comment about her without first speaking directly to her, which seems to be a problem for a lot of would be "journalist".
As a democrat, those in party power had better take seriously, the issue of sexism. Or they maybe next!
I and many like me may not be shouting to the wind, making threatening remarks to the neighbors or texting and blogging our heads off, but sexism does affect us and will be a factor in this election. I don't know who Senator Obama will pick as VP, I would like for it to be Senator Clinton and her 18+ million votes. . but who really knows? If I don't see real change (deeds, not just words), I am fully prepared to write-in Senator Clinton's name on my ballot this fall. I refuse to hold my nose any more and vote for another member of the boys' club.

[bodo]

No woman for VP, if Hillary doesn't get it? At last we know that it was never about women, it was always about getting the two Clintons back in the White House, so Bill could have a third term on the sly. But Obama could not make her VP, even if he wanted to, for his entire campaign depends on change. Bringing that old Clinton gang back into the White House would defeat his message.

[cadbury]

Tons of HuffPo posters keep saying this..."He couldn't pick Clinton because he's for change!" And yet many of the people being discussed for Obama's VP are far from what I'd call "change agents". I mean really...S­am Nunn? Joe Biden? Jim Webb? Republican Chuck Hagel?

People have assumed that Obama is a shoe in. And this year, with W's popularity in the toilet, he should be! But unfortunately Obama is still having problems closing the deal. I think Hillary could help him in this regard; and recent polls (cited by Lanny Davis in his WSJ article) bear this out. But Obama, who is always talking about unity, can't seem to do the one thing that would immediately unify and electrify the party. Too bad. An Obama/Clinton would be unbeatable.

[justobserve]

Lanny Davis is never tired of championing the Clintons to be back in the WH. Why couldn't Hillary close the deal when she had 100 millions in donation and 100 more superdelegates from the start? Where are the "18 million voters" who could help her to clear her debts in a flash by donating two bucks each (36 million$)? So that you know, most of them voted for her at the beginning but deserted her after her kitchen sink tactics. Davis can't use the number that included them now. The truth is too obvious.

[Johnnn]

I am very happy to see the Clintons ignore the Presidential campaign. They owe Obama nothing. I predict Obama will lose ground to McCain when he chooses a running mate, and after the Convention in Denver. In case you haven't noticed, we Hillary folks are still not happy and won't be. End of story.

[GiannaX]

Well... you can always vote for another Bush term. Shoot yourself in the foot if that makes you feel any better. Please cut the whining...­it's so McSame!