The writing of the obituary of the Hillary Clinton campaign for the Democratic nomination for president began in earnest on Wednesday morning. Her narrow win in Indiana coupled with the loss in North Carolina has all of the pundits weighing in.
I don’t think anyone can deny that the path to the nomination hasn’t narrowed. The argument that remains, and has been a consistent theme of the campaign, is electability. It is what drew me to her candidacy in the first place. Pragmatic? You bet. A win in November has always been what I wanted.
I never had any intentions of being involved in a national campaign. As time has gone on, though, something changed. Somewhere along the way, I became personally vested in this campaign. Maybe it was NH and her “finding her voice.” Maybe it was the knowledge of what it’s like to run a campaign when it seems that so many people – particularly the media – are aligned against you. Maybe it was the attacks that I have gotten for my support of Hillary, ones that have come face-to-face and via emails. Maybe it was the the email from the 76-year-old Alaskan caucus goer who felt completely disenfranchised by the process. Whatever it was, the effect was a strengthening of my support for Hillary, and an increased willingness on my part to do what I could to help her succeed.
That willingness has put me in a position that I’m sure others have experienced when working on a campaign. Probably the biggest thing is that you become privy to information that you cannot share, some of it things you’d just as soon not know. Yep, like watching sausage being made. I’ve seen sausage being made, both for real and in campaigns. It ain’t pretty.
In 2006, there was a great push to get Democrats in control of Congress. We did that and what has it gotten us? Are we still in Iraq? Have we rolled back the Bush tax cuts? Has the deficit gone down? In other words, are we better off today than you were before? Only the most biased among us would say yes.
Oh, I’ve heard all of the excuses. And that’s all they are – excuses. There is no political will in Washington to do the right thing by the people of the United States. It is business as usual, only the characters have changed.
We all want to believe that changing the president will change things in Washington. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As Hillary has been vilified in the press and on the blogs, one of the major memes has been that she represents the “old” way of doing things. Well, doesn’t saying one thing while doing another represent the old way? Isn’t having your surrogates do your dirty work the old way? Isn’t blaming your opponent for your own behavior the old way? And isn’t trying to not count votes that favor your opponent, most notably FL, the old way?
The old way can never be changed at the top until we change it at the bottom. More than 29,000 people (pdf p. 457) voted in Norfolk in February’s primary while just over 8,000 bothered to vote in last Tuesday’s council election. In a city that has more than 105,000 registered voters, that is pathetic. Given the chance to influence those politicians closest to us, the people punted. It is no wonder, then, that those in Washington, far removed from the accountability to the people, don’t give a damn.
The blame lies with us. Ours is a populace that fakes concern for what goes on in Washington, because we fail to look beyond the soundbites. Our opinions are not shaped by the facts – what exactly are the differences in the platforms of the candidates? – but by fear and innuendo. Lies and distortions spread faster than truth – no, Obama is not a Muslim – helped in no small part by the echo chamber that was once the independent media.
The choice of new versus old is a false one, because the political process is stacked against it and there is no will at any level to change it. So for me, I’d rather have someone who knows how to negotiate it (like LBJ) than someone who will be stymied by it (like Jimmy Carter). As long as she’s willing to run, I’m with Hillary.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Good post.
However, I respectfully disagree that the premise “the choice of new versus old is a false one”- if that was the case- We would not have had Bill Clinton elected President in 1992 (remember in the “War Room” his slogan was “Change versus more of the same”). If the choice of “new versus old” was indeed a false one- we would have Senator Allen.
It’s going both ways, I don’t like things that I’m hearing from her campaign (not her, but Begala, Carville, and previously Penn). I am neither African American nor an “Egghead” and am supporting Senator Obama.
I know how heated things get in primaries but as I have said before- supporters shouldn’t disparage other supporters. I’m not a “bot”- nor a “Kool aid” drinker- but some in the Clinton Camp have used these derogatory terms.
And let me also say this again, the Clinton’s brought me into the party and were a huge part of my political awakening. They were my role models. Obama has done the same thing for many in a different generation. I was in my early 20s in during 1992 and was part of the youth vote that was mobilized by President Clinton.
The pundits will spin excessively on whatever is the day’s issue- meanwhile we are paying a mint to get gas, the price of food is rising, I have friends in Iraq that I pray will stay safe, and don’t even get me started on healthcare. These pundits love the “horse race” and have built their career around “picking horses” and will focus on what color pantsuit a candidate is wearing instead of what policy he/she is proposing.
I have started to turn off the news and limit my internet browsing to just a few selected sites. I’ve seen stories that are vilifying both candidates and I’m tired of it. Meanwhile, McCain is getting a free pass.
I spent the morning calling people who have signed up for the DNC’s Nighborhood Laders program and heard people on both sides say “If he/she doesn’t get the nomination then I don’t want to help”. That concerns me, regardless of what happens in the next month I hope Democrats see the forest through the trees and know that our true opponent is McCain.
Like I’ve said- I’m looking forward to a Democratic President, Senator Warner, and Congressman Nye.
And the icing on the cake will be Virginia’s electoral votes cast as Democratic ones!
I’m with you, Vivian!
I’ve seen so many fellow Dems up here in NoVA, activists and local elected officials, jump on the Obama bandwagon out of perception and convenience but without any clear understanding of how this alternative will face October and beyond.
With Hillary, we face an opportunity to walk in October. With an Obama/Hillary ticket, we face an opportunity to run in October. Yet, with the likes of Ted Kennedy, Kos (and his following), and now the media (last night’s cnn and msnbc were dismissive), Dems face crawling through October. Can we stomach that again, after 2000 and 2004?
The media and the major polling groups have left Hillary behind for a McCain/Obama general election. But I’ll be in West Virginia tomorrow. I too will not lay down to the media or blinded bandwagon rhetoric.
The true measure of character is conviction. Your character is above so many others in Virginia Dem politics. Thank you.
Typo- DNC’s Neighborhood Leaders
Wow! Great statement that shows a good grasp of the real world, not the one we wish we had. I have absolutely nothing against Obama and if he is our nominee, I will support him proudly for November. But, like you, as long as Hillary is in the race, I stand proudly with her.
Competence and experience count for a lot.
You are correct AIAW, Competence and experience DO stand for a lot! That’s why I am so glad we have TWO awesome candidates!
i’m curious to know how you can endorse Ms clinton when she lied about her bullet dodging trip to war torn herzegovina/bosina when a video camera was recording her arrival – smiles and daughter in toe
what haven’t the press told us about her lying
frankly that did it for me
i could never support someone who’s that stupid and arrogant to think she can get away with such a lie knowing she had a camera trailing her! thank heavens for digital technology
at least this keeps some of our politicians in check!
i’m really curious to know, as Dr phil often says, “what do you say to yourself to make it OK” to support hillary clinton for president?
it’s so hard being subjected to this never ending saga leading up to the elections for your new president
it’s obscene the amount of money american politicians spend to fulfil their ambition to be president
the american dream?!
it’s actually very funny to watch
it’s like watching a chaotic hysterical croud at a circus that those of us who do have a tv are subjected to ad nauseum
it’s a dream only for the very wealthy
power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely! [can’t remember who said this]
i hope yr dreams come true
hoh,
Candidates get exhausted after weeks of 18 hour days. I cannot name one candidate who, in the past 12 years who has NOT make a mistake on the trail.
Give me HRC anyday over John McSame.
“Competence and experience count for a lot.”
Then how in the world could you support either Democrat against McCain?
Well, hmmm…..let’s see,
McCain=100 years in a Iraq and more of the same.
McCain is not the McCain that ran 8 years ago, some “maverick”.
McCain offers no new ideas…just McSame.
I don’t hear you belly-aching to get out of Japan, Germany, or Korea. Why are you then unwilling to keep troops in Iraq?
Anon, is there a special pleasure you get out of demonstrating your talent for stupid? I mean, I know kids who do the same thing, but they grow out of it. You? Not so much, it seems. If you’re just trolling, at least be funny about it.
No, BM, claiming that “competence and experience” are important, then supporting either Clinton or Obama, who have neither, is stupid.
Then attacking McCain for being willing to stay in Iraq, when one is willing to stay in Germany, Japan, and Korea, is similarly stupid.
Anon E. Mouse,
Japan, Germany and Korea are not analogous. Troops stationed in Japan, for example, are not shot at by the populace and they are not in imminent danger of losing their lives to IEDs or violence. It is just silly to make that comparison. Germany, Japan and Korea are not in the midst of insurrections. Sectarian violence does not disrupt daily life in any of those countries.
To your earlier point, about McCain being the choice for competence and experience, I would like to hear a well reasoned case for that. Particularly on competence, how does he demonstrate that better than the two candidates on the Democratic side? Personally, I don’t understand why McCain is running. He hasn’t really elaborated on a vision he has for America. He seems only to have grasped this nomination by sticking around and letting his opponents take each other out. And he seems to have forgotten who he was or at least the man he used to profess to be. His positions have changed dramatically over the course of one campaign. It is amazing how questing for the Republican nomination can so thoroughly change a man’s views.
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the Werewolves. They used many of the same tactics the terrorists are now using in Iraq. Our military government in Germany lasted until 1955. We got a civilian government in Iraq much sooner. That government, duly elected, has not asked us to leave, either.
The question is, do you want Iraq’s oil revenue going to terrorists, or to Iraqis?
As for McCain’s experience, we can point to many instances of his working with Democrats to get things done: the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship Act, the Gang of Fourteen, the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Act. Not all have passed, but he has tried. How much has Obama, the “Unity Candidate,” worked with Republicans? How much has Clinton worked with Republicans?
Now, you way he has not “elaborated on a vision he has for America.” Then you say, “his positions have changed dramatically…” Which is it? If he has not elaborated on a vision, how do you kknow his positions have changed? What positions has he changed? Has he really changed his positions, or is it just that he is willing to work with the Democrats to get things done?
If you want bipartisanship and unity, McCain is your man.
no offense but whenever two states vote and they even split the delegates ( which didn’t happen) the road has been narrowed by 2 states. there are only 5 staes left and Puerto Rico. The road has indeed narrowed, tremendously. If electability was the ultimate goal, instead of such things as the process, the will of the voters, and following the desiganated rules then I encourage the Democratic Party to never have primaries and caucuses again, since they would amount to a joke on all the Democratic voters. Lord help us if we become Republicans where there is a order by which one runs for office, instead of our vote.