Now they're self justifying....
So, now they're saying they're not staying in to win it?
(PS. I'll say again, the quickest way for Clinton to get Florida and Michigan seated would be to resign from the race.)
But she and her chief political counselor, her husband, see the two coming primaries as crucial to strengthening her standing and, if it comes to it, to allowing her to leave the race on a high note, the advisers say......
Sizable victories — the Clinton camp believes it could win West Virginia by 25 points or more — might put pressure on Mr. Obama to agree to her demands to seat the disputed delegates from Michigan and Florida, some of her advisers say, which would let her claim a victory on a battle she has fought for months.....
But advisers acknowledged that even if she won those states by wide margins, it was probably too late to change the dynamic of the nominating contest in her favor.....
Mrs. Clinton plans to spend the day after the West Virginia primary meeting with advisers and top fund-raisers to discuss the future of the campaign. Aides said they believed she was likely to remain in the race until the Kentucky primary next Tuesday.
(PS. I'll say again, the quickest way for Clinton to get Florida and Michigan seated would be to resign from the race.)
posted by mikevotes at
6:55 AM
7 Comments:
This is big-time Romney mode now. I say she hangs on, officially, until the end (3 June). It's like running a marathon and then quitting in the last mile. Even if she knows she's not going to get the nomination, she seems like the type that will dig in and finish the race. (Not meant as a knock.)
Look she's going to get a win in WV. Then it's just another week until KY, where she's also favored. After that there's just 14 days left in the primary calendar. Does she hang in for PR? Is she expected to do well there? And if she stay in for PR surely she'll hang in for two more days for MT, and SD.
I think she feels she owes it to her supporters. Her very passionate and committed supporters. I wonder if her donor pow-wow will be about just kicking in enough for gas money for the next four weeks.
I can envision a positive spin for Obama if Hillary stays in until the mathematical end. This way her supporters cannot say she was pushed off the track. It wills simply be a painful loss, but the game will have not been forfeited. I think this will make it somewhat more palatable for Hillary's supporters to rally behind the Democratic ticket come the convention. They'll need time to lick their wounds, of course, but between 3 June and the convention (?? August) I think it's possible to build a unified party.
But this all depends on the character of just two individuals: Hillary and Bill Clinton. From their lips we will either have a unified party, or a divided party. My hunch is they will be more concerned about how history records their legacy, than short term spite. (Though I'm sure will see more than one back-handed compliment, and a couple of less-than-gracious words now and again.)
By
-epm, at 8:31 AM
Funny, Nobody mentions Oregon in the list of upcomings. (She's expected to do well in Puerto Rico, but who knows? Plus, they can't even vote in the presidential general election.)
It does seem that June 3 is the current glide path, and one argument for that is the one you make, that it would allow Clinton supporters to grieve.
However, if she is still trying to get a Dem elected in '08, bringing her supporters around should also fall on her. You would think that that would be part of her contribution to the party.
By
mikevotes, at 8:39 AM
Re: No one mentions Oregon.
That's because the story now is about Hillary -- the scrappy, near-vanquished gladiator clinging to survival -- and the expectations in states where she's "supposed" to win. The media are looking for Hillary to do worse than expected... This feeds the drama of their narrative that Hillary has fallen from grace. Where's the drama in OR? Obama has now been ordained by the media as THE Dem nominee. He's expected to win OR and even if he wins by a smaller margin than expected (which is unlikely), so what? It doesn't affect the horse race. Obama still wins, and Hillary (the near-vanquished) still comes up short.
WV and KY are news worthy because Hillary's performance feeds the horse race either way. If she does better than expected, it's all about how good, decent white folks won't vote for that black man. (They love this story line) If she does worse than expected, it's back to Obama - The Second Coming, and the further eulogizing of the Clinton campaign.
That's my take anyway.
Re: If she's trying to get a Dem in the WH.
Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it. I don't think she's gone Lieberman, yet. While she's said some shocking things about Obama (commander in chief, empty suit), when backed into a corner, she makes sounds that appear supportive of Obama as president.
I'm not sure I buy into the conspiracy theory that the Clintons would actually act as spoilers for the Dems in 08, in the expectation they could run (and win) in '12. If they screw up Obama's chances this November, they'll be pariahs in the party. This isn't 1980. They will not be forgiven.
By
-epm, at 9:05 AM
Agreed. She has been the dominant news figure since before Ohio and Texas. It's pretty amazing really.
(Frankly, I think that's one of the reasons I'm against her. I get so tired of all the Clinton drama all the time.)
I think this was also my way of once again addressing the "important states" argument that comes up. I just get tired of it.
I think your horserace analysis is right. Look how NC was diminished in the run up (and even the followon.)
Last, I don't think she's gone Lieberman. Even if her goal were to tank Obama (which I don't believe either) she can't go that far because she still has future hopes, whereas Lieberman is angling for the token Dem spot at the AEI.
Plus, there's this weird assumption that the Clinton's could stop Obama. Maybe they could if she came out in October and said "Don't vote for this guy," but that's not gonna happen. To pull off that strategy, she has to tread a line, and I don't think, in this year, they could do it without generating the blowback.
By
mikevotes, at 10:50 AM
Interesting map image from kos showing counties where Hillary has won 65+ of the vote. Look at that tight swath through Appalachia and the Ozarks. (do we even count MI?)
This is illuminating. I'd like to see the income/education statistics for these counties compared to national averages.
By
-epm, at 12:50 PM
I did a post awhile back on Appalachia and apparent racism.
Interestingly, it's even more of a factor there than in the deep south.
By
mikevotes, at 1:31 PM
Yes, I remember the post. But there's nothing like a picture to focus the attention... from rhetoric to reality. I guess I'm just moved by the visual.
By
-epm, at 2:10 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home