Guest Blog Pundit Johanna Wald: Tell Hillary the Party is Over

Published Mar 25 2008, 04:10 PM by webteam

The party’s over. Only, apparently, no one is brave enough to tell Hillary Clinton.

Granted, I pay more attention to “momentum” and to trends in public opinion polling than to the delegate math. But I learned something that startled me today. According to Josh Micah Marshall of Talking Points Memo,

“ the press has been largely complicit in maintaining the fiction that the Democratic nomination race is not for all intents and purposes over. The obstacles in the way of Hillary Clinton are virtually insurmountable. And her now-sizable deficit among pledged voters is only one of them.’

Who would have known?

I am a political junkie, I read articles and blogs about the campaign constantly; I watch Hardball, the Daily Show, Colbert, and sometimes even Tucker Carlson before he was cancelled. I find watching a bunch of talking heads screaming at each other about the campaign oddly relaxing. And I honest to God didn’t know that her obstacles to the nomination are “virtually insurmountable.”

So…let me get this straight. Hillary Clinton is tearing the party apart. Her only remaining strategy is to destroy Barack Obama. She is creating sound bites for John McCain’s general election campaign about Obama's experience and his fitness to serve as commander in chief. She is feeding the Reverend Wright frenzy and shrugging non-committally when asked whether Obama may really be a Muslim. Her campaign is sending around photographs of him in Somali garb. She is trying to woo superdelegates to vote against the majority of Democratic voters. As McCain solidifies his base, replenishes his coffers, and goes on international junkets, looking Presidential, she is forcing Obama to spend money trying to keep, as one commentator noted “his limbs intact.” She is doing everything she can to alienate him from the working class voters he will desperately need in the fall.

All for an “insurmountable” quest?

Where are the grown-ups in the Democratic Party to step in? Where are Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, John and Elizabeth Edwards, Howard Dean and Harry Reid? Robert Kennedy used to say that the hottest place in hell is reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, remain neutral. I argue that this is a moral crisis for the Democratic Party, and, potentially, for the country, if we end up electing John McCain because of bitter rifts within the Democratic Party.

Seems to me an intervention of the Democratic grown-ups on the Clintons is in order.

Filed Under: Clinton, Democrats, Guest Blog Pundits

Tote Board Column -- 3/27 -- The General Election Hurdles Facing Obama

Tote Board Column -- 3/20 -- Race Gets in the Race

8 Comments

LorenzoJennifer said:

Hillary Rodham Clinton will say or do whatever it takes -- whatever it takes -- to win the nomination and the election. Her best year is this one as it had a wide-open field coming in. Also, Bill has a ton of chits and favors to call in and they have decreasing value the more the Clinton presidency recedes into memory. The Clintons were instrumental in arranging the 20-plus state Super Tuesday arrangement, calculating that Hillary's preparation would clear the field on that date, making her the presumptive nominee. Then along came Barack Obama to toss "the plan" into the trash bin. She did a star turn in fighting back and going on. She's presently counting a lot on Pennsylvania to affirm the Ohio conclusion that only she can win the big-city states critical to any Democratic victory in November. Barack has won many more states but they're smaller ones and likely to go Republican in November. "Super delegates" are at best "iffy" in their support for any candidate. They do not actually vote until the convention is held in August. They'll vote with their respective state delegations. In private. And by secret ballot. Whatever else, Hillary's advantage over Barack is that she is a known and predictable quantity. Hillary's political life is a well-documented and well-footnoted open book. The only surprises are in her re-introducing herself to the electorate. As in claiming "experience" and backing off when facts show a particular "experience" claim is without basis. She's old school in rewarding friends and punishing enemies. The Clinton's largesse in rewarding their supporters is well known. As Lauren Bacall sang in Applause, "She's one of the girls who's one of the boys." As in the old boy network who'll deliver the nomination for her. New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at the 1932 Democratic National Convention, uttered the phrase "Good old McAdoo" in recognizing the US Senator who swung the California delegation into winning the nomination for FDR. Who, then, will be Hillary's "McAdoo"?

March 26, 2008 12:56 PM
name said:

I haven't gotten anything done , but it's not important. I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. Maybe tomorrow. I've just been hanging out not getting anything done.,

May 6, 2008 7:31 PM
wsqyowafoB said:

_urlsvip.txt;10;10

June 8, 2008 2:45 PM
ewloZfeRhHmNMSM said:

_urlsvip.txt;10;10

June 8, 2008 9:51 PM
yBKBzYuz said:

_urlsvip.txt;10;10

June 9, 2008 6:49 AM
qJsdStmISSmRvhXHojX said:

_urlsvip.txt;10;10

June 9, 2008 2:48 PM
XSPLMzfaEE said:

_urlsvip.txt;10;10

June 9, 2008 10:44 PM
zoiPoErD said:

_urlsvip.txt;10;10

June 10, 2008 10:13 PM

Follow the Boston Phoenix

All Blogs

Talking Politics (1,523)
Outside The Frame (305)
On The Download (2,158)
Dont Quote Me (517)
Phlog (1,419)
Laser Orgy (32)

Filed Under: Clinton, Democrats, Guest Blog Pundits

Boston Phoenix
A new beginning?
Published 12/22/2008 by PHILLIPE + JORGE
Obama augurs a fresh start, even with a stock of Clintonites

Boston Phoenix
Guest Blog Pundit Matthew Sawh: The Psyche Vs. The Practical -- Understanding Ms. Rodham and Her Veep-List
Published 4/1/2008 by Importer
The most important decision task in front of Hillary is that she needs to strike the right balance between winning and governing (if she wins). ...

more by webteam

Bald bears baffle Bavarians* | November 06, 2009

PODCAST: John Irving at the Coolidge [MP3] | November 05, 2009

DOWNLOAD: Augusten Burroughs Q&A and audio excerpt [MP3] | November 03, 2009

10 games that shouldn't have scared us, but did | October 30, 2009

Build a Better Halloween Party: 20 Creepy Video Clips | October 28, 2009

See all articles by: webteam

Latest Comments

City Council Forums - Видеоклипы бесплатно и без регистрации. Огромный архив, онлайн просмотр. http://icetv.ru <a href=...

By LypetalsEteLp on 11-25-2009 in Talking Politics

Khazei Sneaking Up? - Capuano is closing like a race horse. In this poll, his favorable #'s surpass Coakley's for the first...

By Tiny Elvis on 11-25-2009 in Talking Politics

Khazei Sneaking Up? - I've seen the video of Khazei explaining his cavassing strategy, and my question is: how does he choose...

By rondofan on 11-25-2009 in Talking Politics

City Council Forums - [b]GPS оборудование [/b] GPS - глобальная система позиционирования, определение местоположения путём...

By BimaIdedirm on 11-25-2009 in Talking Politics

Khazei Sneaking Up? - I canvassed for Alan Khazei during the big knock the vote weekend and I found three things: 1. Everyone...

By Mr. Roboto on 11-25-2009 in Talking Politics

Latest Comments from Stark Ravings

Guest Blog Pundit Johanna Wald: Tell Hillary the Party is Over

8 Comments

LorenzoJennifer said:

name said:

wsqyowafoB said:

ewloZfeRhHmNMSM said:

yBKBzYuz said:

qJsdStmISSmRvhXHojX said:

XSPLMzfaEE said:

zoiPoErD said:

Leave a Comment