My brother just left me a voicemail message articulating a new theory as to why Hillary is staying in the race. He said that Hillary is staying in because she is energizing lots of Democratic voters, which is a good thing. According to Ted, Howard Dean and the DNC are all in on this. It's a positive conspiracy theory, in other words. And then when Obama clearly and decisively wins, Hillary will concede, and then turn around and campaign vigorously for him, admitting that he won in a fair fight.
I'm willing to buy it. The beauty of this theory is that it is both Machiavellian and progressive, at once self-centered and noble, which is exactly what the Clintons are.
This makes an odd sort of sense. But, considering how unexpected this whole campaign has been, absurdity is practically a prerequisite for believability at this point. Something that would have sounded downright bizarre six months ago suddenly is eminently plausible.
Of course, one flip side is that because she has stayed in so long, she has also pissed off lots of Democrats, and the longer she stays in, the angrier they get.
But that will be the case only if Obama loses. Assuming Obama wins in the fall, most of Hillary's annoying comments and tactics will be forgiven. Most, but not all. Among some Obama supporters, particularly African Americans, her reputation is indelibly tarnished.
But, once again, the flip side of Obama supporters being angry at her is that her supporters are very supportive of her. From their perspective, if she stays in until the bitter end, she'll leave with her dignity intact, her head held high. At which point they will, hopefully, be more understanding of Obama and Obama supporters. Of course, it is also incumbent of Obama and Obama supporters to respect Hillary and her supporters. Obama himself has been stellar in this regard, and I've been trying.
So I think my brother is right that Hillary is staying until the last primary is over to rally Democrats in every last possible state. Even if that's not her stated goal. My guess is that this is very much part of her calculation. And, of course, she's doing a great thing by energizing people in states that assumed that they were going to be ignored in this campaign.
One last point is that the people who want this to be over are the ones most intimately involved in it, the political junkies, the people working on the campaign, the candidates themselves. But the people on the ground, doing the voting in these last few states, are presumably thrilled with the attention and feelings of importance. Another point for my brother's theory.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
excellent post! very interesting - i think the stated goal of this campaign has not been forgotten by the powers that be - but us plebians have the tendency to trivialize matters and forget that we are all on the same team.
thanks for the eloquence john!
You're welcome anonymous!
When Obama won Iowa, he was way more than a mortal politician. This stranger, this black man, and assumed a quasi-religious following. Now, like two exhausted boxers staggering toward each other, he and Hillary are duking it out. But while Obama is staying high minded and inspirational, Hillary has a bag of tricks. Pow! Jeremiah Wright. Whack! No gas taxes till the coronation! What's that in the bag? A high efficiency light bulb and a turkey for every voter, and the piece de resistance', Rose Lsw firm billing records proving Obama knew Vince Foster ("I'm not saying he killed him, but it does seem fishy" -Hill)! Obama's hoping to fall over the finish line while Hill is hitting her stride (I still think she won New Hampshire through dirty tricks...but that's another rant).
By keeping it going, Obama has become familiar ...and fallable. This situation does not bode well for the general election.
Post a Comment