What Happened to the Well-Disciplined Machine of Inevitability?

[DrFunkenstein]

As one of the least-liked politicians in America, Hillary Clinton has two rationales for her candidacy: experience and electability.

Since Biden and Richardson have infintely more experience (even Obama has held elected office longer than Clinton), that pretty much whittles it down to electability.

The "well-disciplined" campaign repeatedly admitted their "inevitability" strategy. Now that Obama is giving her a run for her money, that strategy is evaporating fast.

Because she is such a shrill figure, her new attacks reflect much worse on her than Obama. And every attack only undermine the idea of her inevitable dynastic coronation, especially since she made such a point of saying that Democrats shouldn't attack each other when she was the frontrunner.

The flailing status of the campaign in the face of even mild criticism also undermines the long-stated rationale that she was super-duper ready to take on the right-wing conspiracy.

The two jabs at Obama's childhood - that he was touting his youth as his sole foreign policy credential and that a kindergarten essay about wanting to be President - make the Clinton campaign seem amateurish at best.

Tack on Bill Clinton's infatuation with the first-person singular and his mind-boggling reminder of the former first couple's early and vigorous support of the invasion, and you've got to think that the Clinton camp is trying to switch gears very quickly.

Bringing out the very reluctant Chelsea at the last minute to offset the Oprah Winfrey news cycle smacked of desperation.

I'm hardly saying that Hillary Clinton is toast. Unlike Edwards, she has organizational strength in the mega-Tuesday primaries. Even if Edwards could pull off a magical set of early victories, I doubt that he could put together the organization needed for massive states like New York and California. Unlike the fiery populist, Clinton has enough money to stay in the race for a long time.

On the other hand, an early stumble by Clinton could finally kill off her one rationale: electability.

Since she represents neither change nor trustworthiness in a Presidential cycle precisely about those issues in the wake of the Bush fiasco, that could prove fatal nonetheless.

[cuke]

1. The media is still out there

Soon, they may start saying "Obama is inevitable".

[DrFunkenstein]

2. Maybe if its Obama Vs. Romney

Or Thompson or Huckabee or any of the other yahoos who will pay a price with the general electorate for going off the farm to please the nuttiest factions of the conservative movement.

[blm]

4. Obama didn't have a MACHINE in place for years working against any other Democrat

from 2000-2007. Did he?

As observed by historian Brinkley in April2004:
http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=13354

Bill's timely PUBLIC defense of Bush on Iraq in June2004:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/06/19/clinton.iraq/

The Carvilles on election night:
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/oct/07/did_carville_tip_bush_off_to_kerry_strategy_woodward

Hillary - doing the Tonya Harding work on her own:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg

[DrFunkenstein]

9. When People Say Hillary Clinton is Ambitious, They Don't Mean

She has a desire to become powerful and influential. You can't run for President of the United States of America if you don't have such a desire.

By "ambitious," people mean that the person is willing to be cut-throat in their means to achieve those ends. There are plenty of political corpses in the wake of the Clinton machine, and one of the reasons behind many of their endorsements is how nakedly they asserted retribution against those that even think about throwing their support to another candidate.

People figure Obama wouldn't seek revenge for supporting someone else, but the Clintons would. There have been numerous accounts of people complaining about strong arm tactics from the Clinton campaign. Democracy in action.

[Perry Logan]

3. This is a thing I call "masturbatory gloating." Wingers do it constantly.

[blm]

6. I would gloat if BOTH MACHINES were taken down - Bush and Clinton's machine politics

have no place in a country concerned about protecting the rights of its citizens to honest and open government accountable to the people.

http://consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html

The truth and the historic record may not matter to those accepting of machine politics, but it certainly matters to the rest of us who take the responsibility of citizenship seriously.

[cuke]

7. Yep

The similarities between Obama supporters and rightwingers is shocking

SS is in crisis. Mandates are bad becuase it's wrong for the govt to FORCE people to be responsible (echoes of "Social engineering" anyone?), homophobia, shifting rationales and outright lies (Obama didn't vote on K/L as a protest. Then it became "Reid tricked me"). Tort reform. Merit pay. Bashing boomers

All exceptable to the "progressive" supporters of Obama

[Cha]

13. That's so clever

of you.

[HughMoran]

14. It is unnecessary isn't it?

What does a post like this accomplish anyway?

[blm]

18. How many threads over the last 7yrs touted the fearsome Clinton machine as the antidote

for Democrats seemingly unable to get past the Bush machine and its grip on the corporate newsmedia?

All those threads and posts should have been unncessary, and would have been if the DNC had been doing its job and securing the election process for all Dem voters and candidates.

[Cha]

20. No wonder the clinton

machine was trying their damnest to keep Dean OUT. Trot ol' agin' Cajun out there on crapnews and have 'im bad mouth Dean and see what flies.

The old "inevibility of clinton" ain't so inevitible now and their knickers are all twisted just like their policies.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Hmmm

"Since she represents neither change nor trustworthiness in a Presidential cycle precisely about those issues in the wake of the Bush fiasco, that could prove fatal nonetheless."

I'd like to see actual data that suggests a majority or plurality of Americans believe Bush* is untrustworthy... I think they have concluded he is feckless but that's an entirely different determination... The media still has done nothing to undermine the aura they created for Bush* in 00, that of the straight talking Texan...

[beachmom]

12. He has been caught in outright lies: saying he would fire "the leaker"

who outed Plame when a) he knew who the leakers were the whole time and b) he had no intention of firing anyone.

Another great lie: "We do not torture". F***ing lie!

How about Iran and the nuclear program which was going to spark WWIII??

How about all of his "Mission Accomplished" "We're making progress" remarks on Iraq?

NOBODY BELIEVES A WORD BUSH SAYS ANYMORE including half of the Republican base!!

I would say trustworthiness will be big in '08. Also against corruption, a MAJOR ACHILLEES HEEL of the Clintons, unfortunately.

[oasis]

8. "Change": Bush Administration incompetence to Clinton Administration competence. Big change. (eom)

[blm]

10. Competence at the price of what? Truth, integrity, the nation's FUTURE?

Competent, can make the trains run on time, CLOSED GOVERNMENT is worth losing the truth of this nation's historic record and its democracy?

[oasis]

11. Steven R. Covey says "begin with an ending in mind". What's the upside to

Hillary wasting millions of taxpayer dollars in bringing to light Poppy Bush's past dirty dealings?

[blm]

15. You're against a few million spent to save BILLIONS on unnecessary wars? If you still don't GET that

what is happening today is the RESULT of all the dirty dealings in IranContra, in Iraqgate, in BCCI and in CIA drugrunning operations...well....I think in order to protect your devotion to the Clintons you made a choice to protect secrecy and privilege over open government.

Some Democrats deserve closed government - but many of us don't.

[MethuenProgressive]

16. "Well-Disciplined Machine of Inevitability" was a strawman built by her detractors.

It's easy to tear down your own strawman.

[Evergreen Emerald]

17. The media runs the show...they are the ones who touted inevitability

and they are the ones currently giving Obama all the positive press. Just wait, however. The media is a right-wing propaganda machine. And, Obama's time will come. It may be after they give him the nomination, but the media will take him down--just as they are attempting to take Clinton down.

[Beausoir]

19. "Because she is such a shrill figure,".

:eyes: