Hill's Out! Now What's Her Game?

Hillary Clinton put her campaign on hold today and endorsed Barack Obama for President. So ended the candidacy of the "inevitable nominee."

She thanked her supporters and forced us to endure several minutes of a monologue where she spoke as if her life's mission was to help those left behind by the current President. I doubt even her strongest supporters truly believed that. Political ambition and power are what motivate the Clintons. That attribute in them is exceeded only by their narcissisim.

When she got around to speaking nicely of Obama and endorsing him, it looked like she was chewing on green persimmons. Do not be fooled by the nice words; there is still bad blood between these two, their families, and their camps. It was a bruising campaign and neither camp is ready to forgive and forget.

This leaves the question open as to what the Clintons' [the plural was on purpose] intentions are now. There is little doubt that Hillary would like to be on the ticket as Obama's VP. There is also no doubt that Obama does not want her but can he hold her off? It is a testimony to the weakness of Obama that we wonder if Hillary can force herself onto the ticket.

Many Democrats see the combo ticket as the "dream team." I'm sure Obama sees it as a dream also...a nightmare. If elected, he could never trust her and Bill and, be sure, Bill comes with the package. They would be continually scheming behind his back rather than being the team players that the VP role requires. It is hard to see such a ticket coming together after such a difficult fight.

Much has been made of how Ronald Reagan took George H. W. Bush as his running mate after a tough campaign but it was not nearly as nasty as the Clinton-Obama slugfest. The Clinton team felt it was "their turn" and they have great anger at the Obama camp and the major media who were in the tank for him. It is hard to see this couple kissing and making up for the good of the Democrat party.

If Hillary does not get on the ticket, and I think that will be the case, what then will she do? It is hard to see her and Bill swallowing their pride and going on the stump for Obama. My guess is they will do the absolute minimum of support for Obama, continue to promote themselves, and hope for an Obama loss so she can run in 2012.

Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush came together in 1980 because they truly believed that the most important thing was for the Republicans to win. For the Clintons, the most important thing is that they win with party loyalty and what's best for the country coming in last.

--Submitted by B. Bryant

She Misspoke...Why Not?

Much is being made of Hillary Clinton's "Bosnia-gate" incident. As most know now, Hillary claimed to have come under sniper fire while visiting Bosnia as First Lady. Her words were:

I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.

The revelation that is coming from CBS and other mainstream media outlets is that the alleged event never happened. In reality, Hillary's "running" amounted to a calm walk from the C-17 transport where she met a group of dignitaries and listened to a Muslim girl reading a poem.

As is often the case with the Clintons, the real story is not the story being told by the media. The story is not that Hillary (or Bill) would lie to embellish their credentials, defend their conduct, or attack their opponents. The real story is that the mainstream media actually did follow-up research on her statement and exposed it for the lie that it was.

Many wonder, "Why would Hillary Clinton tell such a transparent lie in such a public forum?" My answer is...why not? Lying for political gain is the Clintons' stock-in-trade. They have continually done it because it works for them. In the past, they had little to fear because the corrupt media had no desire to expose their lies and therefore hurt them politically. Bill Clinton could speak of defending the constitution while defending himself from perjury and obstruction of justice charges and the media gives him a pass. Hillary could talk about her vast experience and no one in the media could seem to do any research...until now.

What has changed is not that the mainstream media has returned to old-fashioned journalism but rather that they now have a new darling. They are waving the Obama pom poms now. Obama is the fresh face while the Clintons are old news and represent an older, more "political" era. How else can you explain the rapidity with which the Jeremiah Wright controversy died or the fact that the media has "discovered" that the Clintons will do anything to win?

Why would Hillary lie? Why not? Under the old math, she had little to fear. Hillary's great error was in not realizing that the rules had now changed.

-- Submitted by B. Bryant

Decision...Obama

Hillary Clinton came out fast Tuesday night. At the first bell, she threw her best punch of victimhood from the hip with the intent of turning the contest to her favor from the get-go. She landed only air and this would set the tone for the entire fight. The early rounds consisted of Clinton attempting amateurish haymakers in the hope of landing the knockout punch she sorely needed. However, in each case, Obama deftly sidestepped the punches and effectively countered with quick jabs and short rights to Clinton's most vulnerable area, her credibility.

Clinton's inability to land in the early rounds seemed to take the steam out of her. She continued to pursue Obama in the middle and later rounds but with much less intensity. Obama, after building up his early lead, was content to box the remaining rounds. Clinton continued in pursuit but was unable to land any effective punches while Obama continued his effective fight of maneuver and short counters. The bout ended with Obama hugging Clinton and congratulating her on her effort while it was obvious to all that he had won a comfortable decision.

The fight that I described would certainly have been more entertaining than the debate that occurred. Hillary Clinton knew that she needed a big win to turn back Barack Obama's momentum and give her a chance to win the nomination. However, all of her attacks seemed small and petty.

She began by complaining that she always seemed to get the first question in the debates. She attacked Obama for his flyer in Ohio that criticized her health care plan, trying to imply that Obama's campaign standards were below hers (imagine that!). To this, Obama pointed out that his campaign's mailouts were very similar to the ones that the Clinton campaign had sent out criticizing him. He then added, "you don't see me whining about it." This pretty much set the tone for the early part of the debate.

After the first break, the debate seemed to settle down with neither side doing much more than defending their respective positions. Mrs. Clinton, needing something big, came away with nothing. Instead, she may have lost votes by her early attacks which gained no traction and rather made her look like the desperate politician that she is.

One of the interesting things about this debate was watching Sen. Clinton's eyes while Obama was speaking. There seemed to be there a combination of hatred and fascination. Hatred because he was beating her when she thought she was unbeatable. Fascination because nothing that she was doing could dent his armor. Obama has proven to be the perfect opponent to beat Hillary, much like Holyfield was to Tyson. He can effectively defend against her attacks and turn her weaknesses against her. As D. B. Jackson wrote, Hillary's attempt at making herself the victim was ineffective against Obama's superior victim status.

Personally, I think the contest is over now. Clinton had been fading in both Texas and Ohio before the debate. I expect this to increase and for Obama to take both states. Certainly, Hillary will not achieve the margin of victory that she needs to stay in the race.

It is not a question of if, but when.

-- Submitted by B. Bryant

The Perfect Storm

It was not supposed to happen this way for the Democrats. This was supposed to be a coronation, not a contest. Clintonista Terry McAuliffe, as Democrat Party chair, engineered the front-loading of the primary system that was supposed to deliver the nomination to Senator Clinton and then give her ample time to mount an early Presidential campaign against the Republicans. What is it they say about the plans of mice and men?

The Democrats have a contest on their hands and a perfect storm brewing. Their practice of proportional delegate distribution coupled with the closeness of the race between Obama and Clinton virtually ensures that neither candidate will have a majority of the elected delegates by the time of their convention in late August. This would lead to two things, a fight over the discounted Michigan and Florida delegates and a possible nomination decision by a set of unelected political delegates (super-delegates), over seven hundred of them in all.

This potentially puts the Democrats in the place that they decidedly do not want to be, fighting one another on the eve of beginning a campaign against a somewhat united Republican party. The options are numerous and none of them are good…for the Dems, that is. If the nomination is decided by a cadre of political hacks, there will certainly be anger and frustration on the losing side. If the losing side happens to have gone into the convention with the most elected delegates, that anger will turn to a white-hot fury that will doom the Dems election chances in November.

If Hillary Clinton loses the nomination, no one expects her to take the Mitt Romney high road. Such a classy move is not in the Clinton playbook. The Clintons will likely initiate legal action to have the Michigan and Florida delegates included. They will not go quietly into the night but will risk burning the whole house down rather than admitting defeat. As was said, all the available options spell trouble for the Dems in November.

As a Republican, I am, of course, delighted by this turn of events. I also want to speak to my fellow conservative Republicans. Let us come together behind our eventual nominee, Sen. John McCain. I have disagreed with him on several issues but he is infinitely preferable to the Democrat alternative. Let the Dems fight it out in August and go into November divided. Let us, as Republicans, as believers in free markets and of the freedom of the individual, go into November united, determined to keep this great nation going in the direction of freedom and prosperity.

It is our choice. Let us choose rightly.

-- Submitted by B. Bryant