Hillary Clinton Has Never Lost a Political Campaign in Her Life.

[WeDidIt]

That's a fact.

She's only experienced the loss one feels vicariously through Bill. She has never had first hand experience of actually losing a political campaign.

She's never known defeat on the political scene personally.

This isn't an excuse for a lack of poise and grace. This is an explanation. Please keep it in mind as we move forward.

[NJmaverick]

Interesting point

hadn't thought about it, but you are right.

[dkf]

1. Well, when you put it that way, I guess she's only had 3.

[WeDidIt]

4. She's had two Senatorial primaries and two Senatorial General Elections

and her first loss is a primary for the Democratic nomination for president.

[sabbat hunter]

36. she was basically unopposed

in the NYS democratic primaries for senate

[gateley]

2. And she doesn't believe she's lost this one, either. nt

[gateley]

3. SELF DELETE - DUPE (Is it me or DU?) nt

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. She's only ever been in two.

[WeDidIt]

8. She's been in five

Two Senatorial primary campaigns, both won handily. Two Senatorial general elections, both she won handily.

And her first loss in a political campaign ever which happened yesterday in teh Democratic Party presidential nomination campaign.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Four lay-ups and a war

She lost the war.

[ShortnFiery]

6. I think "very few" people even DARED challenge HRC over the past decade. Shame on HRC! n/t

[MercutioATC]

7. Neither have I, but I believe I'd have handled it better.

How much "experience" in losing does it take to say "I congratulate Senator Obama on his historic victory and look forward to helping him become the next President of the United States"?

[WeDidIt]

9. Think of it, though

I've lost a couple of local elections where I was the sacrificial lamb for the Democratic PArty in a heavily Republican area.

She has only known victory on the political stage and here she was, the shoe-in for the biggest politcal prize possible, and now she loses.

It's gotta be tough!

[Lucky 13]

10. New England Patriots

The New England Patriots won every single game in the 2007-2008 season except for the Super Bowl. It was a crushing loss. Unspeakable heartbreak. But at the end of the game, everybody shook hands. The Patriots acknowledged their loss. They did not rush the field to snatch the Lombardi trophy from the true victors. They did not go on TV and rant about how unfair the referees were. They did not fight for a rule change in the 4th quarter that would serve to give them an advantage. They did not make the case that they should be proclaimed the winners because they had more yardage or more tackles. They did not make the case that they were more "deserving" than the Giants. They didn't ask their fans to protest the league. They didn't threaten not to play in 2008 in protest. They didn't demand interviews, robbing the Giants of their spotlight.

They said that today wasn't their day. Today the Giants were the better team. The Giants had their number. The Giants won fair and square. They pick themselves up and begin preparations for next season.

[dems_rightnow]

18. Wonderful analogy

I kind of felt for them after the loss, I feel the same for Hillary.

[Lucky 13]

24. Me too.

It's hard to see ANYONE or any team work so hard, perform so well, only to lose in the final minutes of the contest. It's HEARTBREAKING.

But that's life. Are any of us immune from that kind of disappointment at some point in our lives?

The fundamental principal of how to handle loss with grace is SO critical to success in the world: in sports, in business, in politics. Most of us learn that at age 7 playing little league, or when we lose the spelling bee, or aren't cast as lead in the school play, or aren't accepted into our first choice of colleges. Most of us learn these lessons way before the age of 18.

Evidently it's been a lesson that Hillary has never had to learn. And I can imagine it's a difficult thing to have your first lesson in this at age 61.

But just because I understand that it's difficult doesn't mean that I don't require as much grace from her as I do from anyone else in that position. She does not get a free pass.

My grandmother used to say, "You must conduct yourself respectfully, even if you don't FEEL like it. How you FEEL has nothing to do with it."

[Bake]

35. Well, I didn't feel too bad for the Pats ...

I pretty much felt about the Giants like the Obama supporters feel about THE NOMINEE (glad to have one, finally!). I was probably pretty obnoxious about the Pats, in fact.

I really feel bad about that, too (the Patriots thing, that is) ... :rofl:

Bake

[Jersey Devil]

22. Gooooooooo Giants!!

He caught the ball on his forken head!! I still can't believe it!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Lucky 13]

29. Unlikely, improbably, unpredictable.

politics and sports, you never know how it will turn out...

The Giants: a ridiculously inconsistent team in 2007, with a YOUNG quarterback, a coach at risk of being FIRED if he didn't turn things around, a year after their star running back retired early, with their star tight end on the sideline with a broken leg...

Won the Superbowl over the New England Patriots: A juggernaut of the league, undefeated, laden with Pro-Bowl veterans, all star players healthy, Coach of the year as their leader, league record-breaking QB-WR tandem, league MVP, and the odds on favorite to win it all by double digits.

Sounds like...

Barack Hussein Obama: born in Hawaii, to a mixed racial couple, abandoned by his father, lived in Singapore, tall skinny kid with big ears, with little power or financial heavy hitters, whom most of us had never heard of before 2004...

Won the Democratic nomination over Hillary Clinton: Wife of a popular former President, with a huge political machine behind her - supplying both power and money, who has been a household name since AT LEAST 1992, who was expected to win the nomination HANDILY by Feb 5th.


It's crazy! It's unlikely! It's improbable! It's unpredictable!
But that's why we love SPORTS and POLITICS and why America LOVES to root for the underdog!!!

[Blue_Roses]

11. and to lose to someone she thought

she would easily beat is making it even harder on her strong ego.

[WeDidIt]

12. Yep

Like I said, not an excuse. Just an explanation.

[HeraldSquare212]

13. Why this coddling? She's an adult, has been in politics for years.

We're not social workers, we're Dems who want to win in Nov. Did Biden or Kucinich or Richardson or anyone else who lost require such a public mourning period? Even a self-absorbed asshat like Romney got out once he knew he had no hopes of winning, and did so without an extended public farewell.

[Blue_Roses]

20. thank-you!

you say what I've been screaming to myself and TV about. Ironic that a "strong woman" such as herself would need to be "coddled" so much. It's overkill. Did we coddle any other candidate like this? No. Hillary cries sexism, but then she embodies the epitome of a "victim." She can't have it both ways any more. She uses this as a divider and it has worked well up till now. Now is when she will really have to act like a strong woman or get eased to the corner.

[redqueen]

21. Thank you!

It's maddening all this talk... WTF?

It's infantilizing her. Seriously.

[WeDidIt]

23. Like I said, not an excuse

just an explanation of what's playing out.

[redqueen]

25. It doesn't make any sense as an explanation.

She's not a teenager. She's a grown woman with LOTS of experience.

Infantilizing her like this should be an insult to any grown woman in her position. IMO at least.

[WeDidIt]

26. Well........

I think we now see the "experience" argument was total bullshit, eh?

[Iggo]

15. Until now...(n/t)

[WeDidIt]

17. Yep, in a race for the big chair

And it's going to hit her harder than losing any other campaign.

She should have run for city council or something whe she was younger.

[breakaleg]

16. No. That explains why she kept her blinders on up until last night. There is no

excuse for her refusal to see the truth now.

[WeDidIt]

19. It explains her difficulty to accept reality now.

She has never been prepared to lose a political campaign and since her first loss is so big in a fairly close race, it hits all that much harder.

[digidigido]

27. It's all about power, but I like the phrase "deranged narcissism"

[Fredda Weinberg]

28. HRC is doing just fine as am I. You, on the other hand, seem insecure n/t

[ej510]

30. She may not have ever faced defeat before. Maybe it is a case of never being defeated before.

[Fredda Weinberg]

38. There's no case. She took what happened in Arkansas personally

so you're projecting, not reading the historical record. In fact, she adapts and improves. Who could ask for better?

[ShortnFiery]

31. So that's WHY the Republican Nominee just congratulated Obama and HRC may NEVER.

What a class act? :puke:

[WeDidIt]

32. It's really sad

and embarassing.

[salguine]

33. It's an insufficient explanation. Nothing excuses

the way she's behaved, which is so far beyond appalling and shameful I'm at a loss for what to call it.

[WeDidIt]

34. It is what it is

It's sad. It's embarassing. It's juvenile. It's borderline infantile. It's also the first time she has ever lost a political campaign in her life.

[dailykoff]

37. She had 30 opportunities to practice her concession speech

starting in Iowa and ending in Montana.