How Hillary Can Lose By Winning

Here's something you might not know: coming out of the first two contests, it is actually Barack Obama, not Hillary Clinton, who has so far won the most votes. Because his margin of victory in Iowa was far greater than her narrow victory in New Hampshire, and because almost twice as many voters caucused in Iowa this time than ever before, Obama leads by more than 10,000 votes when you combine the two state totals. Why is this significant? Because how you win elections is more important than just the fact of beating your opponent. At least it is if you have any interest in governing effectively once you're elected. In these first two contests, Obama has demonstrated a remarkable ability to assemble an impressive coalition of Democrats, Independents and even some Republicans that could, if it continues to grow through November, become a New American Majority. It's a governing coalition that, in principle, could be there for either a President Obama or, if she has truly found her inspirational voice, even a President Clinton.

That's the good news. The bad news is that politics-as-usual is now threating to turn a transformational moment in our nation's history into just another pothole on the road to the White House.

Launched in the frozen fields of Iowa, then escalated in the slush and snow of New Hampshire, the cold war between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is now turning hot. The danger for Hillary is that African-American voters will long note and long remember what was said here. Campaign rhetoric that turns a hope-monger into a dope-monger might well be effective in the short term, but at what price? Scorching the political landscape could be a winning strategy for the nomination, but relentlessly tearing down Barack Obama is an absolute disaster for governing the country.

I remember well how the 1968 campaign bitterness between Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy split the anti-war movement and, after Bobby's death, the nomination of Hubert Humphrey failed to unite the party until it was far too late. Thus, Nixon was the One. Many in my generation were left embittered and disaffected by the harsh realities of a system that in Barack's words "boils all the hope out of you."

Yesterday on Meet the Press, Hillary at first walked the rhetoric back a bit, "This is the most exciting election we've had in such a long time because you have an African American, an extraordinary man, a person of tremendous talents and abilities, running to become our president...I have no intention of either, you know, doing something that would move this race in a wrong way." Then she ratcheted it up with this thinly-veiled threat: "...or, frankly, sit standing by when I think tactics are being employed that are not in the best interests of our country."

Hillary should well remember that the first Clinton presidency was destabilized almost immediately by what she then accurately dubbed a "vast right-wing conspiracy." She now laughs when asked about it, saying that she hasn't "paid much attention to it for about 10 years." (Note to HRC: It's still there). Should she go on to win the presidency, Senator Clinton will need all the friends she can get to unite the country. What she does over the next three weeks will determine whether she'll have them and, more to the point, whether her victory -- should it come -- would prove grandly historic or tragically pyrrhic.

Comments

[rmwarnick]

The New Hampshire recount starts tomorrow. We shall see if the exit polls were really wrong or if the Diebold/Premier vote counting was wrong.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

Hillary did a good job on "Meet the Press" because she didn't allow Tim Russert to trap her in a blooper or lie (few will note that she voted for Bush's version of the Iraq War Resolution and not the Chuck Hagel version she touted).

Yet I was thoroughly turned off. When she talked about going door to door and meeting voters, hard-working people, people who were laid off, the lack of sincerity was all too apparent. When was the last time Hillary Clinton knew what it was like to be a "normal" middle-class American? This was a clear case of pandering.

I would prefer the real Hillary-- she's rich, she has connections, but she will still help out us little people.

If by some chance you believe her whole empathy routine, take note of her cackling laughter in response to the "vast right-wing conspiracy" reference from Tim Russert. Was that fake or what? This very real right-wing conspiracy practically destroyed her husband, has spread horribly vicious lies about her, calling her a murderer among other things, yet all she can do is laugh?

What-- is she laughing at me because I think there was-- and is-- a vast right-wing conspiracy to smear the Clintons?

OK-- she's laughing it off as a political strategy. But that's the point-- everything is a political strategy. Tears (or near-tears). MLK/LBJ references. Indignation over response to MLK/LBJ references.

I trust that Hillary gets the big picture on many issues-- women's rights, children's rights, sound economic policy (though hopefully without bowing so often to the God of Globalization). She's very smart and admirable for her accomplishments-- I'm just not buying her latest version of herself as the person who laughs off this, tears up at that, and feels so deeply our middle-class struggles.

[resurgent]

Power Not Racism

The Hillary-Obama feud is over power, not racism. Racism is the pretext, the external manifestation, but the root cause is a power struggle. Hillary is claiming rank and telling Obama politically to heel (accept my version of history), and Obama will have none of it. The belief that President Johnson enabled or brought about the changes Martin Luther King advocated was the establishment's way of saving face and purporting it was in control (power). Hillary is saying without Johnson's help, the civil right movement would not have happened. Obama maintains that it was a societal movement that would have happened not matter what. This is very clearly a fight over who had the power.

The civil rights issue brings to a head the friction that has been brewing ever since Hillary lost her inevitability. She tried to use her seniority (experience) as a trump card, but instead of submitting Obama answered with "change." Bob (BET) Johnson tried to make a power play on Obama with his drug reference, but who in America believes Bill didn't inhale? (I guess it depends on what the meaning of inhale is.) Why didn't Hillary and the Democrats attack Bush on drug and alcohol charges? Why could Bush say "I had some problems," and everyone dropped it? The answer is the power structure. Bush was above them on the power ladder, so they let him slide as Hillary expects Obama to let her slide. The problem is that power has proved itself to be so incompetent that many Americans don't respect it any more. Look at the unions: teachers represent traditional power and culinary workers don't.

In the debates Hillary has made some pretty dumb remarks, and Obama has made her pay. He gets the best of her because she relies on her position as an authority figure instead of her authority as a person of knowledge. Oh, sure, she does her homework, but it's predicated on power. "Because I said so" doesn't cut the mustard any more.

[DietrichMoody]

REMIND THE VOTERS THAT OBAMA IS BLACK. This is Exactly what the Clintons and their ilk want to do. Obama won the white male vote overwhelmingly. Instead of going after those votes themseleves, Clintons and their ilk, decide to ignore, burn and destroy these votes by reminding the Voters that Obama is black. but is he really???, in the sense of old style politics or bridge to the 21 century?????Obama is not reminded people that Hilary is a woman, she is doing this herself.

[Bluesman48]

I really hope this season will be the last we'll see of Clinton sleaze. As John Kerry said: they only care about themselves and power.

[Canukistani]

I think it's pretty sad to see the Dems use all of the nastiness that they've been forced to use to survive during the Bush years on each other. Healing is going to be very difficult, if it's even possible.

When this is over and people start to really see the earth they've just finished scorching it's hard to see how any winner (if that's what they'll be able to call themselves) will be able to make a change for the better. I don't think the outlook is hopeful.

[NewMexicoFan]

As I remember, Hillary was running a clean campaign. Then the men started ganging up on her, the media started taking her comments out of context.

So again, your advice is for the women to take the beatings? We don't do that anymore. Someone else can Iron your Shirts, and take the beatings. We are standing up for ourselves. The low blows are coming from the men, so that some people don't even notice them. In fact, you are saying we asked for them. Does that sound familiar?

[Purple Girl]

SHE'S BEEN A DISATER FOR THIS COUNTRY ALREADY!!
Obama has been keeping in step with her like Fred Astar. Edwards helped give US wiretapping and spying by not realizing the Unconstitutionality of the Patriot Act.
THEY ARE IDIOTS OR CO- CONSPIRATO­RS,neither of which I want in OUR WH anymore.
Don't even have the guts to use their influence to out this regime.
Thsi is the Worst Woman, Worst Minority Man worst 'working man' candidates - thye've got experience in corruption, or follwing the herd. No independent logic, principles or foresight. WE've had 7 yrs already of this crap.
KUCINICH FOR PRES!!!
THE RIGHT DECSIONS THE FIRST TIME- and the balls to take on the DARK ONE, Media and the Rigged Election Process.
DENNIS- ONLY REAL DEM RUNNING!!

[iswearington]

black folk have waited 400 years for a black president. if obama loses...the only thing i will ever vote for again...is for an asteroid to hit this racist country and wipe it out of existence.

[Anie]

Scorching the political landscape could be a winning strategy for the nomination, but relentlessly tearing down Hillary Clinton is an absolute disaster for governing the country.

Just sayin' ... in your words. What's good for the goose and all that.

[uscitizen]

George H.W. Bush became president in January of 1989.

As of this month, we have had 19 years of Bush-Clinton presidencies.

This country was never intended to be about dynasties and monarchies.

If Clinton wins the primaries and the general election, we will be heading for a minimum of 24 years and perhaps 28 years of a two-family presidency.

Isn't it time for this country to choose a new direction?

[latinjum]

Don't forget, in 1964, Dr. King could not do what Barack Obama is doing today - be a presidential candidate, let alone be elected president. So, he had to hope for the goodwill, benevolence, and perhaps some shame from white politicans to actually enact into law what he was pushing. So, yes, Johnson was the one who signed civil rights legislation into law. And also don't forget, when Hillary Clinton said that Dr. King had campaigned for Lyndon Johnson, Hillary Clinton had not. She was a Goldwater Girl. So, if Hillary Clinton had gotten her way in 1964, Goldwater would have been elected president, not Johnson, and then where wouuld Dr. King and his dreams have been. And what would Hillary Clinton have to say about that?

[CornBred]

Methinks "Wild Bill & Hillary's Hope-2-Dope Southern Strategy Tour '08" has inflicted a mortal wound upon itself. After 7 years of being robbed and mugged by the Bush-Cheney cabal, Americans ain't as stupid as we used to be.

[plutorage]

Oddly the pundits don't make the connection between bad politicking in the campaign and bad governing.

Has Nixon been forgotten so quickly?

There are some bad apples in Hilary's barrel.

[THP]

This is what Clinton said, verbatim. Read it and ask yourself how this justifies destroying the Clintons lifetime committment to Civil Rights and the Black community?
"I would point to the fact that that Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the President before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done. That dream became a reality, the power of that dream became a real in people's lives because we had a president who said we are going to do it, and actually got it accomplished."