03.26.08 5:00 AM CDT
• Politics
• Jamie Malanowski
It’s true that Hillary Clinton COULD still win the Democratic nomination this year, but it’s also true that I could be elected Pope. Any Catholic male over the age of 7 is eligible, and I’ve got that covered. To be the democratic nominee, you need to have a majority of the delegates, and Hilary is nowhere near reaching that numbers. Nor is she likely to. The polls don’t favor her, the slate of remaining primaries doesn’t favor her, there’s not going to be do-overs in Michigan and Florida, and her opponent keeps turning hay (Jeremiah Wright) into gold (a pitch-perfect speech on race), while she keeps stumbling into unforce errors like claiming she was shot at in Bosnia. At this point, her path to victory would require Obama to melt down in almost a Spitzer-like way. It’s just not likely—not even remotely likely. Right now, the smartest move she could make for herself and for her party is to suspend her campaign, if not actually throw in the towel. Here’s why:
First, everybody admires a gracious loser.Second, by leaving now, she preserves all the good will she acquired this past year. Clinton ran an awfully good campaign, and showed herself to be presidential material. She lost to a phenomenon, and there’s no shame in that. The longer she hangs on, however, the more she becomes the object of jibes and jokes.
She shouldn’t let that happen. If Obama were to lose in the fall, she would be well-positioned to say `I told you so,’ and begin working for 2012. And if he wins, she could stay in the Senate and be a powerful and influential leader for next 25 years. There are worse fates.
Third, she avoids living the nightmare of being a sore loser who cripples her party’s choice because her ego gets in the way. Should Obama lose, and it’s perceived that her bad behavior was a factor, her future prospects will evaporate.
Giving up will be a hard decision for her. Nobody runs for president if they have self-esteem issues, and surely it will be bitter for her to realize that her chance to be the first woman to become president will be, at best, deferred. But sometimes we lead by stepping aside. That is the best move left to her, and the sooner she takes it, the better off she’ll be.
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Comments on this entry:
I hope Hillary fights to the bitter end!
Certainly.
I think she should step down. She is single-handedly ripping the DEM-Party apart right now. If she steps down graciously now and agrees to be VP there is no way the REP-Party will win in the Fall if the next administration could be headed by a qualified Black Man and White Woman. Unprecedented, history making stuff that all Americans should be proud of. For a country that is supposed to about democracy and diversity why is it all of the previous presidents (including the current one) are just a bunch of rich/old/white men? Hmmm...really diverse right? Right (NOT!)
Although Obama will go into the convention leading in the delegate count, neither candidate will have won enough delegates by the time the primaries end to clinch the nomination, so the superdelegates will cast the deciding votes. Since those are long-time party regulars and Democratic office-holders, they owe a lot of favors to the Clintons from the White House years, and Hillary will try to collect on them. What would be nasty would be a floor fight to add to her delegate total by seating the delegates chosen in the uncontested Floria and Michigan primaries, but this now seems likely. The Clintons definitely aren't quitters, as we have seen for a long time now.
LKJ,
Unfortunately, as Jamie's novel The Coup demonstrates, the vice presidency is a deadly dull job for an energetic, proud, ambitious person like Hillary Clinton. That has to be a real dilemma for her. (Jamie's book is a great read.)
Wil,
You're so intelligent, you're scary. I hope she isn't proud enough to involve herself in anything sleazy at the national convention. The bad faith and bad blood would help Mr. "Bomb-Bomb-Bomb, Bomb-Bomb Iran" get the nuclear button. Yikes!