If Obama Doesn't Curb His Arrogance It's McCain in a Walk

Regardless of Clinton's motives for offering Obama the vice-presidency, it expressed a reality that Obama has yet to face: Neither candidate can win in November without the supporters of the other. Obama's response was not only childish and arrogant, it was stupid. Yes, he's ahead by a few votes. But to translate that tiny lead into: "I'm number one and I don't need anyone" makes him sound like a Republican. If he thinks he can win in November without Clinton's supporters he's already let his popularity blow his ego into Bush-bubble proportions.

All he needed to do to field Clinton's offer and still look mature was to make the counter-offer. Offer the vice-presidency to her, instead of puffing himself up and huffing about his little lead. The truth is, he's hardly any closer to winning than she is, and the longer they battle it out, the easier it will be for McCain in November.

Obama needs to remember that while the Republican party believes in a majoritarian kind of pseudo-democracy, in which winning 50.001% of the vote entitles you to act like a dictator and ignore the 49.999% of the populace that didn't vote for you, the Democratic party has always embraced a more genuine consensual model--trying to represent the nation. This is reflected in their different primary approaches--Republicans: winner-take-all; Democrats: proportional representation.

It's the height of hypocrisy for Obama to talk incessantly about 'change' and 'hope', while engaging in the same sort of macho, I'm-number-one-I'm-the-decider silliness that has brought our nation to its present state of decline.

We expect more of him.

Comments

[marylovespeaches]

Arrogant, condescending, patronizing, I can barely listen to this man speak without cringing. These are the hallmarks of an extremely insecure and immature individual. Am I alone on this one? And who wants this man at the helm of the country? Haven't we already had 8 years of this smoke and mirrors?

[SamThornton]

"childish, arrogant, stupid, an ego with Bush-bubble proportions, the height of hypocrisy, I'm-number-one-I'm-the-decider silliness."

Gee, Mr. Slater, you have the hyperbolic, ad hoc language of character assassination down to a T. Congratulations. And thank you for avoiding some boring discussion of actual issues or objective reality. So refreshing.

What's next on the agenda? Your deep thots on race 'n religion?

[altohone]

Hillary is a right of center Democrat.

If Obama wins the nomination, we deserve a VP choice that would continue his policies, not take a U-turn, if the worst were to happen.

She wouldn't be an asset in the general election either, since NY is nearly certain to go for the dems, and all her baggage would still rally the GOP.

There are neither ideological nor tactical reasons for Hillary to be chosen as VP.

[Gibbons]

Yesterday DeKalb county Mississippi, the most republican county in the state was swamped with requests for democratic ballots, republicans were voting for Obama because they figure him to be easier to beat. If Obama thinks these votes will be there for him in November he s indeed living in a dream world. After the Civil War Mississippi voted democrat for over a hundred years because Lincoln was a republican. They did this until LBJ signed the Civil Rights Bill and since then they have voted for republican presidents. I will still vote for Obama if he is nomiated which is more than you Obama fans will do for Hillary so welcome to at least four more years of WAR in Iraq/Iran or wherever bush McCain takes us.

[Vishous]

You do realize that Clinton won around 75% of the Republican vote in MS? Most of these votes came from areas of the state that went overwhelmingly for Bush in 2004. This is the Limbaugh effect in motion. They believe that Hillary is the easier candidate to beat and want to muck up the Democratic primary by keeping the race going so the candidates can "bloody" each other up for McCain. The proof is in the details. http://www.jedreport.com/2008/03/republicans-now.html

[ATLiberal]

Actually, Rush Limbaugh has been on an active campaign to get Republicans to vote for Hillary to keep the contest dragging on. You are not aware of that?

[LeftRight]

I'll grant that there may be some who are doing this. BUT, I guarantee it's not all of them! Further, there's no logic behind that, Obama will be MUCH harder to beat than Hillary!

[NvMe]

So Ohio GOPs voted for Hillary to stop Obama and GOPs in MS voted for him because he can be easily beaten? No way - GOPs voted for Obama because he is going to win the nomination and the election - people are voting their conscience NOT THEIR PARTY anymore, unless they are one of those Archie Bunker geriatric people who still carry a KKK card. Change is what the majority of the people are seeking, be they Independent, GOP or DEM. Looking forward to transparency in GOVT and taking part in the process is what Obama offers. Clinton and McCain offer Lobby money backed politics and corporate business as usual. The American people are tired of mud-slinging, "kitchen sink" tactics. It's a new day and a new future for our country - BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE run by a grass roots middle class person, who actually cares about his constituency. WOW what a concept. Making our politicians who work for us actually accountable for their behavior!!! Can't Wait - Obama 08...

[Doofus]

So, you think we should vote for Clinton because if Obama is nominated

then McCain will be elected. Or would that be, vote for Obama because

if Clinton is nominated, McCain will be elected, Mr Repo man? You can

have it both ways.

[Doofus]

Is it just me, or aren't there a lot of folks wandering around the HuffPost
these days who would really prefer a McCain presidency, and suppose
that the way to make this happen is to get Hillary Clinton nominated.

No doubt there are *authentic* Clinton supporters as well, but the
continuous fusillade insisting that a vote for Obama is a vote
for Clinton is obfuscation. The point is to elect a Demo President,
which will happen unless too many people are fooled yet again.

[albertbenjamin]

the move of the cintons was patronising and strategically masterful. it defined barrack as the rebellious child - maybe the man of the future even - and hillary as the mother, the person who still calls the shots and shapes reality.

the brilliance of that clinton move lays in the fact that it is an archetypal constellation that they are creating by naming it as such: the adolescent rebel and the strong but loving mother (who will pass responsibility on to the next generation once the time has come...)

the challenge for obama's campaigners is to break this archetypal image now.

-
to my concern: being arrogant and calling it the patronizing move that it was, is probably the best thing to do.

still a masterful move of the ciltons - and it remains to be seen if obama can rise again from this as the young hero and not as the ambitious child that is fighting a premature generation conflict against his equally ambitious mother.

[belikejeanvaljean]

I think Obama has been incredibly calm, mature and even-handed about all the crap the Clinton campaign has thrown out there against him. He has tried to remain above it, but I can't blame him if he acts annoyed with it from time to time.

What I cannot understand is why people in general, and Dems in particular, would want to vote for a candidate like Hillary who not only supported the war - before and after it started - for years, but who continues to use fistfight lingo as she campaigns. Do we really want another fighter in the Whie House?

Take a look at Georgie Anne Geyer's latest column on this subject: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucgg/20080310/cm_ucgg/leadershipisobamasbestquality

[RobtBrock]

Obama has the Democratic Party nomination sown up. He has a big L this fall sown up as well. In this age of wide-open primaries and caucuses, he has been appealing to Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents who - now that they have a completely different choice to make - are going to ditch him in favor of John McCain. Obama has been unwilling to speak to the hard-core base of his own party and it is going to cost him.

[wiseapple]

No, if he just makes a 'right back at you' type of comment, she comes off looking more gracious and gets the better of the exchange because she made the suggestion in the first place. It was a nice try though.

[DemandTruth]

Obama has remained consistent with his message. He said plainly and clearly at the very beginning of this race - before anyone started winning or losing - that he was NOT running for vice president. He is still consistent - and he is still telling the truth to the American people.

Are you saying he should lead Americans to believe he will do something he will not? (Why am I not surprised a Clinton supporter would consider that a perfectly acceptable and appropriate thing to do?)

He is being genuine and telling the truth. Is she? And frankly, to me it is Clinton who is showing the height of arrogance and hypocrisy to one moment say Obama has not crossed the "CINC threshold", then turn around and in the next breath, hint hint that he might be ready to be HER VP (when SHE is the one who's behind) or that she might consider being his VP. SHE is the one being disingenuous with the American people, and I do not appreciate that.

To make the comments about him that she did, to praise McCain over him - then have the NERVE to speak of ANY sort of unity ticket is the real hypocrisy. The real irony. The real arrogance. But true to form, you Clinton supporters have taken another page from the Republican book and have become blind to your own faults while projecting them on to your competition.

[jhNY]

I'm as appalled by the prospect of a BUsh 3rd term with McSame as most writing in, but I have faith in numbers: the numbers of voters who came out to vote in the democratic primaries. Twice as many did so as came out to vote in the republican primaries. That's got to mean something important, and I doubt research into past elections could turn up a single instance in which such disproportionate party enthusiasm during primary season didn't translate into a general election victory in November.

Which is not to say that Tweety and his ilk won't be breathlessly overhyping every remote scenario that allows them to believe McSame will win. After all, The Straight-Talker's base is the press corpse. And with all of them shouting and getting sweaty, you might be excused if you bought into their conclusions.

But what are the chances, really? His maverick stance, which made him a few independents' darling a while ago, has turned into a bear hug of Bush, which pretty much kills him with independents. Nobody in his own party can stand McSame for longer than a photo op. He has zero inspiring ideas. He looks old, sad and tired of campaigning before the campaign for the white house even starts. He advocates endless war against a vague enemy for which he proposes to pay via tax cuts for the only folks who can afford to do without them.

And he flies around in a plane full of lobby lizards who want him as president so bad they don't even take a salary for working for the campaign. That way they can still work for their real bosses, and do so, working the phones as usual in between campaign strategy sessions. By his own admission, economics is not really a strong suit for him, which is especially handy now that we're about to teeter into a worldwide depression. On the other hand, his barbecue might well be delicious.

I will vote for the democrat candidate in the general election, and I beleve so will most people who voted for a democrat in their state's primary. Even if some voters decide to stay home because their gal or guy didn't get the nomination, most will not. And that means victory in November for the democrat is very likely.

Oh, and if McSame ever curbed his arrogance, he'd be entirely unrecognizable, even to his own family.

[TinaFreeman]

I agree. Obama did the right thing.

First of all, it was the height of presumtive arrogance for Clinton to offer Obama the VP spot when SHE IS NOT EVEN IN THE LEAD!

Second, his lead is not "tiny"...due the proportional allocation of delegates, his 140+ pledged delegate lead would require RESOUNDING wins for Hillary in the remaining contests in order to catch up...even if there is a MI and FL revote.

Third, a HUGE chunk of Obama's supporters are voting for him because he is advocating a change from the divisive politics of the past....Clinton is the living EMBODIMENT of the divisive politics of the past. Why on earth would he want to commit to hitching himself up with someone who is SO very different from him in terms of style and philosophy?

Barack did the right thing. Hillary should be considering the ramifications of dividing the party if, by some chance, she does NOT win...unless she is trying to set up a McCain win so she can ride in on a white horse in 2012.

[silenttristerosempire]

Hillary's awful campaign, bad judgement, and negativity don't desrve a spot on the ticket. I love how she tried to slime Obama and then graciously offer him the Vice Presidency. The Clintons are deranged power mad freaks who desreve to be retired from public life. There are many progressive voters like myself who will not cast a vote for any ticket that includes Hillary. It looks like Hillary's selfish antics may reasult in another four years of Republican rule, at a time when this country can least afford it. I love how she voted fro the War, Kyle Lieberman, Flag Burning law, cluster bombs, etc.. and is trying to make her marriage to Bill into some kind of overblown experience factor. We've seen her judgement and it SUCKS. The Clintons will remembered for their selfishness for years to come

[S1m0n]

"All he needed to do to field Clinton's offer and still look mature was to make the counter-offer."

What offer was that? If you heard an offer in anything Hillary Clinton said, you imagined it.

Clinton's 'offer' was neither sincere nor was it addressed to Obama. What this was was another attempt by Hillary Clinton to appropriate Barack Obama's appeal to voters. She tried (and failed) to steal Obama's 'time for a change' theme; she tired (and failed) to imitate his diction and oratory. Now she's trying to steal Obama himself: she's trying to tell voters that they can have the person they want (Obama) even if they vote for her.

Her problem in this campaign is that, when forced to choose between Clinton and Obama, too many voters choose Obama.

[Massconfusion]

Anyone who would want the job would have to be confident - verging on over confident. But arrogance has shown itself in the form of Hillary Clinton time and again. From the secret health care process, to her lack of co-sponsors in the senate all the way back to her Wellesley validictory speech.

The very notion that a young upstart could come along and spoil her coranation is now driving her and her supporters around the bend as evidenced by this author's blog.

The vote count is now insurmountable and Hillary wants to make a deal - a bad one! Laughable on its face and only being floated out of shear desparation.

Please Hillary, go home to the senate where you still have a shot at doing some good!