Why Clinton Should Stand Her Ground

[Maddy McCall]

Why Clinton Should Stand Her Ground
FROMA HARROP
April 2, 2008



If the Democratic contest lasts until the convention in late August, so what? That leaves two months for Democrats to "coalesce" around their candidate and fight the Republican. And even that shorter time frame will seem a month too long for voters.

So why not go the nine innings? The great American pastime is not judged by time but by action in the field. That's how the game is played.

Polls say most ordinary Democrats want more primaries. But Democratic leaders — not coincidentally, Barack Obama's backers — say Hillary Clinton must drop out for the good of party. She has no chance of winning the nomination.

Wrong and wrong. Obama's support among independents seems to be weakening — largely because of the Rev. Wright controversy. That Obama tolerated his pastor's highly offensive remarks for two decades is a problem that will not go away, whatever the polls say.

Republican John McCain would be a formidable foe for either Democrat. But his appeal to the sort of moderates who would otherwise support Clinton adds to Hillary's argument that she'd be the stronger Democrat in November. Some 28 percent of her backers say they'd vote for McCain if she loses.

As for Clinton's odds to nail the nomination, they're not great — but also not nil. Democrats in Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina and seven other states have yet to vote. If she wins big in those places — and the Florida and Michigan primaries are somehow redone — she could emerge with most of the popular vote after all. And even if she doesn't, the superdelegates could give her the margin she needs — especially if momentum turns in her favor. (Insisting that superdelegates rubber-stamp the voters makes no sense. Why have them?)

Obama's surrogates are nonetheless playing the inevitability card. The race for the nomination is over, they say, so let's move on.

Long ago, Clinton's campaign made much the same pitch. It wasn't attractive then, and it's not attractive now. Inevitability talk is designed to demoralize challengers but comes off as dismissive.

The Obama camp knows that and so employs a two-faced strategy. It sends out high-profile supporters to chant that Clinton can't win and is selfish for hanging in. Then Obama sails in with his smooth "Clinton can stay in the race as long as she wants" and a patronizing "I think that she should be able to compete and her supporters should be able to support her for as long as they are willing or able."

News flash: No one asked him.


MUCH MORE AT: http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-harrop0402.artapr02,0,202634.story

[DearAbby]

1. Because she still has ten minutes left on the parking meter?..n/t

[BlueIdaho]

2. Stick a fork in her

She's done.

[anonymous171]

3. Boo-fucking-hoo.

But his appeal to the sort of moderates who would otherwise support Clinton adds to Hillary's argument that she'd be the stronger Democrat in November. Some 28 percent of her backers say they'd vote for McCain if she loses.

Really? I wonder where the totally unbiased *COUGH* Harrop gets this information? I guess she thinks Limbaugh's agents are moderates?

[DemVet]

4. That's not fair!!! You're making too much sense.

[cali]

5. What an idiot

it won't go to the convention. Dean, Pelosi and Reid have made that crystal clear, and yes they certainly do have the clout to end it after the voting.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[anonymous171]

8. Really? She seems to think that the 28% who won't vote for Obama are actually dems.

She fails to see that they are mostly repug agents courtesy of Limbaugh.

[sellitman]

6. The big difference being.

Clinton's Inevitability talk started the day she became Senator. Obama's started as he beat the tar out of his opponents in Primary after primary. With 80% of the Primaries over and a commanding lead ....Yes Obama as our Candidate is now inevitable.

[barb162]

10. That lead's gonna be whittled down a lot and soon by Clinton.

[sellitman]

17. Good luck

She has 3 weeks to go to PA and she is dropping in the polls Like a ....

[susankh4]

9. And besides....

We get lots of free press.

And the whole country gets to see Barack, Hill and Bill on the trail every week.

And it's FUN! Best primary season in YEARS!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

K&R

[earthlover]

11. Perhaps one of the reasons good Democrats are talking about her conceeding is....

...because she is not campaigning for president. She is campaigning to attack Obama's fitness to be president.

I, for one, would not care a bit if Hillary continued her campaign. However, if she would stop trying to throw the kitchen sink at the almost inevitable Democratic nominee....then there just might be some Democrats backing off from wanting her to end her race....

[barb162]

12. Obama's amazing arrogance is going to come back to haunt him

And none to soon.
PS: And that goes for the party "leaders" too. Clinton is going to take the next races and show him she's the nominee.

[GarbagemanLB]

13. Ah yes..Wright is damaging, but Bosnia-gate is no problem! lol...what trash.

[barb162]

14. We'll see, won't we.

Her memory of ONE plane landing in Bosnia about 10 yrs. ago is nothing like 20 yrs worth of Obama saying he never heard anything other messages of Christian peace and love from Rev. Wrong.

[John Q. Citizen]

15. Hillary should drop out, but she isn't that ethical. So she won't. Instead she's Rocky.

Yeah, Rocky. Like in the movie, remember?

Hillary is embarrasing herself and the party. The new bag lady of National party campaigns, Hillary is deep in debt, and still soldering on pretending to be Rocky. She's going to become a methphor for the US quagmire in Iraq.

And she just can't help herself.

She's like a trainwreck in slow motion. It's both facinating and tragic.

She will stay until she leaves.
And once she goes, she'll be gone.
And everytime no one's with her, she's all alone.

[barb162]

16. K & R

[Jersey Devil]

18. I think it's cute that Hillerites totally forget about Hill's baggage

and bring up Wright as though their candidate has been traveling with no baggage. I could start to recite all the scandals that Hillary will have to defend against in the general but I don't have enough time and probably the post would exceed the length permitted by DU board software, starting with the mysteriously disappearing and then reappearing Rose Law Firm legal bills all the way to drug deals at Mena.

[against all enemies]

19. How much money should we waste fighting each other?

While John McCain has deep pocket supporters filling his accounts while Democrats are pissing theirs away. Great, another Republican wet dream provided by Democrats.