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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Do we have a Clinton dropout date?

Updated/Corrected//Cleaned up post.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will endorse Senator Barack Obama on Saturday, bringing a close to her 17-month campaign for the White House, aides said. Her decision came after Democrats urged her Wednesday to leave the race and allow the party to coalesce around Mr. Obama.....

One adviser said Mrs. Clinton would concede defeat, congratulate Mr. Obama and proclaim him the party’s nominee, while pledging to do what was needed to assure his victory in November.


Two thoughts. One nice, one not so nice.

First, I really do think she should suspend rather than abandon her campaign. I think she should carry her delegates to the convention and I think they should be called out. I think that would be a great moment about the Democratic party and, to some degree, it would pay her her due as a historic candidate.

Second, on CNN, some of the Clinton supporting analysts were talking about the need for Clinton to stretch this exit into many events (weeks?) so she could "bring her people around." One very important element of this process is that she step back and cede the floor. After Saturday, Hillary Clinton should no longer be the story.

Later: Thinking overnight, I think it would be a really good thing for Dems everywhere (alot of the figures of the party) to use this time to tribute her historic run.

5 Comments:

  • I agree to some degree with your victory lap comment, but Hillary has been anything BUT transparent in her intentions. If fact I'll be surprised if she goes so far as to endorse Obama unequivocally. My guess is she'll say some nice things about Obama, but still toss out a few ambiguous comments and code phrases...

    We'll see. I think the degree to which Clinton shows fulsome support for Obama will be a direct indication as to how hard her "congressional colleagues" twisted her arm.

    By Blogger -epm, at 6:53 PM  

  • I think she has to endorse wholeheartedly. I think she caught the backlash today from her to coy speech last night.

    Now, it does sound like she's going to try and stretch all this out over some time (because it's all about her, right?) but, to me, it does sound like she finally hears what's being said outside her bubble.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 9:11 PM  

  • She shouldn't have no longer been the story the moment Obama hit the magic number of delegates.

    She's sucking the air out of a milestone in hour history - the nomination by a major party of a black man for president. That should be the story, but instead it's all Hillary, all the time.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:42 AM  

  • Well, Hillary's candidacy is an historic milestone too. Granted, I think she and her campaign handled things poorly -- ranging from low-ball to down right destructive at times -- but let's not forget that she is not only the first female candidate to be a serious contender, she's also the first First Lady to run for president. There's a lot of history there (and baggage too).

    By Blogger -epm, at 6:41 AM  

  • Abi, generally agreed, however, this several days of dropping out with its clear intention will do no harm.

    To me the challenge to his win was an issue, but this isn't at all.

    Frankly, I kind of like the idea of her taking a lap here.

    ....

    EPM, agreed. She is a historic figure who ran a historic candidacy, and highlighting that, to my mind, is a very good thing.

    Again, so long as it's done in the right way.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 7:38 AM  

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