| Hey Blue Jersey,
While the first rule at Blue Jersey is to keep it Jersey-centric, this diary breaks that -- but only because this is one of the best places to engage in a constructive criticism/debate. I really had such a great time watching the Senate debate with you here on Friday night that I hope we can discuss this in a way that's respectful to supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The past two months or so, I've been keeping up with a lot of the pro-Hillary blogs to see what their perspective is: on what they feel slights her, what they perceive as the important developments and generally what they think about Barack. The reading has provided insight on when and how best to reunite this party once the contests are settled.
It's been enlightening, but I can't say it's been heartening. That's because the main thrust has not been about why Hillary should be the nominee, but why Barack shouldn't. There's a good reason for this: the circumstances and outlook of the group. He's held the advantage for some time now and Clinton supporters came to these blogs to find like-minded people -- they don't need to justify their support for Hillary everyday, nor should they be expected to.
I, too, have shared their disappointment. I was so very disappointed in how so many people savaged Clinton for her poor choice of an analogy in her editorial meeting with the Argus Leader. She should not have referenced the murder of Robert Kennedy, but in no way did it seem that she was suggesting the specter of assassination was keeping her in the race. It was shameful of Obama's communications office to rebuke her like that.
And other times I feel like Hillary's campaign should not be given an inch because it seems like she's trying to discredit Obama as someone who has not earned his position, feeding into the biased perspective some have of the most successful African American candidate in history.
Take the popular vote line -- that Hillary has gotten the most votes in history -- is qualified by Obama getting a big fat zero in Michigan. But because they've been saying it for so long, reporters have stopped mentioning it's the popular vote "by her count," I guess because they think it's implied. Maybe it is just me, but I feel like Hillary is arguing that Obama is being handed the nomination over someone who's more qualified and actually earned it. And that message creates yet another obstacle for Obama to bring in those Clinton supporters who resented his upstart candidacy in the first place.
Chuck Todd suggested this morning that these arguments Clinton is making will only matter if Obama loses the nomination. Then she'll come back and say that she should have been the nominee all along. I used to think that was absurd, but now some of the rumor-mongering that's coming out of the Clinton blogs -- namely a bogus claim that Michelle Obama ranted about "whitey" -- is being echoed in Republican circles. They're arguing that Obama is a McGovern/Kerry waiting to happen. They're declaring the election is John McCain's. They're rooting for a Democratic loss to say, 'I told you so.'
It's really, really sad.
That's about all I can muster in reaction.
I would say that because of circumstances, it's hard to imagine what would happen if the shoe was on the other foot. Obama faces big challenges in putting the Democratic Party back together again, but so would Hillary if she were to receive the nomination now. She would have to go after the youth, African American and so-called "elites" she has written off for the past few months. She would then have to face the onslaught of questions over the money she poured into her campaign. Reconciling the party would not be an open-shut matter.
Worst of all -- and bringing this post full circle -- is that what so many of her backers say is needed in order for Clinton's rise would create a huge obstacle to party unity. It means that Obama would have to have gone down hard -- meaning that something so major would have to happen to him that there'd be no way he could be the vice presidential nominee. That would mean there'd be no way whatsoever for the party to reunite around a coalition ticket. It's been months since anyone speculated that Clinton could lead anything but a Clinton-Obama ticket. So not only would Obama be out of the picture as the nominee -- he'd be out as the VP nominee, too.
I take it that most Clinton supporters feel an Obama-Clinton ticket is unlikely anyhow, matching their all-or-nothing mindset. But I entertain it as something that is possibly necessary for November.
Either way, it's June. I haven't been scared about the party coming together until recently, telling myself that it'll all come together, it will all be OK. But this primary season is unprecedented. Anything could happen. Hence the end of primary anxiety.
So, in closing, what are your thoughts about this, Blue Jersey? (And I'm most interested in hearing from Clinton supporters on this one).
Thanks and all the best,
JRB |
