Letters to the Editor
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Clinton can't close the deal.
With every possible advantage and a couple of hundred million dollars, her shambolic campaign has only succeeded in losing support, making her even more hated and going broke.
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Logic?
One Democrat defeats another Democrat in the Democratic primary. And this is read as proof that the loser cannot win in the general election.
Um, sorry, but there is no relevance here whatsoever.
Think about it. If you can.
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well said
"Don't mistake wise graciousness for weakness. Also, don't mistake pugilistic persistence for strength. The voters should have the candidate they feel best represents where they want this country to go. Not the one who can throw the best punches.
-- Allison "
Of kindness for weakness. Well said. Let the clinton media and gop attack machine spin this for her. She already lost. She'll still be running after the primary.
Last night changed nothing. It DID nothing but give credance and credibility to the right-wing attack machine. That's all it did. We could have ended fox last night. We could have ended rush last night. In terms of politics, nothing changed. Only kept the masters and borg brain on for a little longer. Sorry old out of touch americans. You'll have to wait a little longer for your freedom from rush hannity and the right-wing attack machine. Old ladies and catholics want to keep you around and give you credibility, when they are nothing but fascist propogandists for profit.
sad day in america. I thought we grew as a nation since 2000. Obviously we didn't grow that much
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What is a superdelegate to do? Poor babies.
What's a weary, befuddled superdelegate -- desperate for clarity -- to do?
How about .. resign in disgrace and ask the party to pick someone with bigger gonads to take their seat.
The reason for being of the Democratic party's at-large delegates is to interject personal judgment into the nomination process, rather than having it all be about elections. If they all decided that the party's viability required that Kucinch be nominated instead of Obama or Clinton, then they could dig in their heels and force the other two to a compromise. Democratic or not, that's how the system is supposed to work.
If a given superdelegate finds that responsibility too great to bear, or is anxious because they never expected that a divided enthusiasm for two strong candidates would ever oblige them to exercise it, then they are both foolish (the superdelegates came into existence because of exactly such a scenario) and unqualified for their role. It's hard to have a lot of sympathy.
And much the same could be said for coastal Democrats who are frustrated that their primaries weren't the deciding ones.
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Why can't Hillary close the deal?
Or, let's rephrase that, why is she losing the deal? Why, even after a whopping 8.5% smack down (sarcasm) she is still ... losing? Look, I like Hillary, I'd vote for her over ANY Republican in a New York minute, but DUDE, she's losing and nothing she's doing is is changing that.
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Obama did build on his base
I think the real lesson of Pennsylvania is that Clinton is leaking support. Yes, more slowly than should be expected given the implausibility of her ultimate victory, but leaking support nonetheless. The following splits were posted at Daily Kos:
Obama's percent of the vote:
OH PA
60 and older 28 38
White 34 38
White men 39 44
White women 31 34
Less than $50K 42 46
No college 40 38
College 51 49
Catholic 36 31
Protestant 36 53
Pennsylvania is a state with a closed primary and demographics that set up better for Hillary than Ohio. Her failure to build on her success just points out the lame duck nature of her campaign.
I think the most telling statistic is the fact that approximately 80% of Clinton supporters still believe she has a chance to win. The Clinton campaign with the complicity of a media in love with horse-race coverage has muddied the waters of the campaign with talk of everything from the non contests in Michigan and Florida to "big state Hillary" and a super delegate coup. Obama is not being portrayed for what he essentially is . . . the presumptive nominee. So the fact that he didn't win in a state so demographically skewed to his rival can hardly come as a shock. Despite the kitchen sink Obama still fairs better against McCain than Hillary, is still rasing money at a record rate and still possesses an almost unprecedented base of energetic volunteers that will force the R's to fight him in otherwise safely Republican strongholds.
Lets get realistic Walter and lets stop feeding the increasingly tenuous narrative that Obama is a weak candidate.
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maTTHEWS said it best last night
"The Clinton campaign with the complicity of a media in love with horse-race coverage has muddied the waters of the campaign with talk of everything from the non contests in Michigan and Florida to "big state Hillary" and a super delegate coup."
"another win for cable news"
that was the only winner last night. The propogandists and their ability to fool the americans people, and continue to do it over and over and over and over. As a result of last night cable news stands to make millions in advertising. they are the only winners. Fox most of all.
The line from last night.
CABLE NEWS AND PROPOGANDISTS WIN. THE GOP WINS
America, the democrats, the movement that saved american in the fight against the gop's destruction of this great nation, loses.
Last one from me. Don;t want to hog the forum. Sad day for us all. Giving fox hannity and rush credibility. Shame on you clinton supporters.
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What's the deal with the phrase "Close the deal"?
The phrase "Close the deal," has come to represent all that is petty and uninspired about the news coverage of the Democratic primary contests.
In a world of encapsulated, thimble-sized headlines, the condescending shorthand that the media is using to report the "ups and downs" of the candidates does an intellectual disservice to us all.
America is not in the market for a used car. There is no "deal" that has to be closed.
We need someone with the insight to not only identify the problems facing us but the ability to elucidate the solutions in a way to inspire and encourage us.
This mature approach to discourse does not lend itself to a "tell ya' what I'm gonna' do for ya'" mentality.
To reduce this selection process to "horse races," "Rocky allusions," and "used car deals" speaks to a sad inability to frame ideas for mass consumption in a cogent manner.
Instead, the reliance on "easily understood" metaphors reduces the whole process to the level of Sesame Street.