The Political Fiend

Yesterday HRC lashed out at Barack Obama for distributing a leaflet that attacked her proposed health care program. If you missed the video of her reaction I’ll summarize it for you. She was mad, and she compared Obama’s tactics to those of Karl Rove. Yeah, that Karl Rove. Overboard? A little. Good strategy? Maybe. Irresponsible? 100%, straight up.

The other day Obama came out and said what we all pretty much figured. He said that if he’d lost the popular vote in as many states has Hillary has, he’d likely face intense pressure from the DNC to end his bid for the nomination. He’s probably right; Hillary’s got the seniority, so even though her campaign is sagging worse than your grandma’s jowls the DNC probably won’t start giving her the courtesy nudge until after Texas and Ohio are decided. Until then, she’s gonna have to self regulate.

This campaign is running long. Hillary’s bleeding money, and Obama’s going to have to save his dough for the General Race. Now that the primary season is nearing a wrap, Hillary better start making nice. Assuming that Obama goes on to win the nomination, Hillary’s recent antics might hinder his ability to take the White House. She’s already managed to make race an issue, criticized Obama’s “inexperience”, highlighted his borrowing of language, and is in the process of potentially alienating weak Democrats and independents by hunting for super delegates and Obama’s pledged delegates.

To make matters worse, everyone’s favorite election spoiler, Ralph Nader looks poised to toss his hat into the ring, to the likely detriment of the Democratic nominee. He’s got an interview with Tim Russert this weekend, so this might be the real deal. HRC had better reign it in; she’s got a legacy to protect, and the way I figure it, her core constituents aren’t gonna be too pleased if she blows a cloud of negativity around Obama, especially if it doesn’t dissipate by November.

Photo by Marc Nozell used under a Creative Commons license.

And so it’s come down to this. There are numerous states that have yet to hold their primary elections. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll all matter, but not in the way that anyone would normally hope. Clinton & Obama are just about neck and neck in this thing, and there are roughly about 1600 or so delegates up for grabs after yesterday’s primaries and caucuses. Unless something drastic happens, the two are likely to split the leftovers. So not much will change, unless the polls swing. Each victory from Super Tuesday onward is less about collecting new delegates as it is about impressing the 796 member super-delegate club, of which Bill Clinton happens to be a member.

The Democratic party’s super delegate system is insane, and needs to go away. Created in the 80’s it was intended to give 3rd party candidates a fair shot, even if they lost ever single primary & caucus. This year we’ll see that all the system actually does is allow ex-presidents, congressmen, and party loyalists to do the picking for us.

So not cool, DNC.