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Hillary Clinton Close To Conceding

May 11, 2008

By David Nason

Not so long ago, the race for the Democratic presidential nomination was dominated by talk of Hillary Clinton's mental toughness and fighting qualities. One critic even referred to the former first lady's "testicular fortitude".

But at a Mother's Day function in New York yesterday, Senator Clinton's hardball approach was suddenly missing, raising speculation she is ready to abandon her campaign and cede Barack Obama the victory that everyone else knows he's won.

The shift in Senator Clinton's demeanour came on a day when Senator Obama finally took the lead in the super delegate count, leaving his rival without a single valid statistic to justify her continued candidacy.

With just a handful of primaries to go, Senator Obama leads in the four key measuring sticks - total votes cast, pledged delegates, super delegates and the number of states won.

"He (Senator Obama) leads in every important metric in this race right now," former Bill Clinton press svengali George Stephanopoulos said on Good Morning America.

"He is consolidating this victory, moving toward unifying the party, and really not looking back."

The reality of this seemed to weigh on Senator Clinton at New York's Sheraton Midtown hotel where her stump speech, delivered to an audience that included many of her closest supporters, had the feel of a farewell.

Lines like "stay with me, this is a great adventure" were still there but lacked the conviction of the recent past.

Instead, Senator Clinton spoke at length on the need for healing in the Democratic Party and avoided her past references to Senator Obama's lack of political judgment and unsuitability for the White House.

"I want you to know how grateful I am for your support and how much you have sustained me throughout this campaign. It has been a joy," Senator Clinton said.

"We will have a unified Democratic Party and we will stand together and we will defeat John McCain in November and we will go on to the White House."

Officially Senator Clinton is still on the campaign trail and, despite her campaign's huge money worries, she is expected to score a handsome victory in this week's West Virginia primary.

But there is mounting speculation she could use the West Virginia result to leave the campaign in a blaze of glory.

While this would allow Senator Obama to focus his energies on beating presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November, the issue of the vice-presidency could still prove divisive.

The Democratic Party machine is anxious to see a Obama-Clinton ticket because it would maximise the Democrat voter turnout in November, when congressional elections will be held alongside the presidential runoff.

With the Democrat's primary-season turnout outstripping the Republicans three to one in many states, an Obama-Clinton ticket could deliver the Democrats congressional majorities of historic proportions.

But it's unclear whether Senator Obama would have Senator Clinton as a running-mate and equally unclear whether Senator Clinton would accept if she were offered the post.

According to veteran Washington insider Robert Novak, the issue is already settled because Senator Obama's wife has all but vetoed an invitation to Senator Clinton.

Writing on RealClearPolitics.com at the weekend, Novak said "close-in supporters" of Senator Obama's were convinced that Michelle Obama would stop her husband offering Senator Clinton the job.

"The Democratic frontrunner's wife did not comment on other rival candidates for the party's nomination, but she has been sniping at Clinton since last summer," Novak wrote.

"According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility (to Senator Clinton)."

Among those believed to be under consideration is popular Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a Clinton supporter who would have been a hot favourite for the post had she won the nomination.

Not only is Ohio an important swing state, Mr Strickland is a former Methodist pastor whose religious credentials would help blunt the expected Republican attacks on Senator Obama's relationship with radical former Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright.

As a psychologist active in children's education, Francis Strickland, the Governor's wife, is also politically saleable.

Senator Obama's super delegate total had reached 274 yesterday, three ahead of Senator Clinton who led by more than 60 on Super Tuesday on February 5.

There are about 800 Democrat super delegates.

They comprise state and federal party officials and elected representatives, who are free to vote for whoever they like in the nominating process.

Source:  The Australian

Posted by Justin Thyme · Filed Under Hillary Clinton, News, Top Story 

Comments

3 Responses to “Hillary Clinton Close To Conceding”

  1. A.R. Morris on May 11th, 2008 2:28 pm

    The Politics of the Big Lie (vs. all the little lies)

    In the beginning, there was only Iowa. Iowa, innocent and unknown, was most likely tiring of all the political focus. Iowa was weary of the political saturation from the ceaseless efforts of ten presidential candidates, no twelve, okay, maybe more than a dozen. At some point Iowa just wanted it over. There were so many political ideas, ways of ‘getting IT done’, and ‘this is the right process’, that it was confusing. I mean they (the dozen or so presidential hopefuls) professed solutions that were in complete conflict with each other. They were downright divergent. They were ‘all the little lies’ to anyone who thought differently from whomever was espousing the idea or remedy of the day.
    So where is a ‘Big Lie’? Was there a ‘Big Lie’ too? Yes, it was in Iowa. It happened in December. It fell from the lips of the candidate who would later claim victory (albeit: the slimmest of victories, a meager third of the vote) in the Democratic Caucus. He said (and this is a quote from the NY Times), “….the only nuclear legislation that I’ve passed. I just did that last year….” (The Big Lie). This was in response to a discussion on leaks in Illinois of nuclear plant groundwater contamination. Nuclear contamination.
    Again, I quote the author, Mike McIntire from his February 3, 2008 article in the New York Times, titled, Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate.
    The Big Lie was told to a crowd in Iowa and was in response to nuclear plant regulation concerns. It went like this…

    “…Mr. Obama scolded Exelon and federal regulators for inaction and introduced a bill to require all plant owners to notify state and local authorities immediately of even small leaks. He has boasted of it on the campaign trail, telling a crowd in Iowa in December that it was “the only nuclear legislation that I’ve passed.”
    “I just did that last year,” he said, to murmurs of approval.

    A close look at the path his legislation took tells a very different story. While he initially fought to advance his bill, even holding up a presidential nomination to try to force a hearing on it, Mr. Obama eventually rewrote it to reflect changes sought by Senate Republicans, Exelon (contributed over $225,000 to Obama) and nuclear regulators. The new bill removed language mandating prompt reporting and simply offered guidance to regulators, whom it charged with addressing the issue of unreported leaks…”

    It is ‘The Big Lie’ because he never passed the legislation, many in Iowa believed him, and the Illinois senator was never quizzed about it. He then moved forward basing a part of his entire campaign on something he didn’t do, but said he did.
    To base your first win on ‘The Big Lie’ is to have the rest of your wins cast in that shadow of your ‘First Big Lie’. Judgment is critical to Senator Obama’s presidential hopes. He has little else, no bills or legislation of his own passed, no lengthy time in the US Senate, and maybe just his veracity as his only virtue. But where is that ‘good judgment’ if you told ‘The Big Lie’ first?

    By
    A. R. Morris

  2. Michelle63 on May 12th, 2008 5:25 pm

    Hillary who?

    Hillary Clinton is a hypocrite, deceitful, a spoiler, negative, feels entitled, desperate and wants to under mine Barack Obama so that she can run in 2012.

    Americans need a President that will bring about CHANGE IN WASHINGTON.

    “BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!

  3. Jane on May 12th, 2008 9:32 pm

    The people have spoken.
    Obama has won MORE STATES 2 to 1
    Obama has won MORE VOTES by 700,000.
    Obama has won MORE PLEDGED DELEGATES.
    Obama has won MORE SUPER DELEGATES.

    Terry McAuliffe claims Hillary will win back the popular vote after WV and KY. No worry, Oregon, North Dakota, and possibly Montana will take care of that. Adios to you Hillary and to your negative campaign.

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