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A Good Place to be
Hillary has positioned herself as the nominee of the party and has openly endorsed her "buddy" John McCain. It's quite normal to drop a jaw or even be disgusted with her for such an open endorsement against her party pal.
However her clawing at victory is not something that should deflate or offend Mr. Obama because these recent statements give him a chance to get back on message. That message is to denounce and reject the status quo.
Hillary's rant about her and McCain having crossed the threshold should be denounced and rejected as washed up politics and a return to the politics of yesteryear.
It gives Mr. Obama the opportunity to run on the tracks that he created and be the sole runner on his tracks. Hillary's recent statements are her admission that she is no agent of change and she is not interested in change. It is quite clear that she intends to keep the status quo and the old buddy system in place.
She has provided the fodder for Mr. Obama to regain his voice and the tools with which to close her campaign. He needs to take hold on this moment and go with it to the end.
Of course I find it despicable that she could be so blatant in her endorsement of her buddy McCain against her party-mate in the midst of the election cycle. However it must be understood that this is politics and "by any means necessary" is still the mantra of many desperate politicians.
In this case however, it could be a great opening for Mr. Obama if he dares to fly through it. For him, it is a good place to be!
Comments (1)
Good point, and a nice reminder that Obama and his supporters mustn't lose their heads and their focus on their best and most effective message. That's exactly what Clinton (and McCain) wants them to do.
Still, I think that the Clintonian strategy puts Obama in a pretty dicey position, insofar as he really can't afford to just ignore the slime, lest he play into the hands of those who are trying to push the narrative that he is some sort of a detached idealist and political neophyte who doesn't know how to handle himself in the cold, harsh world. So he has to push both messages at the same time - he has to not just claim, but demonstrate, that he is perfectly capable of rasslin' in the mud, but also that he is nonetheless above the fray and capable of disarming his opponents by changing the very frame of the debate.
That's a pretty tough row to hoe...
March 6, 2008 10:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
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