Letters to the Editor
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Jerm is RIGHT - It was only a SINGLE DIGIT win after all!!!
CLINTON, HILLARY (DEM)
1,234,547 54.3%
OBAMA, BARACK (DEM)
1,041,136 45.8%
source: http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/
The difference really is only 8.5%!!! Even The Drudge Report got that wrong!! A single digit win is not the tide turning indicator that HRC's camapaign is desperately trying to spin to the electorate and DNC party elders must be musing about just that right about now!
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@ jacksmith
I keep trying to understand the logic behind your idea, if any. Explain to me how it could possibly make sense that the person losing the primary should be the one to run in the general. Particularly given that she started off the primary season as the "presumed Democratic candidate", and her numbers consistently drops in every state she campaigns in.
That's really your idea of what a winning candidate looks like? Someone who's losing? Someone whose campaign goes massively into debt just to keep from collapsing altogether?
This is really the person you want to put up against the Republicans?
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I'm starting to recognize this feeling....
The bickering Dems.
It reminds me of my feelings during the lead-up to the 2004 election. Each side is pissed at the other one, and people are insulting each other's intelligences. I'm really getting tired of it. But, dammit! I'm addicted to NPR.
I've got no ideas.
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How to harm the left by just spouting off
To paraphrase one commenter on Wonkette, I am sick of having uneducated people from the middle of nowhere ruin this country. When will we get a clue?
The people you're "sick of" constitute the majority of Americans. I know it makes some Obama supporters feel better to alienate this group of people; go right ahead and place making yourself feel good above winning hearts and minds, or recycle some "we weren't gonna win those hearts and minds anyway, they're too stupid" trope. Do you believe in democracy or don't you? if you do, then you're comfortable with the majority deciding who governs.
The whole "if only we intelligent and urbane people were allowed to decide" bit of recent weeks is essentially wrapping up the November election with a nice ribbon and handing it to a Republican candidate who wouldn't stand a chance without this sort of playing into his hands. Enjoy your McCain presidency. You didn't have to have it, but you bought it by reducing public discourse to "my school rules and your school sucks" garbage.
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Two points to make
One, despite the MSM and Salon's reflex characterization of Hillary Clinton as the one using scorched earth tactics, approximately 30% of Hillary Clinton's supporters think otherwise. We have watched this campaign very closely and have seen evidence that it is the Obama camp who have been using low ball Republican talking points, making us feel uncomfortable voting for Obama.
Two, neither candidate can win the nomination without the superdelegates support, and Hillary Clinton clearly has the momentum with wins in almost all of the large states and swing states. Obama's lead in delegates is based upon undemocratic caucuses as part of an uncritical string of Obama victories in late winter. It seems that the more people learn about Obama the more difficult it becomes for him.
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2nd Oldest state in the union
The real deciding factor in this contest has been age. Essentially Hillary has been kept afloat by the pre-boomer generation that sat by and accepted Jim Crow.
Although the pasing of each candidates base is funny. It makes it sound like Hillary's base is uneducated old white or latino women who don't have two dimes to rub together. I didn't realize my family reunions were such a powerful voting block.
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HP - Alright
one more whiney loser gone...Only 10,000 more to go...
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I have some advice for the Democratic party
Stop wringing your fucking hands and do the right thing. Idiocy like this is THE REASON people don't like you. I haven't registered Democrat since I was 22. Because of idiocy like this. Obama is a winner. I have my doubts about him, but he exudes an easygoing "I'm-a-winner" attitude. You might not enjoy that yourself. You might think Hillary "deserves" to win because she has done the homework. But it would be really, really stupid to hand her the nomination against the wishes of the voters. What a stupid, stupid party. Watching all this navel-gazing, I have never been so proud to be an independent.
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Jerm
The vote totals reported by the NY Times are slightly different (higher) than those at the web-site you linked, and they do round to 55/45 (albeit with a difference of 9.3 points between the two candidates, so technically under 10 points).
If Clinton is the nominee, I'll probably write in Obama. It won't affect the outcome here in MA anyway...
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Obama HAS closed the deal
The most important fact here is that Obama has an almost insurmountable lead in the pledged delegates. If you accept that the superdelegates should follow the voters, then he has closed the deal.
It is like we are in the closing minutes of a sporting event, say a basketball game. Team Obama is maintaining a healthy, 10 to 20 point lead. Team Clinton has their moments, and sometimes score a couple of baskets in a row, but the fact remains that they are not going to close the gap before the clock winds down. They are fighting hard, and fouling hard, but the outcome of the game is still essentially foreordained. Team Clinton gets a good shot sometimes but they are still going to lose.
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A Third Scenario
Walter...
Whether Hillary employs so-called "scorched-earth" tactics or Barack just can't close the deal is merely a sideshow; I'm more concerned with a third scenario that needs much more consideration. Democratic voters are basically splitting their votes 50/50 between the two. That bodes well and ill for the general election.
Will perceived or real wounds be healed by then? Will Barack's people vote for Hillary and vice-versa? Can Democrats coalesce around the eventual nominee? And, will some adult in the party produce a shotgun and force Hillary and Barack into the proverbial wedding?
I still believe that the pragmatists in both camps and the party in general must consider seriously this last reality. Its tough to choose between Hillary and Barack individually; if we combined the two, what an awesome ticket we'd have!
Bottom line: we have two awesome candidates for President; the Republicans don't even have one.
Just one man's opinion...