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Obama's Clinton problem
Despite several public appearances and speeches, Hillary Clinton has failed to convince many of her staunchest supporters that the race is over, that Barack Obama is (and deserves to be) the nominee, and that we need to get behind him in order to prevent four more years of McBush.
How did it happen?
As long ago as April 1, it was obvious to anyone who crunched the numbers that Obama was going to be the nominee. If Clinton had ended her campaign then, or shortly afterward (perhaps after the Pennsylvania primary on April 22), we wouldn't be having this problem. Instead, she ratcheted up the divisive rhetoric, pushed for every vote, and insisted for two and a half months that she, and not Obama, deserved the nomination. It was, to say the least, incredibly selfish, and we may pay the price come November. The result was a cadre of near-fanatical delegates and voters (a sizable percentage of the electorate, according to the polls) who would have given Obama a double-digit lead, but instead may stay home on election day.
Hillary Clinton, and her husband, have one chance to make things better. They have speeches to give at the convention, during which there is still a possibility of convincing enough of her supporters to recommit their efforts to getting Obama elected in November. They had better succeed.
I Totally Agree With You
In addition, had Hillary ended her campaign after Pa she would have had less of a debt than she does now. Her and Bill expect everyone to pay off the debt when they should have been out of the race at least 7 weeks before the last primary.
All I know is both Hillary and Bill better give speeches that will redeem then in the eyes of those of us who knew in early April (and before) that she didn't stand a chance. Tell you what, if they don't do that and if we lose in November she'd better not try for a comeback in 2012.
Mission accomplished
here we are two days later, and the consensus seems to be that Hillary, at least, has done the necessary and maybe even a bit more than that. I'm not totally surprised. The woman is nothing if not a consummate pro. I'd have been happier if she'd vigorously repudiated those ads she did for McCain back during the primary.
I wish I had as much confidence in her more talented but less mature husband; apparently he decided that just because everyone else will be speaking on national security tonight is no reason why he should. Instead, he'll be speaking about the economic triumphs of the Clinton Era.
I noticed a flurry of people on DailyKos deciding to send contributions to help retire her debt, most for the first time, so she knows damn well both of the points that Rosalie made above. I still feel I have better places to put my modest resources.