Here's what's really been bugging me over the last few weeks (or is it months now?). 

I know Hillary is sincere in thinking she is the stronger candidate. 

I'm sure Tanya Harding was sincere in thinking she was the better skater.

But when Tanya decided to "help" the world see this by planning a debilitating attack on Nancy Kerrigan, the world cried "foul"!

Can you imagine if people's reaction had been: "Wow!  She's a real fighter!  You've got to respect that!"?

I cannot imagine that.

Hillary has lost the race.  But by not conceding--by continuing to state that she's the stronger candidate--she continues to deepen the divisions she sparked by appealing to identity politics in the first place.  And the longer she does this, the more she will see "evidence" that she is right.

She really is like Tanya Harding.  She takes her sledgehammer to Barack's knee and then says: "See?  He's limping!  How is he gonna beat McCain in November?" 

How do we stop this?  We need to win in November.  I don't give a darn that Hillary wants to be president.  She had her shot and she lost.  How long will the party allow this to continue?  Can anyone stop her? 

I do not want to live in her world of perpetual drama, victimization and polarization.  Somebody please make it stop!

At least at the time of posting.

http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USDC0001.html

I am worried.  I am worried about the possibility that if those of us who are Obama supporters remain in our "polite and welcoming" mode, Hillary Clinton may end up benefitting from her bad behavior and our post hoc outrage, as genuine as it will be, will come after a bad and wrong decision has already been made--in other words:  Too Late.

Let's assume that the DNC's primary concern, as between Obama and Clinton, is not who won "fair and square," but which candidate will be stronger against McCain in November.

Let's further assume that what with all of the below the belt and divisive tactics Hillary has been deploying, but particularly, her inciting of her women supporters in the last few days, current polls actually DO record a "jump" in her numbers and a "fall" in his numbers against McCain. 

Will the party leadership consider these numbers to be "concrete" evidence that she is the stronger candidate (as she is claiming), rather than recognizing that current polls are totally meaningless? 

If they do take the poll #s at face value, then we will have the outrageous situation in which one contestant purposely harms the other, and then says:  "Look!  I'm stronger than he is!" 

It is sickening to me.  Notwithstanding Obama's request that his supporters avoid the Rules meeting this weekend, I think Obama's supporters need to register their own outrage at what Hillary is doing with superdelegates and the party leadership before it is somehow too late.

If DNC members and superdelegates are truly receiving a deluge of correspondence from passionate HRC supporters, but not receiving an equally powerful deluge from Obama supporters, they might subconsciously become convinced that HRC's case is somehow "legitimate."  (I have heard that the perspective of those within the beltway can be completely screwed up.)

To those of you who wouldn't mind seeing this contest end sooner rather than later, the Washington State Democrats provide this link that actually invites readers to lobby uncommitted superdelegates:

http://www.wa-democrats.org/superdelegates

Please do not hesitate to follow it and write to them!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/21/AR2008052102424_Comments.html

"The record suggests that if Clinton is not the nominee, no woman will seriously contend for the White House for another generation."

Umm, which record is that?

Let's be honest:  Most people, if asked, would be hard pressed to say what MAN should be president in 2012 too.  That doesn't mean no eligible men are on the horizon, it's just that it's too speculative a question to produce an easy answer.

I myself have never said: "not THIS woman."  But I will tell you that my excitement over our party's embarrassment of riches, which I truly felt back in March of 2007, has altogether dissipated.

I am not clear on your use of the word "platitude," but one thing is very clear to me:  It is completely unfair to suggest that every time anyone says they would love to vote for a woman, just not "this" woman, it's just a proxy for sexism. 

Seriously.  Just as you undoubtedly think there are plenty of legitimate reasons not to support Barack Obama, there are plenty of us who are level-headed and rational in our lack of support for Hillary Clinton. 

That you suggest otherwise, and with no irony, is indicative to a lot of us (the other 17 million, perhaps) of the "old politics of division" that we are trying to get away from. 

One of the best things about America is that it is a nation that prospers and holds together, notwithstanding that it is home to a huge diversity of ideas and people.  Try living in any other country (even Canada), and I think you will soon begin to miss our uniquely American investment in each person's "right to be heard" and in our belief that if we care enough, we can change the world.  You'll miss it even though you may have wondered a million times why somebody like Rush Limbaugh shouldn't just be thrown in jail.

I think what is so appealing to a lot of us about Obama is that his approach to politics is one that is genuinely sensitive to the differences that divide us, and correctly recognizes that our country's fundamental tolerance of differing viewpoints is the touchstone of its greatness. 

To those of us who feel this way deeply, the Clinton approach, which seems to be "If not me, Hillary Clinton, then no democrat should be president!" is deeply offensive and philosophically troubling.

We don't all subscribbe to "identity politics" or the politics of "I'm 100% right and you're 100% wrong."  Some of us support a truly progressive agenda, but would still choose to be respectful of our fellow citizens who really strongly and in good faith disagree with us. 

I know that I would have zero problem voting for a woman, just as I will have less than zero problem voting for a black man this year. Identity politics aren't important to me one way or the other even though I am a 40 something Asian American woman.  I just want Barack Obama to be our president because he is the strongest candidate I have seen in my lifetime.