Letters to the Editor
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Oblivion? come on, Salon!
As a publication, you should choose your words more carefully.
Oblivion (from Merriam-Webster): the condition or state of being forgotten or unknown.
As the Senator from NY, First Lady for 8 years, and the first serious female contender for the office of President, (not to mention the wronged wife in the middle of a huge sex scandal), oblivion is a poor choice of words. Defeat, maybe. Surrender? Surely there was a more apt term out there. I'm still undecided in this race, but your headline made me mad. Despite how people may feel about her, she has accomplished a great deal for women, and to deny or diminish that is irresponsible on your part.
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Hearts and flowers for the "monster?"
I'm not interested in kicking the Clintons when they're down
So you will continue to enable her on her scorched earth attacks on Obama. What makes anyone think she will stop at anything? She will continue to drag him down way into his presidency. Make no mistake about it.
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Soldiering on
She's like the knight from Monty Python's Holy Grail....
'tis only a flesh wound!'
It's done. Go home. Please. Pretty please. I don't want another Republican president.
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Forget Hillary for VP...someone tell Barack to give Chuck Hagel a call..
If there is any VP talk going on in the Obama camp, I hope that they consider Chuck Hagel.
Senator Hagel is a moderate Republican, a Vietnam Vet, and a real war hero who has strongly opposed the Iraq war and the accompanying blather from this chicken-hawk administration. I believe Sen Hagel would appeal to a lot of the Reagan blue-collar Democrats that Obama is not connecting with, and he would draw even more moderates and Republicans away from McCain (AKA Bush part 3).
Obama: Give Chuck a call!
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Well that was quick
Any notion I had she's in the race for the benefit of the party went out the window when seconds ago on CNN I heard her say that the number of delegates is 2200 something, not 2025. hence she's going to go after the Michigan / Florida vote.
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@08YesWeCan
08YesWeCan: "So you will continue to enable her on her scorched earth attacks on Obama. What makes anyone think she will stop at anything? She will continue to drag him down way into his presidency. Make no mistake about it."
You obviously haven't read through my posts. I am very pro-Obama. I have argued very hard against Clinton's campaign tactics.
I'm just not interested in trying to vilify her at a time when the best course of action seems to be to reach out to her supporters.
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@John McCall
John McCall: "Any notion I had she's in the race for the benefit of the party went out the window when seconds ago on CNN I heard her say that the number of delegates is 2200 something, not 2025. hence she's going to go after the Michigan / Florida vote."
Yep... They are crossing the point of not return. It does make it harder to be sympathetic to Clinton. I want to be, but she's making a very questionable decision here. I think a portion of her supporter base is about to erode away.
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Xrandadu Hutman
Yep... They are crossing the point of not return. It does make it harder to be sympathetic to Clinton. I want to be, but she's making a very questionable decision here. I think a portion of her supporter base is about to erode away.
So what is it? Will you continue to enable her scorched earth attacks? Can't you see through her supporters? They are Republican crossovers anyway.
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@John McCall re: Vice President Clinton
You asked about Clinton holding out for VP.
I agree she is -- VP for McCain, that is.
Call me crazy, but she's been pretty complimentary of the guy, and what a great way to stay very important, maybe implement a policy or two, and stick it to Obama.
McCain can take the next few months to deny ever even knowing Bush and embrace Hillary -- then the two of them get to market themselves as a third party alternative.
Again, call me crazy... or call me prescient...
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You Can't Fool All Of The People All Of The Time
The long campaign season has afforded some deeper and wider understandings of policy and politics, peeled some patina off the candidates' veneer, identified some bigotry, mistrust and kneejerks, and alerted any of the old guard paying attention to prepare to adapt and accomodate new supporters, who will not rest till Obama is elected.
If they want the white house, political machinery across this country will have to keep faith with the new voters' expectations and aspirations.
More than any than other aspect of these campaigns' legacy will be the voter verdict on retooling cooperatively to retire the old politics.
That's what should really drive the bus.
The changes sought will need spartan discipline among a progressive coalition forcefully weaning the congressional and senatorial impersonators from worn out paths of dead end complicity and ruinous enablement.
As the Clinton Primary campaign hooves on through W Va, Kentucky and Little Big Horn, the focus of most will shift toward educating enough of the electorate to crush the GOP's emminent domained disaster. And the disgraced Press and electronic Media will have to follow.
Then we go up to the wild blue yonder.
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Proposed Obama speech to clinch nomination
Proposed speech by Barack Obama to clinch the Democratic nomination and earn good will among superdelegates. The speech should be made before West Virginia primary because the narrative of the presidential campaign might change if Clinton wins big on that day.
SPEECH
“It is imperative that Senator Hillary Clinton and I unite, terminate any Democratic Party Convention battles as soon as possible, and prepare for the general election battle against Senator John McCain.
In accordance with these goals, I have decided to spend two weeks campaigning in Florida, beginning on June 15. Florida is a very important state, and I intend to fight to win this state in November. I invite Hillary Clinton to join me on this two-week campaign tour. I pledge to concentrate on the important economic, domestic, and national security issues on this tour and say only positive things about the New York senator. I would hope Senator Clinton has the same approach.
Because I am looking forward, not back, I have also decided to not fight Senator Clinton’s effort to count the results of the primary that was held in Florida on January. I am not conceding that the primary was a fair contest, but it is far more important to unite for the fall campaign against the Republican nominee than to continue fighting for the state’s 200 delegates.
The primary wasn’t fair because neither of us campaigned there. That’s why I am suggesting that we both campaign there together against Senator McCain from June 15 through June 30.”
ANALYSIS
Senator Obama now leads by about 160 delegates. If he conceded Florida, he would still lead by more than 100 (Clinton gained only 46 in her landslide win in New York).
The loss of about 40 delegates can easily be negated by the good will he gains among the superdelegates. In fact, he might gain that many superdelegates before the West Virginia primary.
In terms of the popular vote, Obama would still lead by at least 420,000 even if Florida is included. If the unreported results of the Iowa, Nevada, Maine, and Washington caucuses are calculated, his lead is still about 530,000. After his North Carolina win, it appears impossible for Clinton to win the popular vote even if Florida is included.
Conceding on Florida could also make Obama appear so magnanimous that delegates might be more amenable to his argument on other disputes – what to do about Michigan, for example.