June 2, 2008

What's the deal?

I've blathered enough about my thoughts on the Clinton campaign in posts and comments below. So here's your place to venture just what the hell you think Clinton is up to.

What does she want? What's she angling for?


And why is she and her campaign repeating with a straight face, including in ads, that she's gotten more votes than any other primary candidate in history, knowing that ONLY way this deceptive claim is conceivably true is:

-By counting votes cast in Michigan. Obama's name wasn't even on the ballot there, thus making the claim utterly ludicrous. And not only that, she's counting the votes cast for her, but utterly ignoring the fact that Obama would have gotten hundreds of thousands of votes HAD his name been on the ballot and if anyone thought the vote would count.

-Counting votes from the people of Puerto Rico, every single one of which can't vote in the presidential election. Votes? Yeah. Votes that repesent anything in the general election? No.

-And perhaps the most bizarre aspect of this truly strange calculus used to make this claim, Clinton simply declares that all the millions of votes cast in caucus states don't count. Yep. Every vote counted in caucus states, which surprise, surprise, went heavily to Obama, don't count. (despite the cry of "count all the votes", and attempts to make this a civil rights issue, etc. which has become their battle cry.)

If you step back and look at it, it's really beyond shameless. It's embarassing.

But what is it all for? She can't win.

So what is it that Clinton wants? What's she going to do ultimately? Is there any rhyme or reason to this? Is she trying to prove something? Is she, much like Bush and Co. and the war, simply too stubborn to quit even in the face of overwhelming evidence that victory is impossible and continuing the fight is both costly and futile?

Or does she feel that as a historic figure in women's political history, she has to fight to the bitter end to look good in the history books?

I'm utterly baffled, as to me, it's long past time when she could have, and should have, bowed out in the interest of party unity and risks hardening both factions further by insisting on taking things to the bitter end.

Pundits guess she wants to force Obama to make her his V.P. That doesn't seem likely, as I'm not sure she'd want it, and I'm not sure he'd think it was a great idea either.

They say she'll go for governor of New York, wants a seat on the Supreme Court, Attorney General, or is simply pathologically convinced she can somehow win the presidency.

Got any thoughts on all this? I'm stumped. I hope I'm just hyper-ventilating, and that everything will work out beautifully as I was confident it still could only a few weeks ago.

11 Comments:

At 6/02/2008 3:15 PM, Blogger Socialist Christian Hippie said...

When you're addicted to adulation it's hard to go cold turkey. Plus: You've got volunteers and professionals who are trying to pad their own resumes working hard for every last angle.

I have no problem with campaigning until the last minute. When the last minute comes on Tues. we'll see what happens. After tues. then I'll have a problem

 
At 6/02/2008 5:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

HRC goes to the convention and states that (1) she has won the most (popular) votes, (2) that she carried most of the significant states, (3) that Obama has been a sinking ship since mid-March, and (4) that Obama is behind in most all polls for November - all facts.

She presses the Superdelegates to switch over to her and she'll agree to put Obama on as VP - or, get this...

She'll run as an Independent!

(oh, what fun....)

 
At 6/02/2008 6:49 PM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

lefty...

Hillary is ahead in popular votes ... for one day. Otherwise, that claim is disingenous at best. (You'd count a territory of the U.S. that can not vote in the presidential election? Completely ignore all the caucus states?)

Obama is not a sinking ship, by the way. While he's been racking up dozens of superdelegates, Clinton has gotten barely a handful.

Your scenario is interesting, but delusional.

 
At 6/02/2008 7:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am not big “conspiracy theorist”, but here are my thoughts. The Democratic “Muckity Mucks” met a few years ago to brain storm who amongst them can withstand the thugs on the right. They knew they couldn’t send any polished gentlemen; they already tried with Al Gore and John Kerry. They needed a rough-neck but Bill Clinton couldn’t run again, so Hillary volunteered. She had couple things going for her; her resume looks good; she can stand the licking, she would make history (first female President) and her second in command would be Bill (an ex-President)--- it doesn’t get any better. She was anointed—they threw a few other guys to make the campaign look legitimate and of course let the “Young bright, Negro speak (he’s really good) the party will look progressive.

Well they misjudged how brilliant the “the young negro” really was. Hillary was and probably still is convinced that the Democratic Party powers will never renege on the original agreement, that’s why she continues with such assurance. I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys meet frequently to discuss how to stop Obama and assassination even mentioned, which is why that word came so free flowing from her lips during a time when it is supposed to be taboo. I am highly suspicious of some these party elders who haven’t endorsed Obama yet when their own constituents voted for him. Are they so scared of the Clintons or are they waiting for a nod from one or two Party Bosses?

 
At 6/02/2008 8:15 PM, Blogger nicodemus said...

Yeah, if Obama has this all sealed up, then why didn't he win Puerto Rico? If Obama is so popular, then why wasn't there this huge turnout in Puerto Rico and why didn't Obama win it?

I am not saying Puerto Rico is that important, but my point is that if Hillary is so irrelevant as everybody has been saying, then Hillary should have finished a distant second, like Ron Paul has in recent Republican contests.

This has not happened. It didn't happen in Puerto Rico and it didn't happen in Kentucky or West Virginia or Indiana. Yet, in spite of this, superdelegates have been piling on the Obama bandwagon. "Delusional" indeed!

 
At 6/03/2008 1:52 AM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

Nico,
I think where you jump the tracks is thinking that anyone is saying that Hillary is "irelevant". Quite the contrary.

I've not heard anyone make that argument.

What I'm saying at least, is that she can't win and is carrying this too far, or at least I was very concerned that this may turn out badly.

It appears now that she's finally going to at least quit the campaign later today or tomorrow. So FINALLY things can turn direction.

I'm not aware that anyone thinks Clinton is irrelevant. That would be unwise indeed.

In one respect, one example of the damage her continuing her campaign far past the point she should have bowed out (in my opinion) is that it's essentially wrecked any chance that they'd both share the same ticket. It's not impossible, but I simply can't imagine it happening now, due mainly to the fact Clinton choose to play hard and mean and rip on Obama to the very last minute.

 
At 6/03/2008 2:18 AM, Blogger jtizdal said...

There's a silly movie with Chris Rock, I can't remember the name, where he runs for president. He's winning so his opponent decides to leak that he might win so it could effect California in time. Then you hear music and see thousands of white people running down the street to vote. Again, silly movie, but I think there is a measurable "oh shit, a black guy could win this" factor in the three states you mentioned.

I never thought I'd be talking about Puerto Rico in the context of a US election but there are some things they need to look at down there. Bill Clinton and Hillary's outlandish claims of granting a vote in the EC to a territory nonwithstanding I wish it would have been closer. Maybe sending a Mexican-American (Bill Richardson) down to talk to Puerto Ricans pissed them off, who knows.

 
At 6/03/2008 2:30 AM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

tiz... it's funny you'd make a movie reference, as for about a week now, I can't get one out of my head.

It's the famous scene in Mel Brook's "Blazing Saddles", where the townspeople of a beleagered frontier town has sent off for a new sheriff to impose order on the town.

News spread that the sheriff would be arriving, and the townspeople came out in droves, with a stage built and bunting hung and dignitaries of the town eagerly awaiting the sheriffs arrival so they could officially welcome him to their town.

Someone spots the dust of an approaching horse in the distance and sounds the alarm that the sheriff is coming.

The band strikes up a ceremonial tune and people perk up, and the officials on the stand straighten themselve up and as the rider approaches, reads from a scroll in flowery language.

The official reads all the wherefores and thereases and by now the sheriff, who is black, has gotten up to the stand just as the official intones, "so we wish to extend the heartiest of welcomes to our new.........(glances up and sees the new sheriff, then says in shock) ..... nigger."

I'm sure that there were many who had the same reaction upon learning of Obama and that he had a shot at the presidency.

And I don't have any problem imagining many in the Republican establishment having the same sentiments when Obama is inaugerated.

 
At 6/03/2008 2:30 AM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

No nonsense,

For someone who supposedly doesn't do conspiracy theories, that sure was a whopper. You should write comic books.

 
At 6/03/2008 11:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

stranger things have happened dope, but with all that has happened you can't help but let the mind wander

 
At 6/05/2008 5:04 AM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

no nonsense,
You have an excellent point there.

Hillary now says she'll conceed on Friday. But I'm not going to believe it until I see and hear it.

 

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