The expanded version:

After the Geraldine Ferraro fiasco, it was uncertain where the HRC campaign was really at in terms of African-Americans.  However, her pronouncement, “Rev. Jeremiah Wright would not be my pastor,” amply demonstrates there is a race problem for the HRC campaign.

After the Geraldine Ferraro fiasco, it was uncertain where the HRC campaign was really at in terms of African-Americans.  However, her pronouncement, “Rev. Jeremiah Wright would not be my pastor,” amply demonstrates there is a race problem for the HRC campaign.

I've been trying to understand the supportive comments and supportive strategies for John McCain coming from from Clinton, Inc.

At first, I made the mistake of thinking it was something complex or, perhaps, incomprehesible.

But, today, I realized that own experience of growing "old" illuminates the truth: with John McCain in the WH, Hillary might still have some relevance in Democratic politics.  With Senator Obama in the WH, Hillary and other such old guard Democrats will no longer have any relevance in the Democratic Party.

It's not an easy thing to realize the "world" no longer revolves around you and that your next role in life is to be a good counselor to the next generation around whom the world revolves.

In this way, neither HRC, nor McCain, realize they are no longer the center of the political universe.  Essentially, both HRC and McCain are of the "don't trust anyone over 30" generation; now, they've changed their tune to, "don't trust anyone under 60."   It gives a whole new meaning to flip-flopping.

WHY HILLARY WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT


Part I

There is already much discussion of how Hillary Rodham Clinton lost the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. The answer is not complicated: 2004 & 2006. Due to her greatest weakness, her hyper-cautiousness, she made the political calculation not to challenge George W. Bush in 2004. Then, in 2006, both Bill & Hillary Clinton failed to understand the results of the we-want-real-change election -- It is almost breathtaking.

While the take-no-prisoners, the country-be-damned style of politics was alive and well in 2004, the election of 2006 demonstrably showed otherwise. It is these factors that has made Hillary’s 2008 campaign such a disaster as she flails about destroying the Democratic Party in the process. The above cited decisions and failures effectively ended any chance she ever had to become president of the United States. There will be a woman as President in the White House; but, it will not be Hillary Rodham Clinton.


Part II
 
2004: I would have energetically supported Hillary in 2004 for the reason she would have been the right person, at the right time, to address the country’s problems in 2004. We were still in the era of Baby Boomer, take-no-prisoners politics. Instead, we ended up with John Kerry, a horribly flawed candidate despite his many, many virtues. Hillary endorsed the loser, John Kerry.

Many progressives, like myself, looked on in horror as John Kerry was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004. Most of us had prayed for Hillary to run. She would have decisively defeated George W. Bush. The horror we experienced on election night in 2004 was nearly fatal for many progressives and taught younger voters a serious lesson: reject candidates still living in the 1960s. Knowing that, had Hillary run, she would have defeated George W. Bush left many Americans feeling betrayed by Clinton, Inc. And we were betrayed.

Thanks to Hillary’s temerity, we now have John Roberts as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and Samuel Alito as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; 4,000 dead American soldiers; 4 more years of Bush-McCain quagmire in Iraq; Osama living free; increasing economic equality; and an economy now heading into the worst recession since the Great Depression.

But, there was a glimmer of hope: Barack Obama, in 2004, outlined his extraordinary vision for America in the 21st century in a speech before the Democratic National Convention and then, subsequently, defeated his Republican challenger by over 70% of the vote in the Illinois U.S. Senatorial contest. Those general election results demonstrated his ability to attract progressive, independent, and reasonable GOP voters.

Hillary had her chance and she blew it (no pun intended).