Clinton Should Quit Now And Fully Back Obama
Written on M.S. Prinsendam, off Yemen in the Red Sea--
If she were sensible and wanted to do what's best for the Democratic party, the country, and her own reputation and political future, Sen. Hillary Clinton would quit the race for the Democratic nomination now and give her full endorsement to Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama, after last night's one-sided victory in North Carolina and losing only very narrowly in Indiana now has a 155-delegate lead and solid prospects for new commitments from the super-delegates, among whom he has been doing well, even during the rough period following the Pennsylvania primary. He is, at last, closing the deal, and I believe after his strong unifying speech last night is already shaping the fall strategy that will give him victory over Sen. John McCain.
If she fights on, Clinton will only look more and more power mad. Already, she has been behaving very strangely with her "obliterate Iran" talk and ditsy gas-tax moratorium. She is becoming more and more wild in her statements and attacks.
On Sunday, when she appeared on ABC, Clinton described her only strong backer among New York Times columnists, Paul Krugman, as a shill for President Bush when she was asked about his expression of doubts about her gas tax proposal. This showed she is becoming paranoid. Is this the way, she thinks about such a loyal supporter as Krugman?
Speaking of news media personalities, it was the far-rightist Republican talk show host Russ Limbaugh who really provided much of Clinton's 22,000-vote margin in Indiana, by suggesting that GOP voters should cross over and vote for her. Exit polls show that thousands did. When Clinton has to rely on Russ Limbaugh and protests from the Iranian government about her bellicose talk, she is about through.
If, ultimately, she wishes to have a fruitful career in the U.S. Senate, and avoid the psychiatric examination she probably needs, Clinton ought to fold her tents.
The reader of this blog might say that is unlikely. But Hillary is a retread of another "fighter to the last," Richard Nixon, and even Nixon, when the writing was on the wall, finally resigned. I think beginning now, just in the next few days, Clinton is going to come under tremendous pressure from the party hierarchy to get out of the race, and I wouldn't be surprised if she finally gives in.
Also, it is important now for usually cynical politicians to realize just what a tremendous candidate Barack Obama is. He described himself last night in his North Carolina speech as "imperfect," but the fact is that not since Franklin D. Roosevelt have we seen such a master politician. And he is more candid than Roosevelt, who was quite devious. With Obama, you see and hear what he is, an admirable leader for the 21st Century.
It is a great thing too for the USA that a man like Obama has come out of the black community to demonstrate once and for all that the work of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not in vain and that as Dr. King said in his last speech, black people in America can, at last, "reach the Promised land."
The day he wins, in fact, all of America will reach the Promised Land, displayed to all the world as a nation of idealism and harmony. It is a splendid opportunity which we, as a people, should not miss.
--
The returns began coming in on M.S. Prinsendam at 2 a.m. Yemeni time. But CNN was the only avenue of watching them on the ship, and CNN kept coming on and off, along with a peculiar written message on the screen that said, "CNN not authorised." I don't know who was not authorizing them, but was able eventually to receive enough of the returns to be vastly reassured about the good sense of the American electorate.
If she were sensible and wanted to do what's best for the Democratic party, the country, and her own reputation and political future, Sen. Hillary Clinton would quit the race for the Democratic nomination now and give her full endorsement to Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama, after last night's one-sided victory in North Carolina and losing only very narrowly in Indiana now has a 155-delegate lead and solid prospects for new commitments from the super-delegates, among whom he has been doing well, even during the rough period following the Pennsylvania primary. He is, at last, closing the deal, and I believe after his strong unifying speech last night is already shaping the fall strategy that will give him victory over Sen. John McCain.
If she fights on, Clinton will only look more and more power mad. Already, she has been behaving very strangely with her "obliterate Iran" talk and ditsy gas-tax moratorium. She is becoming more and more wild in her statements and attacks.
On Sunday, when she appeared on ABC, Clinton described her only strong backer among New York Times columnists, Paul Krugman, as a shill for President Bush when she was asked about his expression of doubts about her gas tax proposal. This showed she is becoming paranoid. Is this the way, she thinks about such a loyal supporter as Krugman?
Speaking of news media personalities, it was the far-rightist Republican talk show host Russ Limbaugh who really provided much of Clinton's 22,000-vote margin in Indiana, by suggesting that GOP voters should cross over and vote for her. Exit polls show that thousands did. When Clinton has to rely on Russ Limbaugh and protests from the Iranian government about her bellicose talk, she is about through.
If, ultimately, she wishes to have a fruitful career in the U.S. Senate, and avoid the psychiatric examination she probably needs, Clinton ought to fold her tents.
The reader of this blog might say that is unlikely. But Hillary is a retread of another "fighter to the last," Richard Nixon, and even Nixon, when the writing was on the wall, finally resigned. I think beginning now, just in the next few days, Clinton is going to come under tremendous pressure from the party hierarchy to get out of the race, and I wouldn't be surprised if she finally gives in.
Also, it is important now for usually cynical politicians to realize just what a tremendous candidate Barack Obama is. He described himself last night in his North Carolina speech as "imperfect," but the fact is that not since Franklin D. Roosevelt have we seen such a master politician. And he is more candid than Roosevelt, who was quite devious. With Obama, you see and hear what he is, an admirable leader for the 21st Century.
It is a great thing too for the USA that a man like Obama has come out of the black community to demonstrate once and for all that the work of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not in vain and that as Dr. King said in his last speech, black people in America can, at last, "reach the Promised land."
The day he wins, in fact, all of America will reach the Promised Land, displayed to all the world as a nation of idealism and harmony. It is a splendid opportunity which we, as a people, should not miss.
--
The returns began coming in on M.S. Prinsendam at 2 a.m. Yemeni time. But CNN was the only avenue of watching them on the ship, and CNN kept coming on and off, along with a peculiar written message on the screen that said, "CNN not authorised." I don't know who was not authorizing them, but was able eventually to receive enough of the returns to be vastly reassured about the good sense of the American electorate.
Labels: Presidential campaigning
posted by Ken Reich at 3:49 AM
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