The Same Old Story: Discrediting Hillary
Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to the Pennsylvania Primary
Here we go again. Stomp on Hillary for winning.
Last night Hillary Clinton picked up the sixth big state out of the seven the Democrats need to win the fall presidential contest. Obama has only won one big state, Illinois -- and that is it. She has won California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas and now Pennsylvania (and, yes, Florida and Michigan). Yet in today's newspapers and partisan websites, the critics are downplaying Clinton's victory (even her erstwhile supporter the New York Times criticizes her in its lead editorial for running a dirty campaign), dismissing any triumph as meaningless because of Obama's lead in elected delegates, and suggest once again that she drop out so she does not further hurt the "inevitable" nominee, Barack Obama.
How many times have we heard these sorts of admonishments, starting back with the New Hampshire primary? But despite her stumbling start in the caucus states, Clinton has come on strong and has now created a solid coalition that Obama cannot, for all of his money and his eloquence, break into.
Let this drama play out now and let the Super Delegates make up their own minds in due course without interference from on-line critics or hot-headed columnists or TV prognosticators or panicky Democratic Party strategists. Let the delegates in Denver play their proper role in deciding the outcome of this contest. This is after all a democracy.
Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to the Pennsylvania Primary
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The contest was over before last night Stephen. Hillary is not Rocky, she's Forest Gump.
Alas Forest was a thousand times the person and man as Rocky so go HILLARY!
Yeah...go Hillary...
I don't want her to drop out, i want her to act with class and practicality and realism. She can finish out the race no prob, but she doesn't need to drag the dems through the mud just to try and make a mad gambit at the convention that has little chance of success and much less chance of bringing the party together.
Why can't she play it cool and take one for the team?
Good point. I think the team is going to lose--but, it will still do her credit if she fell on her sword.
It won't change the November outcome, but it will seem more pleasant.
Your argument is that this is a democracy so let the superdelegates decide the winner, do you even see the irony in that?
hahaha
I think all 50 states should decide the winner
If we want to take the White House away from the Republicans, we have the have the strongest candidate running against McCain. I personally think that is Hillary and if it takes Superdelegates to get her the nomination, so be it. The primaries are not representative of what is going to happen in November since Dems vote for Dems and Repugs vote for Repugs but in the actual election Hillary has the best chance against McCain because she can pull in a substantial amount of the Independent vote that hasn't even been cast yet in most of the primaries. You may not agree with me but that is the reasoning for giving Hillary the nomination via Superdelegates, if necessary.
Anyone who thinks that Hillary is electable without African Amerricans, Liberals. Progressives, Young People is retarded. She has insulted those people. She despises those people. They won't vote for her in November. How does she win without them? She would lose so bad it would be embarassing.
The only reason to encourage her at this point, is if you want McCain as your next President.
She can't win the Pledged delegate count and won't win the popular vote in "DNC Sanctioned" contests. She can't win. Al Gore or Obama. Pick one.
"The primaries are not representative of what is going to happen in November..
The only way Obama can win is with super delegates, so he gets them and she shouldn't what a load. Obama is a loser face it.
You are confusing the dynamic that is typically evident in a party-specific primary with the dynamic frequently seen in general elections. Nominating a candidate in the Democratic Party is only partly democratic. The mere fact that there are super delegates would suggest that the nominating process is not simply about winning the most delegates. Super delegates serve a useful function, in that they provide a quasi-independent point of view that can weigh in to protect the larger interests of the party.
Oh the dynasties, how they stick together and strive to sink our democracy. There is Bush, there is Clinton, there is Bayh and of course there is the Schlesinger disease
Yeah, Superdelegates, please, give the nomination to the MAD PERSON who is threatening to OBLITERATE Iran with Nuclear Weapons killing 70+ Million innocent people in Iran plus untold millions in the sorrounding Middle Eastern countries and rendering the entire Middle East unihabitable. Please, give the nomination to the mad nuclear war candidate.
What if Hillary doesn't think she is going to win this primary? I think most voters are pretty locked in on who they like so advertising won't make a big difference. The races might shift 4-5 points in either direction but in the end Obama will lead pledged delegates and popular vote. (Dean is not going to allow Florida and Michigan to be a game changer.)
So if Hillary wins, it will be given to her by the superdelegates over the popular vote and the pledged delgate lead. Hillary would lose enough of the black vote in the general election to ensure defeat. The superdelegates will not allow this.
Obama will lose unless Hillary brings her supporters into the fold. She might try to provide just enough support not to be blamed (in 2012) for a loss in 2008. Fighting to the convention fits this need. She can damage Obama without much blame. If she truly respects and gets along with McCain despite their political differences--and thinks Obama is an inexperienced Johnny-come-lately who is trying to jump his place in line--she might think that trading four years under McCain--and letting him flounder around with Iraq and the ecomony--is not a bad trade for the truly historical shot at being the first woman president in 2012. Maybe this is paranoid, but I can't figure out why she would say that McCain has the experience to be president but Obama does not.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. The polls have been fairly consistent over the past few weeks showing Obama beating McCain in a head-to-head. The flipside is far more the case. Were the supedelegates to hand the nom to HRC, they would be subverting their own democratic process and alienating droves of idealistic new Obama supporters, who would sit on their hands no matter how fervently Obama pleaded to them to support Hillary. This is the case because we know the movement is not about one individual - Obama - but about a change in the way politics are conducted; just as important, honoring the will of the majority of the primary voters is vital to the revitalization of the democracy. A HRC nom at this point would be viewed by many - and rightfully so - as a major milestone in the ongoing subversion of American democracy. Like it or not, in advocating for herself at this point, what HRC is asking the superdelegates to do is at this point is to behave more like autocrats than democrats.
The reason people are acting the way they are with Hillary's win in PA is it doesn't matter. The reality of the situation is that even if you give her FL she loses the delegate math and the pop vote math if Obama win NC and OR. He's going to win both so basically it is over. He is within a 100 delegates probably of the 2025. That means he wins and she loses. Hillary is done and her behavior means that she can't be the VP, look for Rendell since PA is now a huge issue and he carries the state. Hillary didn't prove her dominance Rendell proved his. Rendell just got himself the offer for Veep.
J
If Obama wins the Demo nomination you can say "hello" to President McCain. The Republican Hate Machine will make hamburger out of Obama. The will play the race card over and over again. They will question his religion and his lack of experience and we will lose this election. When the chips are down, white, middle-America is going vote along racial lines. Obama cannot win against McCain.
Well you and your candidate want McPain as tthe next president, which is why your canndidate has smeared Obama and used Republican talking points against him. Who need s the reopublicansd to question his relighion when you people are already doing it.
Thank you Robert! And in the meantime..
Barack Obama is FUNDAMENTALLY INSECURE and he made another huge mistake last night when he SPOKE candidly to someone he knew in the audience! "I admire him because I've always known this guy was going to get somewhere because he MARRIED UP just like I MARRIED UP!"
This is a strunning statement considering he knows he is having trouble with the base! And among others, I wonder what the poor, disenfranchised, struggling single and oppressed minority mothers thought about that comment?! Among many other but minority women and mothers who don't have and have NEVER had the privilege, the time or the education to do more than struggle daily for SURVIVAL in this country. Does that mean these women are "less than" his wife or the rest of the country? This is psychologically disturbing and MUCH like we have in the WHITE HOUSE right NOW - making decisions that reflect his ignorance, his disdain and his arrogence as it relates to not only the people of this country but the third world countries!
marrying up is both a joke and comment about looks. It means that an ordinary guy, like Obama, married a hottie like Michelle. It has nothing to do with money or power or any of your nonsense. have a sense of humor.
ps - lets see if Hill can close the gap in NC. What are you going to say if she loses there by 20?
J
Thank you for verbalizing that, i was too stunned to think in straight lines.
I was taken aback by that statement too. I did not make the connection to Bush - you make a good point. Sorta like when he said, "some call you the elite, I call you my base."
If the guy can't win over the suburbs and rural areas, how in the world does he think he will win in the general against someone like McCain. McCain can easily soak up the Reagan Democrats/
You and your good point. WTF
I hope this post is a joke. If not, it's probably one of the stupidest things I've read on the web.
I often introduce my wife as "my better five-sixths," or my better three-quarters," rather than using the staid "better half." I've had friends joke with me giving presentations at community events and say "you didn't marry up; you married way, way up."
I married up. I married the most beautiful girl in the world. She was super-intelligent and a lot smarter than me. She has this smile, like Barack, that comes from the heart and lights up the room.
In 26 years of being on this married train, it's only gotten better. So, please count me in the "ELITIST" column as well because I didn't just marry up. I married way, way up!
And I'm sorry to refer to your post as stupid, but we have serious issues to discuss.
You just sound like a bigot. He was complementing their wives. What is your damn problem?
What in the HELL are you talking about? Your post doesn't make any sense!
......(and
Prety much sez it alll, (sigh)
Mr. Schlesinger, you are missing the point about a Clinton nomination. IF she is nominated, I don't know what the rest of the Obama supporters will do, but I CAN SPEAK for my family and friends:
We will NOT contribute to ANY NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC committee
We will NOT campaign for her
We will not show support for Clinton in ANY way
We will vote for her only to save SCOTUS
I understand but i beg you to reconsider. McCain will be at the complete mercy of his misguided financial advisers who will be the exact same cadre as Bush's with different shirts.
This will politically leave him nothing but the continuation of the Iraq War. And the invisible, un-winnable (militarily) 'War on Terror'
US reputation will not recover any time soon from a 3rd term given to hawkish interventionism. Only a democrat will have any chance of convincing the world that the US will act with sense. Even Hillary.
Damn the SCOTUS issue. I won't vote for her under any circumstances. If she is a model Democrat, she can steal the nomination and lose the presidency without my help, my money, or my vote. Race baiting, corruption, and out-right lies are Republican strategies.
People who think that Obama could actually beat McCain in the election in November are "dreamers". Think....T
.
P{eople who thimnk Clinton can beat McCain are retarded.
"Think...W
That really is the question here, isn't it? And it is a good one. I would prefer having a Republican take the fall for the disastrous Republican policies of the last thirty years. I do not think that the Clinton's infamous triangulation strategies are going to be up to much when compared to what is coming down the pike, and that they would only serve to reinforce Republican talking points all the while, thus making any future truly Democratic bid even harder to pull off.
We are only starting to see the foul fruit of corporatist policies. I don't think a corporatist will prevent the disaster, even ameliorate it to any appreciable degree. If we can't have real change, let's have the full scenario play out so that we are all on the same page next election.
I walked the streets in Pa and talked to the voters, the reasons for voting for Hillary were all based on her recent negative campaigning. That's why this is so hard for us to swallow, it was pure manipulation and we all lose as a result because it makes McCain stronger.
What is negative campaigning? In a campaign each candidate tells us he/she is the best and the opponent can't do the job because he/she is not smart enough or something like it, has a bad character and such. should she go around yelling Obama is the greatest? She is in it to win just like he is. And McCain wont move over for Obama either.
When the primaries are over there will be a hangover and after that there will be the real fight.
It was excellent the way Senator Obama didn't run _any_ negative ads in Pennsylvania, or say anything unpleasant, or--oh.
Never mind.
The goalposts are over here!!! No here!!! No wait, they're over here!!! Sike, now they're over here!!!!
Please, please, please overturn the will of the people. I would love to see the trouncing Hillary gets in November. I doubt she'd even win NY if she continues on this path.
If I may, I would like to extend the NFL analogy. She's kickin frickin field goals! Ask the Detroit Lions about the field goal game plan. It works well enough to put the draft's top ten out of reach and the Super Bowl out of the question. Nice field goal Hillary!
Thank goodness she won; Now she can get enough donations to pay her vendors.
Then when Hillary, loses the delegate count; she can leave the stage without a deficit.
From here on, I hope Sen. Clinton would concentrate on her campaign more than on what others are doing. Piling on only works in sumo Hillary, keep it up and the chickens will come home to roost.
Believe me....
So please no more lying and embellishment!
This is absurd. The media hasn't discredited Hillary, but rather turned handstands to keep her in the race. She lost 11 in a row in February, but the media soft-pedaled her failures and assigned equal strength to the Ohio primary. She LOST Texas, but the pundits keep putting it in her column. Her 22-point lead in Pennsylvania dwindled to 9, but she's still being credited with a "big victory." The same pundits who said she had to have a lopsided, runaway win in Pennsylvania to continue now say she did well enough to stay in.
The media has blindly accepted Hillary's characterization of states she has won as "crucial" and states she has lost as "unimportant," however arbitrary. (Rhode Island: crucial. Illinois: trivial.) Incredibly, the punditocracy lets stand her demented claims that because she won California and New York, she's the only Democratic who can win them in November.
If Obama had Hillary's numbers and she had Obama's, he would have been written off long ago. She hasn't been DISCREDITED. She's been gifted with entirely TOO MUCH credit.
This is some of the best satire I've ever read!!!
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