May 8, 2008

The Clintons Are In Denial

The Nation: N.Y. Senator Should Recognize The Inevitable And Bring This Campaign To An End

  • Play CBS Video Video Clinton Ignores Calls To Quit

    Despite a growing chorus for her to bow out of the race, Sen. Hillary Clinton says she will press on in her quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Joel Brown reports.

  • Video Dems Flee Clinton Bandwagon

    Prominent Democrats and political strategists are calling for Sen. Hillary Clinton to drop her bid. She vows to continue her campaign until there is a clear nominee. Jim Axelrod reports.

  • Video Swaying The Superdelegates

    Sen. Hillary Clinton hopes superdelegates will choose her as the Democratic nominee. But where does their support lay? Maggie Rodriguez speaks with two uncommitted superdelegates.

(The Nation)  This column was written by Tom Hayden.
Barack Obama got his game back. Hillary Clinton needs a reality check.

Barack had the voters at his back against all the forces trying to bring him down. He held his lead in North Carolina, and only the Rush Limbaugh Republican vote stands between Barack and victory in Indiana.

Hillary needed two wins. She failed utterly. But she will not stop, not on her own.

The superdelegates should intervene and send Hillary a message. Out now.

If they don't, the supporters of Obama should step up their persuasion on those still-undeclared superdelegates to recognize the inevitable and bring this campaign to an end.

Supporters of John Edwards should push their former candidate to release his pledged delegates now, a move that might make the difference as early as this week.

Progressives should intensify the counterattack against Clinton's smear campaign against Barack's character and bogus arguments for recognizing Michigan and Florida, sending the message that her campaign tactics risk a massive defection of the disillusioned in November.

It must be understood that at least not on their own. Left to their own repetitive patterns, they will step up the attempt to damage Barack Obama so that he is rendered unelectable in the minds of the superdelegates. At the very least, beginning this week, this may mean an assault on Bill Ayers, the Weather Underground, and a twisted depiction of Obama's history of statements on the Palestinians. (On this latter point, they can run commercials of Clinton kissing Yasser Arafat's wife, perhaps coupled with footage of her landing under "sniper fire" in Bosnia. Bloggers may have to carry these messages, since Obama won't.)

The Obama forces cannot (and will not) coast to victory. In terms of issues, they should intensify the focus on the Clinton proposal for "massive retaliation" and "obliteration" against Iran on behalf of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. That was front-page news in Toronto yesterday while receiving zero attention in the New York Times and CNN. Barack should take up Robert Kennedy's 1968 anti-poverty mission in West Virginia. Finally, his campaign needs to build firewalls in Oregon, Montana and South Dakota to maintain his lead.


By Tom Hayden
Reprinted with permission from The Nation.



If you like this article, check out www.thenation.com for more investigative reports, timely editorials and incisive columns

Add a Comment See all 45 Comments
by janebug1 May 11, 2008 6:12 PM EDT
Maybe the Dems Ted Kennedy and the others who are endorsing Obama are insanely jealous to see a woman be president.
My heart goes out to Hillary, a true American who is fighting for us.
Watch God help her in an unusual way.
Reply to this comment
by janebug1 May 11, 2008 6:08 PM EDT
The Dems don''t care what we think, it is all about them. They claim they care about the good of the party. There is NO way I would vote for Obama.
There is NO way he can win.
They MUST know this, they can''t be that dumb! Or are they?
When one actually gets physically ill with a candidate as I do with Obama, then we are in real trouble. Because I have no doubt there are millions out there who feel as I do.
The Dems are actually endorsing a bad man.
God, oh God please help America and don''t let this evil come into out nation.
Help us Lord, we need you desperately to intervene and save America.
Fight for America God and save us from nominating or electing an anti-American man.


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by janebug1 May 11, 2008 6:00 PM EDT
I''m a long life democrat. If the dems choose Obama I will never vote democrat again. He is inexperienced, tied to shady people and endorses Farrakhan.
I am not Black.
I think it is totally unfair that the blacks are voting simply to get a black man in the WH, no matter if he is qualified or not.
Any right thinking person knows he is not qualified.
God help us as never before!!!
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by messiahx4eve May 11, 2008 8:50 AM EDT
Every time I see Obama under that sign BELIEVE, the middle word in it stands out BE(LIE)VE. If that is NOT a sign of whats to come than god is truly dead.Perhaps CORPORATE AMERICA has the REAL answer as to why Obama and NOT Hillary? After all, they pick and choose while staging EVERY SINGLE ELECTION from WWII on.
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by ranger1948 May 11, 2008 3:10 AM EDT
anyone see that snake obamawhamma ? I have been looking under every rock.
Reply to this comment
by magnetrack May 10, 2008 2:05 PM EDT
I can''t wait to hear the the drumbboat of the Swift Beaters from June to November as they pound out the cadence of 20 years with the anti-white Wright, the money Obama collected for the Palestinians with Ayers and Khalidi, the committee on Afghnaistan that Obama never acted on and the Larry Sinclair story in the limo. The Democrats are always so determined to go down in the flames of idealistic fantasy. I really don''t understand why we have to go through this over and over and over.
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by ranger1948 May 10, 2008 5:06 AM EDT
If hillary does nothing else i hop[e she drags the democratic all the way down. IF they nominate obama that is what they deserve. We will be fighting terrorists in the streets here when he gets into office.
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by ranger1948 May 10, 2008 5:03 AM EDT
Clintons in denial ? LOOK AT BUSH AND HIS REGIME AND CONGRESS THAT IS REAL DENIAL.
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by glock4me May 10, 2008 12:29 AM EDT
Bill Clinton was in Denial once... at least he thinks that stripper''s name was Denial.
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by alanrobisch May 9, 2008 10:20 PM EDT
But to hell with what the majority of American''''s really want. If it is not what the government wants then they will just change the rules. Hillary please help this country we desperately need you!!!!!!!


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Posted by prowlin4fun at 07:04 PM : May 09, 2008
+ report abuse
How can you be so totally ignorant. She agreed to the decision to not count florida and michigan by national party. She now finds it necessary to pull them in to win. she''s playing both ends against the middle. when it was convenient to go along she did expecting to win without them. Now that they are her only hope she wants to change the rules. If you think she is breath of fresh air, you would think a outhouse smells good.
Reply to this comment
by prowlin4fun May 9, 2008 10:04 PM EDT
Hillary is not in denial....She is well aware that this is a politically corrupt government. If Michigan and Florida voters were not denied out constitutional right to vote she would be ahead. But ya know who ever cushions the back pocket of some disison maker can cause some debacle that forces the voters to not be heard. My stomach turns everytime I hear someone say Florida doesn''t count!!!! And that includes the Early Show that will NEVER be allowed to play in my house. I believe that every person in this country should have an equal vote. If we had a fair system there would be no question Hillary would have won. But to hell with what the majority of American''s really want. If it is not what the government wants then they will just change the rules. Hillary please help this country we desperately need you!!!!!!!
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by johngaltwho May 9, 2008 4:32 PM EDT
Hillary is right - she does have a better chance at beating McCain. Unfortunately, her campaign has alienated every African-American through its racist overtones while her incessant lies have made her a pariah to many voters who value integrity. Glad I''m an independent and not a democratic superdelegate.
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by johngaltwho May 9, 2008 4:23 PM EDT
Hillary just needs to get out of the way so we can run the real experiment. Can a youthful intelligent black man be elected in a general election running against an older white washington insider? I doubt it. I think on the merits, Obama would win (ie people voting based on issues, character...) but when you put together a coalition of moderates and conservatives who prefer McCain based on ideology and add to that the racist and the ignorant, the scales tip in McCain''s favor but it''s still a race worth running. Obama for president...
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by wooleywews May 9, 2008 4:17 PM EDT
I am sure those wishing to have Hillary end her campaign are Obama supporters who fear that Obama can not win in November. McCain said it was up to Huckabee to campaign till he decided to end his campaign. Those that want Hillary to end her campaign should turn their energy to the%u201D why%u2019%u2019 they are afraid Hillary is hurting Obama. Obama will most likely win the nomination but the reason Obama supporters fear Hillary is the obstacle Obama has to overcome in the general election.
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by jimreyna242 May 9, 2008 3:28 PM EDT
Forget waiting until all the votes are counted. Clinton has outted herself as lying scum and that should be all the encouragement required for the undeclared superdelegates to do the right thing now.
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by johngaltwho May 9, 2008 3:18 PM EDT
Poor poor Hillary. She doesn''t know how to stop and there''s no one around her that she can trust. Mark Penn? that idiot thought California was winner take all and she owes him millions of dollars. Howard Wolfson? he''s busy trying to sell a tell-all book about her disastrous campaign. Bill? yeah - he''s trustworthy... Maybe Chelsea can do it. Yes Chelsea should do it.

Chelsea - sit your mother down on mother''s day, tell her you love her and you''re proud of her and that its time for her to end it. Tell her its over. It would be the best mother''s day present you could give her.
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by sebastian27-2009 May 9, 2008 3:12 PM EDT
I have never been entralled with Hillary, and though I voted for Bill twice, I have lost confidence in him representing the "little man" BUT I can''t help but wonder if some of these voices calling for her to get out have ulterior motives. Are they afraid that we may get some more bad news about Barack that would make him unelectable? Or do they represent some devious folks that KNOW that she would stand a better chance of beating McCain and don''t want that. Ah politics!
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by tejasdemo May 9, 2008 2:13 PM EDT
Today ? She is plotting what body part to rip from Obama right now. She will then take it and fly to West Texas. Then she will burn it at a good ''ol fashioned Texas BBQ all the while telling the cowboys she has new spurs for all who vote for her.

Dont take the bait Obama. Just ignore her. Women hate that.
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by joecoolswat May 9, 2008 1:19 PM EDT
Don''t forget the Clinton''s old "scorched earth" policy, she will take him and anyone down with her....Howard Dean and the DNC needed to discount the votes of Michigan and Florida, in order to get Obama nominated. Why won''t they have a re-vote ? Because they know they need to discount these states, if Obama has any chance of winning the Nomination.
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by joecoolswat May 9, 2008 1:16 PM EDT
HILLARY - STAY IN THE RACE !!! please keep tearing each other to shreds all the way up to the convention in August.....Please keep doing the Republican''''s dirty work....Then the republican''''s will have 7 months to campaign and the Democrats only 60 days.....How''''s it feel to not even have a nominee, so close to the election? LMAO
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