Is there a hollow ring to Hillary's communications director Howard Wolfson as he explains why she's still running? Some now say she has a less than two per cent chance of winning the nomination fair and square, but a much greater chance of blowing the Democrat's chances if she stays in the race too long.
It does seem that what Hillary cannot win at the ballot box she will try an grab in a back-room manoeuvre. This is thanks to her insider access to the rules committee of the national Democratic party. Her strategy, set out in today's L.A. Times, is fraught with danger for the party.
Faced with a choice of the wrath of Hillary or the anger of the electorate, party bigwigs may ultimately decide to tell her its time to go. Senior Democrats must now fear that a back-room deal to snatch the nomination from Obama - who has brought out so many new young and black voters will explode in their hands come November.
Hillary's first hurdle is 31 May when a party committee, stacked with her backers meets to weigh the dispute over Florida and Michigan. The committee punished the states by stripping them of their delegates for the nominating convention for breaking the rules and holding primaries too early.
Clinton won both "beauty contests" and to use the delegates she picked up to slice into Obama's delegate lead. Belarus as Obama's name was not on the Michigan ballot, and neither candidate campaigned in Florida.
The manouvering began this week when Hillary started talking about a completely new number - 2,209 delegates - which she says are needed to win the nomination if Florida and Michigan delegates are seated.
The man she is relying on to fix it for her is Harold Ickes who sits on the rules committee. Ickes has been Hillary's unofficial deputy for years, they both conjured up strategies to save Bill's presidency at at various points when he was in the White House. Ickes now maintains that the party cannot afford to punish Florida and Michigan - two general-election battlegrounds - any more.
By seating the delegates she "won" she would suddenly be within 100 delegates of catching Obama.
Hillary has some more insider advantages: Alexis M. Herman, Bill Clinton's former labour Secretary is a committee chair and a majority of the members of the rules committee have already endorsed her.
Any fix on 31 May would be appealed to a larger committee that takes over in June. Hillary may even hope to take the fight the convention floor in Denver in August.
But even some of Hllary's supporters say she is unlikely to suceed: William Galston, a former policy advisor to Bill, says the nomination is Obama's for the taking and that "it is hard to see how the Clinton forces can use the Democratic Party's rules committee to force a resolution of the Michigan and Florida dilemmas over the objections of the Obama campaign."
I am so proud of the fact that Hillary is staying in the race for presidency. She certainly has the strength,tenacity, and money to do so. Yes she is making personal and financial sacrifices to let everybody vote in a democratic society.
In the past, leading democratic candidates threw in the towel too soon and just laid down so the opposing party could run over them. But that will not be the label one can hang on the Clintons. The longer she stays in the race the more we learn about Mr. Obama, and the stronger the party becomes.
If Mr. Obama is the nominee, he will not be able to win without the Clinton's supporters, and if she is forced out of the race millions of her supporters will not vote for him. I am sorry to say, it is the African Americans who have created the racial devide this time. So many of them are voting because of a racial idenity, rather than for the best qualified candidate. Mr. Obama has accepted the label of being the "Black President" when it was convenient; He accepted the label of being the Young and energetic president when it was convient as well. Now he has to start looking for the people he has isolated. Which are the women, the old, and caucian men. If he can't convince us (I fall in two of these groups)that he care about our needs instead of how he is going to change Washington, we will not vote for him in November.
So in the next two months he has a lot to prove to us. In the meantime, all of the people who lost their bids to become president are clinging to his coatail. If Richardson, Edwards, Kerry, Kenedy, Bradley, Gore couldn't win on their own steam, why does Obama think they can help him win. He has spent twice or three times more money to convince people to vote for him because his backers have a lot of money. But we all know that money doesn't buy a good president. Our present administrator has proven that.
Posted by: Aliene S. Linwood | 16 May 2008 at 01:21 PM
As straight talking Jack Cafferty said "when you die,you lie down" and " you throw the Hail Mary pass during the game and not when the game is over". So madam, please lie down and forget about May 31st.You and Mr.Ickes ( did he really bite an opponent's leg?) voted for the rule against Florida and Michigan .. remember?
Posted by: dis | 09 May 2008 at 05:20 PM
crat3:
In 1992, Bill Clinton almost exclusively got the black vote; in 1996, Bill Clinton almost exclusively got the black vote. In 2008, Barack Obama is almost exclusively getting the black vote. Please explain the racism in those three voting years.
Obviously hasn't occurred to you that the black vote is simply going to the candiate they like. Or is it that you feel there was some law enacted whereby ONLY the Clintons should receive the black vote?
Posted by: patwal | 09 May 2008 at 12:22 PM
Clinton's nomination was hers to lose. The fact she went from heir presumptive to trailing in both delegates and the popular vote is testament to the abysmal campaign she ran, organised by a bunch of insiders who took her for millions of dollars in 'consulting fees' and failed to deliver the goods.
The facts that she showed such poor judgement to hire these imbeciles in the first place, then to keep them on the payroll after Ohio; that her campaign is bleeding red ink all over the place; that from comments she's made she'd rather see John "Bush Lite" McCain in the White House than anyone but her; that after the Gore-Bush fiasco on 2000 in which Gore won the popular vote but a stacked Supreme Court egged on by Republicans throwing tantrums that would shame a two-year-old, she would attempt to use essentially the same tactics to secure the Democratic nomination, all indicate she should not be trusted with the nomination. And this isn't to mention the absurd gas tax proposal and the ridiculously intemperate, overwrought (and patently false) "We can obliterate Iran" comments she made a couple of weeks ago.
This isn't to say Obama is the perfect candidate for the Democrats, nor even the Presidency; but of the assortment on offer (Clinton, McCain, Obama), he is certainly the least imperfect and the most aware of what needs to be done and what sacrifices need to be made to get the US back on track.
And crat3's remarks are typical of the snide insinuations that has been a hallmark of the Clinton campaign and further evidence why she should not be nominated. If Obama has been propelled merely by the electorate voting on these criteria, he should be scrapping with Gravel and Kucinich at the back of the pack, not leading Clinton a merry dance right down to the wire.
Clinton has the right to chase Obama to the bitter end, but don't start gaming the system when it comes to losing the popular vote but still expecting to be handed the nomination by horse-trading with insiders and superdelegates. That would make a mockery of the entire 'democratic' process.
Posted by: Macander | 08 May 2008 at 09:38 PM
Yeah, what experience do you need to be President? There are senior Senators and Congressmen who may not want to be President but are "qualified". I think a true leader is one who can recognize those around him who are qualified to do the best job and to utilize them properly. Beyond skin color, "crat3, this person should be able to lead by example.
Posted by: AE | 08 May 2008 at 09:07 PM
Hilary Clinton is stealing a page from the Bill Clinton School of Politics to try to steal the nomination. She and Ickes voted to strip the delegates of FL and MI and now want them counted??? That is absurd especially since they broke the rules? Great, so Hillary will do anything to save her a** and her botched up dream of being president. She should have changed her strategy long before now. To little, too late. Obama doesnt have 2,024 but neither does she....She has plenty of experience doing underhanded tricks since she is Mrs. Bill Clinton....
Posted by: AE | 08 May 2008 at 08:55 PM
Obama has not won enough delegates to be the nominee. Nothing Clinton is doing is out of the ordinary. People want Obama to be the nominee, so they are trying to stop the process. Clinton is making sure the Democrats put forth the best candidate in the general election. More power to her.
Posted by: Andrew Austin | 08 May 2008 at 06:32 PM
First of all if a recount in the states of Michigan and Florida is to take place it will tarnish the democratic party and not only split into various factions but explode into a free for all gang war. Seriously though, Clinton does not have that kind if pull to have that over-turned. Second if it was trully based the color of skin the votes would not of been so close in Indiana and that's just merely one example out of many. Last but not least there is experience and then there is an over abudance of experience and that is something that Hillary has is just too much. She has been in this game for so long that her politics reflects what era she derives from. Obama is ushering in the new Era, black or not change will take place with Obama, history will repeat with Hillary
Posted by: TechronSadosa | 08 May 2008 at 05:20 PM
Uh, crat3? Shut. Up.
Posted by: Bosnia Calling | 08 May 2008 at 05:18 PM
What does 'experience' mean when you apply for the presidency of the united states? Did Ronald Reagan have that so called experience? What is really needed is charisma,integrity, good judgment and a solid team of consultants.Hilary has ran a very poor campaign and has allowed Obama to grab the spot. Had she done a better Job, she would have nailed the nomination. Obama, regardless of the colour of his skin had a better plan.
Posted by: Paul | 08 May 2008 at 05:18 PM
Obama does not have the requisite number of delegates for the presidential nomination; he has no presumptive lock on the nomination. The Democratic nomination process calls for all states to vote and if the candicates come up short on the delegates, then the superdelegates must select the best experienced, qualified candidate for the presidency using their independent judgment and that is Sen. Hillary Clinton. This is a selection process based on the criteria of qualifications - there is no "backroom deal" about that.
Obama is simply inexperienced and unqualified for the presidency - he should get no free pass because of his skin color and black racism that has given him several victories over Sen. Clinton.
Posted by: crat3 | 08 May 2008 at 04:31 PM