Letters to the Editor
-
@ShawnWM
Which politician is going to do what in November is not written in stone. It isn't even written, other than in the comments sections of internet sites by true believers.
Your repeated claims that Obama can't win are only repetitions of your belief. Anyone who has followed the various polls during the race knows that they move up and down. They know that events outside of mere political rhetoric, like war and the economy, have a greater affect on the general election than between two candidates whose positions are relatively similar on many issues.
Either Democrat can win in November, and if the MSM weren't slanted towards a Republican point of view would absolutely win.
What is not in doubt is that Obama will secure the nomination. If your continued sniping at Obama is because you want Hillary as your candidate, you're out of luck. If you want McCain to win, just say it.
-
@Cheryl55
Obama leads in the only definitive math that counts, the number of delegates. He also leads in states won and in the popular vote. Obama has gotten the vast majority of superdelegates since Super Tuesday.
For example, the defection of Joe Andrew. As per ABC News:
"A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue" a long, self-destructive Democratic campaign, Joe Andrew added in a letter designed to have an impact on the turbulent race nationally as well as in his home state of Indiana, site of a primary next week.
"A vote to continue this process is a vote that assists John McCain," Andrew wrote.
+++++
Clinton has lost the nomination. Maybe she has the power to destroy Obama, but she cannot win.
-
re: Democrats: Keep your eyes on the prize
If something disastrous happens to Obama's campaign and by June 3rd, Hillary is ahead in pledged delegates, then I think she should be the nominee and I will vote for her. If she is behind in pledged delegates and she is appointed the nominee by the super delegates at the convention, I will not. It's that simple.
None of Hillary's arguments for why she should be the nominee over Obama are persuasive to me. I find it laughable that she is claiming to be more electable, when she is behind in the popular vote (yes, even when you count MI and FL votes), behind in states lost and behind in pledged delegates. If she is more electable, then why hasn't she been elected the nominee? I find it frightening the lengths that she will go to try to secure the nomination, including war-mongering with her threat to obliterate Iran, pandering with her gas-tax holiday, lying with her Tuzla comments, and now how her supporters are trying to use classic voter fraud tactics to stop Obama supporters from coming to the polls next week, and how Sidney Blumenthal (yes the same Sidney who writes for Salon) is sending almost daily emails to reporters, super delegates and politicians criticizing Obama by using propaganda from far-right blogs, newspapers and writers.
Finally, watching the way that race has been used in this election and specifically, how being black has been vilified and the ways that the media and Hillary and her campaign have justified their blatant racism, as a black woman, I have a hard time squaring a vote for Clinton with my conscience. I live in a blue state, so in a sense I am counting on other (white) Democratic voters in my state to either be more forgiving or more apathetic than I am if Clinton manages to steal the nomination. But at the same time, America will survive 4 years of McCain. We will make it out the other side. And I am willing to go through the hard times, if it means not rewarding someone for her racism, her dishonesty and her lack of decency.
-
Media for Obama? Not lately.
Eric76: if anything, the media has beaten it into people's heads that Clinton can still win when her path has been pretty narrow and dangerous for months.
And it only makes sense. A majority of people working in newsrooms (Hillary supporters plus Republican partisans plus sensationalists = huge majority) want to see Hillary go all the way to the convention. They have different reasons, obviously, and I don't mean to imply that Hillary is working for the Republican's interest -- because I think Republicans are seriously overestimating how bad this protracted fight is going to be for Obama's chances in the general.
But reality has to assert itself eventually. That's what the superdelegates are doing now. A brokered convention is not a smart move, Clinton can't catch up.
If it's any consolation, this whole thing reminds me of conference championships that are more crucial than the superbowl itself. The Republicans are in worse shape than people are letting on, which is the only reason why Democrats have had the luxury of fighting so hard over their nominee. We all know that whoever wins the Democratic primary will probably go on to win the general.
So the big fight has already happened, and the most gripping political moment of 08 may have already happened on super Tuesday. I'm sure there are some media folks who are sad to hear that, but I think that explains their unwillingness to be clear with the public. They're hoping for OT, and the Democratic party probably won't oblige them.
-
@Bob In Pacifica
Then why is it, Bob, that you need to keep repeating yourself about how Obama has already won over and over again?
It makes me wonder that you need to keep hearing yourself saying it in order to really believe it yourself.
-
@ Eric
I think a lot of people would be surprised or at least dismayed to learn that the months of campaigning and millions of votes already cast mean less than the political calculus of a bunch of party insiders. If the superdelegates know better than the voters, why hold a primary?
You make the assumption that Obama is less electable than Hillary. But he leads her in national polls and for most of the primary season, he's had a greater advantage in a hypothetical matchup with John McCain, both in the popular vote and the electoral college. There's really no reason for your concerns about Obama's electability, other than your lack of faith in other Dem voters.
The media did not start the "Hillary can't win" meme in January. This idea took hold after Hillary suffered eleven straight landslide losses post Super Tuesday, and Obama ran up a delegate and vote lead that's pretty much insurmountable. Since then, Hillary has needed to win every remaining state on the order of 60-40 just to tie Obama in pledged delegates. Barring that, she's needed superdelegates to overwhelmingly move to her side. Neither of these things has happened. You can't blame the media for accurately reporting on the electoral math. If anything, the media is responsible for promoting the myth that this race is close, when it's been decided for months.
Finally, you make this assumption that older voters and working class whites won't support Obama in a fight against McCain ... why? Do you honestly think McCain is going to be a better president for these people than Obama? Probably not. Let's face it: You have no faith that these demographics will support a black guy, and cowtowing to those prejudices is a safer bet than demanding that Dem voters grow up.