Excellent essay, Sal, thanks. I'd personally like to come back to some positive perspective on Senator Clinton and this really provides me with a footing to that end.
Marek ** --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >  > NEWS | OPINIONS | SPORTS | ARTS & LIVING | Discussions | Photos & > Video | City Guide | CLASSIFIEDS |JOBS | CARS | REAL ESTATE > Post-Crucible Clinton > By E. J. Dionne Jr. > Tuesday, May 13, 2008; A15 > > Hillary Clinton still has a lot to win this year, but not the > presidency and not the vice presidency. > > With Barack Obama having effectively secured the Democratic > presidential nomination, it is hard for the Clinton camp to focus on > her successes in this contest. But Clinton now possesses strengths > she did not enjoy when the campaign began. > > She is, more than ever, her own person, having emerged decisively > from the shadow of her husband. Indeed, she did far better when Bill > Clinton played a supporting role than when he was out front, notably > during the disastrous South Carolina primary. There is now a Hillary > Clinton constituency in the Democratic Party distinct from the one > the former president built. > > Cartoonists and satirists mocked Hillary Clinton's incarnation as a > fighter for blue-collar voters. Yet those who know her well think the > fighting Hillary is closer to her self-image -- that of someone who > has had to overcome many blows in life -- than the inevitable nominee > who wove a web of entitlement around herself and ran on experience, > much of which was derivative of her husband's. > > The Hillary Clinton of the late primaries dispelled this portrait, > campaigning more on empathy than on résumé, and more on the problems > of today's economy than on her husband's economic achievements. > > And Clinton did her party and Obama a favor by focusing on the > Democrats' potential weaknesses among blue-collar whites. This > problem is not unique to Obama. Both Al Gore and John Kerry > underperformed with these voters, particularly among men. That Obama > has been pushed off his oratorical pedestal and encouraged to connect > with disaffected whites will save him trouble in the fall. Clinton, > widely seen as the champion of older, well-educated feminist women, > could be remembered as the politician who brought the party back to > its working-class roots. > > Yet these achievements have come at a high cost for Clinton, and a > $20 million campaign debt may be the least of her troubles. To > consolidate her gains while repairing the damage to her standing from > a bitter contest, she will have to abandon efforts to block Obama's > nomination. She can keep fighting, or she can become a powerful > figure in the Democratic Party. She cannot do both. > > In particular, where Clinton was once a largely unifying force within > her party (that, after all, was why her nomination had been seen as > inevitable), she is now far more divisive. Polling by the Pew > Research Center, for example, found that while Clinton enjoyed a > 67-32 percent favorable-to-unfavorable ratio among Obama supporters > in January, she is now viewed favorably by only 51 percent of Obama > supporters and unfavorably by 46 percent. > > Especially striking is the ground Clinton has lost among African > Americans, whom she once saw as a bulwark of her candidacy. In August > 2007, Pew found that Clinton was viewed favorably by 86 percent of > African Americans, including 44 percent who viewed her very > favorably. In its most recent survey, her favorability rating among > African Americans was down to 56 percent, including only 22 percent > who viewed her very favorably. > > For both Clintons, one of the most painful aspects of this campaign > has been their alienation from so many black voters. Any moves that > risk further divisions in the Democratic Party -- Hillary Clinton's > comment last week about Obama's weakness among voters who are "hard- > working" and "white" didn't help -- will aggravate a problem she > wants to go away. > > So would an orchestrated campaign by Clinton supporters to push Obama > hard to make her the vice presidential nominee. An aggressive > "Clinton for vice president" campaign would simply reopen fights that > are just ending and offer Obama two bad choices: either to look weak > by capitulating to pressure from the defeated wing of the party or to > look spiteful by refusing to take Clinton on. > > On the other hand, choosing a Clinton supporter as a running mate - - > the obvious possibilities are Govs. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and > Ted Strickland of Ohio or Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana -- could serve > Obama's interest while assuaging a certain sourness that lingers in > the Clinton camp. > > But the best antidote to this melancholy is for her supporters to see > that the Hillary Clinton who has emerged from these primaries is a > stronger and more independent figure than the candidate who once > hoped she could parlay the past into the White House. Her future > depends on discovering a new role, even if it is not the one she had > originally hoped to play. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > Post a Comment > > > > View all comments that have been posted about this article. > > > > Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other > inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. > Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by > someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we > will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting > standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies > governing this site. Please review the full rules governing > commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the > content that you post. > > © 2008 The Washington Post Company > > > Ads by Google > Hillary Campaign Website > Elect Hillary President of the United States. Contribute today! > www.HillaryClinton.com > "Barack Obama Exposed" > A Free special report on the real Barack Obama - get your copy today! > www.HumanEvents.com >
