Clinton the Nominee, Now What?

What are Obama devotees going to do if Clinton becomes the democratic nominee? Most Clinton supporters say they will actively support and vote for Obama if he become the nominee, but many Obama supporters don't reciprocate this good will.

I still haven't heard anything concrete to warrant the extreme Hillary hatred hurled from all sides. Stanly Fish, in a recent New York Times opinion piece, summarizes this trend succinctly:

She is vilified for being a feminist and for not being one, for being an extreme leftist and for being a "warmongering hawk," for being godless and for being "frighteningly fundamentalist," for being the victim of her husband's peccadilloes and for enabling them. "She is," Horowitz concludes, "an empty vessel into which [her detractors] can pour everything they detest."

This is not to say that there are no rational, well-considered reasons for opposing Clinton's candidacy. You may dislike her policies (which she has not been reluctant to explain in great detail). You may not be able to get past her vote to authorize the Iraq war. You may think her personality unsuited to the tasks of inspiring and uniting the American people. You may believe that if this is truly a change election, she is not the one to bring about real change.

But the people and groups Horowitz surveys have brought criticism of Clinton to what sportswriters call "the next level," in this case to the level of personal vituperation unconnected to, and often unconcerned with, the facts. These people are obsessed with things like her hair styles, the "strangeness" of her eyes -- "Analysis of Clinton's eyes is a favorite motif among her most rabid adversaries" -- and they retail and recycle items from what Horowitz calls "The Crazy Files": she's Osama bin Laden's candidate; she kills cats; she's a witch (this is not meant metaphorically).

Everyone blames her for what her husband does or for what he doesn't do. (This is what the compound "Billary" is all about.) If she answers questions aggressively, she is shrill. If she moderates her tone, she's just play-acting. If she cries, she's faking. If she doesn't, she's too masculine. If she dresses conservatively, she's dowdy. If she doesn't, she's inappropriately provocative.

Personally, I'm always suspicious of the superficial mob mentality. If the mob is flocking to Obama while launching vicious attacks on the Clinton Frankenstein monster with "crazy eyes," I'll feel compassion to help Frankenstein.

Expectations for an Obama presidency have become so heightened that a Clinton nomination will be an especially big disappointment. The Democrats have been criticized in the past for being too fractured and the republicans praised for supporting their candidates when the time comes.

Could Obama supporters pick themselves up and rally behind Clinton in the general election? Or, will democrats continue being their own worst enemy: 'I'm not getting exactly what I want, so I'm going to go pout now (or vote for Nader).' One thing is certain, we'll hear from these same Obama supporters complaining about the State of the Union when a Republican is back in the White House again. "Unification" is easy to talk about if you get your way, but what happens if you don't?

Comments

[Lon]

There are clearly a lot of Hillary hates out there. In a weird way, they helped her win New Hampshire by making her look more sympathetic.

But in general the Hillary haters aren't the problem since most of them will vote republican no matter what.

Obama democrats will probably mostly hold their noses and vote for Hillary. I know I would. Obama independents and Obama Republicans are more likely to vote for McCain.

The problem with Hilary is not that she is the monster that people like Andrew Sullivan would have her be. The problem is that she stands for so little. It is not so long ago (basically when she thought the general election would be harder than the primaries) that she was still running on an indefinite role for American troops in Iraq.

Getting out of Iraq is easier said than done. A candidate that doesn't even say it, isn't likely to do it. Now she is saying she will get out of Iraq. If she is afraid to appear weak in the generals she will likely say something different, and give a tortured explanation as to how it is consistent.

That seems to me to be a good reason to oppose her that has nothing to do with her hairstyle. Even if it does still leave her better than McCain.

[Doofus]

'What are Obama devotees going to do if Clinton becomes the democratic nominee? Most Clinton supporters say they will actively support and vote for Obama if he become the nominee, but many Obama supporters don't reciprocate this good will.'

Fortunately, this has NOTHING to do with who you should vote for, when you vote today.

[wmnorton]

My only hope for the DemocraticParty is a brokered convention with some one other than these two as the nonminee. I supported John Edwards until he pulled out. I really tried to decide which of these two were the least unelectable. I came to the conclusion that it was a tie, mostly from the comment that are being flung about from the two sides. Just as Obama supporters will not support Hillary, I find that most of the Hillary supporters will not support Obama. He may be able to bring enough new people to the process to pull it off, but I suspect the white backlash will be to steep a hill to overcome. Meanwhile McCain now polls better than both of them.

[MrLion]

Simply put, Hillary Rodham Clinton is a walking, talking repudiation of reform. If she's the nominee, I'll vote for her--but that's it. I won't spend a minute of my time or a dime of my money on her campaign. I'll invest my time and effort in downticket candidates and, if none can be found, on causes I believe in. And I'll write off the Democratic Party as a force for change. Once the DLC and the Old Guard gets back in power, the party will pass beyond redemption.

[lynnn]

1) I will support HRC if you answer my question?

Why should I support the woman of the man who actively pushed for banking de-regulation? How am I suppose to believe that her term would be any different? (If repealling New Deal legislation is their idea of "cleaning up after a Bush" then I want no part of it.)

2) Democrats are there worst enemy in that they only talk about making sure every vote count, but they are the first to talk about "hanging chads" instead of the disenfranchisement of 1 million African American voters. They never talk about provisional ballots and "caging" in Cleveland. So if you promise me that you will actively try to stop the voter purges going on right now again in FL, if you will promise me you will actively work against the Felon name list in FL, if you will promise me that you will push for paper ballots in all of OH (not just in Franklin County) and a video tape chain of custody in OH then I will vote for HRC.

With out these steps if a dem only relies on OH and FL we will loose.

If you won't promise that then....

[HowardRoarke]

Its a bit early for all you Clinton supporters to be asking us if we will yield to your inevitable candidate.

Hillary could have tried to win us over. We expected her to run against Obama. We hadn't really expected her, her surrogates, and her supporters (even here on huffpo) to attack US personally.

Obama supporters have been called sexists, told they're only supporting him because he's black, called irrational single-issue voters, dreamers, naive kids, stupid, gullible, and the destroyers of the Democratic party.

Was it a wise move to attack the voters? If it keeps us away from the polls, I suppose so. She'll be the nominee. After all, her campaign head Mark Penn is a pollster who crunches the numbers to achieve these sorts of victories.

But wouldn't we have to be pretty stupid to take a beating from our own side, then turn around and support those that beat us for fear the alternative is worse? That's like McCain supporting Bush in 2000 after South Carolina. We might just have a bit more self respect than that.

[FogBelter]

Mike, I'm sure there are some Obama supporters who will support Hillary ... if that makes you feel any better, but I wouldn't expect all, or even a majority of Obama supporters to make the leap.


It's not that simple ... too much water under the bridge to reward the Clintons with the White House.

[Zenpilot]

Mike,

Here's the thing. Obama supporters might not be inspired by Hillary. But Obama is a leader. And if he inspires his followers to support the Democratic nominee, they will follow. We're just impatient. We want him now. Not in four years when it's "his turn."

[liveandlearn]

i was a frank rich fan in the nytimes until he threw the nauseating name billary into his title. if he wants me to read his column, he is going to have to consistently make sense without exaggerating.

the hillary hating does seem independent of its object. rosie has a piece about how great both hillary clinton and barack obama are. what a breath of fresh air!

[glorija]

"One thing is certain, we'll hear from these same Obama supporters complaining about the State of the Union when a Republican is back in the White House again."

Not quite. For some of the Obama supporters their attitude in the described situation will depend very much on who the Republican president might be. So, while I am without any doubt very much on the left of most issues (social justice, socio-economic and gender equality, gay rights), I still want my candidate of choice to show some character, some integrity. So, Mr. Garibaldi-Frick, you tell me, who has more of those virtues if we must choose between Clinton and McCain?