In the wake of the Pennsylvania primary, Democrats across America are spending their coffee breaks lamenting the vacuous politics that will inevitably drag on into June. Like a family road trip, the chattering siblings in the back seat are all wondering if were there yet -- still uncertain of the destination.
At some point on the way to Texas, this caravan was baited into turning down a dirt road. The consequences can be found in Tuesday's exit polls, in which 43% of Clinton supporters said they would not vote for Obama if he were to win the nomination.
This division manifested itself outside Clinton's victory party in downtown Philadelphia. Hundreds of sign-wielding Obama and Clinton supports stood on opposite sides of the street, straining their voices in group chants -- hoping to declare a decibel victory regardless of the night's results.
"Yes we will!" chanted the Clinton supporters, trumping Obama's hopeful slogan with one of smug realism.
"nanananah, nanananah... hey, hey, hey, hey... goodbye" sang Obama supporters in defiant response.
The scene's significance was vocalized when its participants were asked if they would support either candidate as the party's nominee.
"From what I've seen from Senator Obama's campaign, I WILL NOT VOTE FOR SENATOR OBAMA," declared one woman who had been standing in support of Senator Clinton for more than three hours. "After 20 years of voting Democratic, all my adult life, I will not vote for Senator Obama. I don't care if Hillary tells me to,"
Across the street, the woman's counterpart responded in a calmer tone, confiding to me that he could not vote for Hillary because she is too hawkish. "She is closer to John McCain than Obama," he said.
These sentiments were echoed throughout the night. One man towards the back of the Clinton crowd heard my conversation with his anti-Obama colleagues and sighed in exasperation. "I would vote for Obama if it came down to that," he said. "I'm sick of being separated... I'm not just a white man and she's not just a white woman. They're not just black men. This is America. We're all in this together."
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Not thank you.
All this tough talk doesn't matter. In a few weeks everyone will have forgotten why they were so mad.
If superdelegates feel good about overturning the results of the primaries and caucuses, let's just stop now, admit voters votes don't matter, save some time and money and let the grand poohbahs of the party call it. one way or the other.
Certainly not the idiots, especially her long time close friend, Lieberman, who are advising Hillary to stay the course.
What it ultimately comes down to is this:
You either vote for more war and more out of control executive government in DC or you vote for Obama.
The choice is simple.
Either or...