The Clinton Campaign's Final Chapter

Washington Post: Among Insiders, The Night Of May 6 Will Be Remembered As The Moment It Really Ended

(Washingtonpost.com)  Others did not begrudge Smith his determination to fight for all the resources he could muster from a team that believed the best outcome was holding Obama to a single-digit margin of victory. But the campaign's problems were compounded by the enthusiasm of the Clintons themselves, who thought they were making progress in the state. North Carolina, Hillary Clinton told an audience days before the primary, could be a "game-changer."

Nothing the campaign could say later could roll back her confidence.

What hurt her in North Carolina was a self-inflicted wound -- misstatements about a trip she took to Bosnia as first lady when, she claimed, her entourage had to dodge sniper fire upon their arrival.

A second factor may have been Wright, who, a week before the primary, reappeared for the first time since the controversial video was aired and repeated many of his most controversial views at the National Press Club. Obama, after a day of hesitation, denounced his former pastor and broke with him.

Conventional wisdom suggested that the second episode would crystallize opposition to Obama and help Clinton in North Carolina. In retrospect, Clinton advisers believe, it actually hardened Obama's support in the black community.

Hillary and Bill Clinton were optimistic as they approached primary day on May 6. They dipped once again into their personal fortune, lending her campaign $1.4 million more in the week before the Indiana and North Carolina votes. At least three campaign officials described the Clintons as furious when they saw the results in the two states.

Indiana proved to be the bigger disappointment, even though Clinton won there. What irked her advisers was that Clinton got no credit for what they saw as a come-from-behind victory. Even more irritating was that, because ballots were being held back in the Obama stronghold of Lake County, across the state line from his home town, Chicago, the networks declined to call the race for Clinton until after midnight.

The most effective phase of her campaign "came to a screeching halt the night of Indiana and North Carolina," said a senior aide. "The change was discernible almost immediately.

From the beginning, Clinton counted on women to deliver her victory. She described in virtually every speech how she was struck by two kinds of people at her events: women in their 90s who were born before women were allowed to vote, and parents "lifting their little girls and their little boys onto their shoulders and whispering, 'See, you can be anything you want to be.' "

Later in the campaign, some female staff members suggested taking that line out of her speech, fearing it was no longer true. "We have to stop saying that; we've proven the opposite," one woman argued.

Clinton refused -- she kept saying the line, right through Tuesday -- but privately she complained about a litany of incidents that she felt were proof of continued sexism. Why, she asked her advisers, did it seem that any racial bias was met with public outrage, but sexist comments were treated as jokes?

In an interview with The Washington Post last month, Clinton described some of the media coverage of the race as "deeply offensive to millions of women" -- a remark that aides later said they worried came across as self-pitying, but that was sincerely felt.

"She started to see gender inequity in a more profound way than she ever has," one top adviser said.

In that way more than any other, the adviser said, the campaign was a "totally transformative experience" for Clinton. She concluded that "there is a lot more sexism than racism," the adviser said. It was a difficult sentiment to square with the results in the later states, as white men voted for Clinton in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and South Dakota. But it lingered.

It was in that context that NARAL Pro-Choice America, the prominent abortion rights group, delivered one of the harshest blows of the campaign, endorsing Obama on the same day that former senator John Edwards of North Carolina did. NARAL's act hurt Clinton and her staff: They felt it was a betrayal of her life's work, an unnecessary and unjustified slap that would make little difference in the race anyway.

When Nancy Keenan, NARAL's president, called Wolfson to tell him about the decision, he lost his temper and yelled at her for her lack of respect.

It was clear: Clinton was losing. Each day brought an unhappy reminder. When she made a remark about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in a meeting with the board of the Argus Leader newspaper in South Dakota, it provoked a hailstorm of criticism -- even though she had said it before. The reaction infuriated Clinton, who believed that, after a late effort to court the news media, she was not given the benefit of the doubt.

After Clinton won West Virginia, that state's senior senator, Robert C. Byrd, endorsed Obama. Her traveling press corps shrank. She sounded by turns liberated and frustrated, according to people who worke with her closely and talked to her regularly.

"The superdelegates and elites kept drifting away, but the working class became more and more enthusiastic about her," Penn said. "She had truly become the president for the invisibles that she talked about all campaign, starting in New Hampshire."

Clinton told her advisers that one reason she was committed to staying in was out of loyalty to those supporters, and her belief that they could be rallied to Obama more easily if she was allowed to finish the campaign on her own terms.

During the campaign's final weekend, in Puerto Rico, she went dancing and drinking, spending an entire sweltering afternoon on the back of a flatbed truck, caravanning through dingy neighborhoods. It was easy to forget -- for a little while, anyway -- that thousands of miles to the north, the Democratic National Committee was meeting to decide whether to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan, Clinton's last hope of changing the delegate equation in a significant way.

That meeting in Washington brought a final rejection by the party insiders who once had been seen as her natural constituents, as the Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to seat the two delegations but give the delegates half a vote each. The Michigan compromise in particular was seen by the campaign as a slap in the face.

On Monday night, the Clintons flew back to New York after a long day of campaigning in South Dakota, a state she would win on the day Obama clinched the nomination. On the plane ride home, they sat in the front row, and no one dared talk to them. One aide said the tension in the front cabin -- visible to reporters in the back -- was painful to endure.

Another member of the inner circle described Bill Clinton as coming "unhinged" in the final hours, raising his voice in phone calls with superdelegates, constantly revisiting his wife's options for staying in the race. "He keeps asking me, 'What about so-and-so? What about so-and-so?' " the supporter recalled, saying the former president wanted constant updates on superdelegate moves.

What had been steady movement toward Obama was about to become an irreversible stream, so strong that moments after the polls closed on Tuesday night, Obama had more than the 2,118 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Yesterday, Clinton signaled that she would withdraw by week's end.

[rufisgufis]

IN HILLARY''S SICK WORLD IT''S ALL ABOUT HER. SHE STILL WANTS TO HOG THE LIMELIGHT WITH HER UGLY MUG. SHE NEEDS TO GET OVER HERSELF. THIS IS OBAMA''S MOMENT- NOT HERS.

[rufisgufis]

I will NEVER vote for any ticket with Obama on it.

Posted by nanging3 at 06:49 PM : Jun 05, 2008
___________________________

Who cares? No one expects racists to vote for Obama.

[rufisgufis]

IN HILLARY''S SICK WORLD IT''S ALL HER. SHE STILL WANTS TO HOG THE LIMELIGHT WITH HER UGLY MUG. SHE NEEDS TO GET OVER HERSELF. THIS IS OBAMA''S MOMENT- NOT HERS.

[rufisgufis]

IN HILLARY''S SICK WORLD IT''S ALL HER. SHE STILL WANTS TO HOG THE LIMELIGHT WITH HER UGLY MUG. SHE NEEDS TO GET OVER HERSELF. THIS IS OBAMA''S MOMENT- NOT HERS.

[boycot-china]

Facing criticism, Obama CHANGES his Jerusalem stance last night. How many other issues is he going to CHANGE for the election? I am still very hurt and shocked that it took so long for Senator Obama to finally quit his Church and he only did so in response to quieting the complaints. Here''''s another example of Senator Obama''''s hypocritical CHANGE stance. He complained openly about a white Imus, but was very careful not to apply the same intense scrutiny to his black pastor. What''''s the beef? Senator Obama tried to mend the racial barrier that he has created, but in reality he created more of a CHANGE and divide instead of a healing. Why is Senator Obama lying to America? He lost my vote, because he''''s trying to pull another con job just like the dirty land developer that Senator Obama still accepts money from. Yes, the same developer that was in court this week for illegal money laundering. The same guy who gave the Obama family special rates on the Obama''''s multi-million dollar home. I wonder if Senator Obama is going to CHANGE his story on that one too?

[craigh9]

If Obama loses and Hillary is shown to have worked hard to secure his win she will be vindicated and will win the 2012 nomination because she will be seen as having been the one who should have been chosen.
Either way it''''''''s win win for Hillary if she and her supporters support Obama, either way it''''''''s lose lose if she and her supporters do not support Obama.
Posted by taddles2 at 06:32 PM : Jun 05, 2008

I disagree, I believe that if Obama loses, no matter what the circumstances, I think Hillary will be looked at as the primary cause as she has robbed him of 2 months worth of time to unify the party and to take McCain on directly.
Hillary lost her one and only opportunity for the presidency - the party will never embrace her again as they have in the past - the torch has been past to a newer younger group within the democratic party and they will not retrest from that.

[fuzzybear9]

Hello Woman Democrat Voters

Fuzzy Bear can you give us gals something to smile about ?

well lets just say that Hillary made a good showing, if she had been able to put her best foot forward earlier in the race things may have been different,
the trouble was, we all knew Hillary very well,
we only later confirmed our suspicions about Obama when it was far too late.

But the nation as a whole wants CHANGE, change to what we don`t know,
and where do Women voters find a party that stands for their Ideas?
there is none.

the Old Kennedy Womanizer Molesting Black Caccuss Party ?

or the Toe Tapping Airport Restroom closet **** Party ?

not much choice is there ?

I guess we just hate to see all those soccer moms revert back to the Kennedy Era of using woman like a piece of cheap meat (Marilyn Monroe and Mary Joe Kapichnik) and then discarding them in Chapaquitic Bay? Yes the old Black Caccus of The Kennedy Mob has won again, The Chicago Bosses have come out on top.

who will you vote for ?

Fuzzy Has no clue, we have run out of options.

sincerely Fuzzy Bear

[ptsdveteran]

PUMA democrat? What a joke!!!! Your letters should be PUKES for Clinton. You are not a TruAmerican. Clinton lost!!!!!! Booooooo, Hooooooo, Hooooooo, Waaaaaaaa, Waaaaaaaaaa, Waaaaaaaaaaaaa, sniff, sniff!!!!!!!! Now she can go back to the senate and do nothing. Just like before!!!!

[zavatchen]

Hillary will forever be a winner. What an incredible human being.

[clovisbuford]

"I will NEVER vote for any ticket with Obama on it. I feel betrayed that Hillary would ask us to support him."nanging3 errr take your ball and go home then I was an Edwards supporter and when he lost i moved on.more likely you are a troll,whatever there is not a gnats difference in the democrats position , so you either vote democrat or for a third Bush term ..good luck with that one it has been so successful.. do you need cheese with that whine?

[eddynewhope]

Awwwe - Isn''t that cute. The haters are out (McCain''s 527 bloggers-for-rent). Good luck in November. You''re obsolete fear and smear campaign worked really well against in the primary. LOL.

[nanging3]

I will NEVER vote for any ticket with Obama on it. I feel betrayed that Hillary would ask us to support him.
I was hoping she would run as an Independent. Hillary owes nothing to the Democratic Party who swift boated her.

[nanging3]

We can make one change and that is getting Father Pfleger removed, Please sign and pass it on, if you haven%u2019t already.
Suspending him is not enough%u2026The whole world is watching the archbishop in Chicago and his handling of Pfleger.
He has allowed Pfleger to desecrate the pulpit preaching racial hatred and %u201CBlack Theology%u201D and even allowing Nation of Islam, anti-semitic and anti-white Farrahkan to spew his hate from the catholic church pulpit.
ENOUGH !!!! Archbishop !!

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/removabl
e-of-father-michael-pfleger

[taddles2]

"WILL THE OBAMITES VILIFY AND BLAME HER NO MATTER WHAT SHE DOES, EVEN IF SHE CAMPAIGNS HER *** OFF FOR HIM?
whathink?

Posted by ccfsdca "


If Hillary supporters support Obama and he wins, Hillary will have a huge amount of clout because Obama WILL OWE HER for the win because of her millions of supporters. If Obama loses and Hillary is shown to have worked hard to secure his win she will be vindicated and will win the 2012 nomination because she will be seen as having been the one who should have been chosen.

Either way it''''s win win for Hillary if she and her supporters support Obama, either way it''''s lose lose if she and her supporters do not support Obama.

[taddles2]

""WHAT HAS HE ACHIEVED TO PROVE HE IS QUALIFIED?"

Posted by jack3213 at 02:08 PM : Jun 05, 2008"


Beaten Hillary.

[medmom04]

so can we celebrate Obama''s win yet, or is there still something underhanded hanging in the air? I just can''t believe Hillary is not up to something. The Clinton machine, as unethical and corrupt as it is, continues to refuse to acknowledge this. Let this be a lesson: there are more dignified ways to behave when you do not get your way. Coping skills, coping skills.

[tazmjam]

WILL THE OBAMITES VILIFY AND BLAME HER NO MATTER WHAT SHE DOES, EVEN IF SHE CAMPAIGNS HER *** OFF FOR HIM?
whathink?

Posted by ccfsdca



Yes they will...and so will the MSM. So many of the Obama supporters are young or first time voters, they don%u2019t realize this Primary season was pretty mellow compared to some in the past. Ted Kennedy in 1980 is a perfect example...Hillary has been a much more gracious loser than he was...he wouldn%u2019t even shake Carters hand.
The thing that irritates me more than anything is some of the little weasels on here who threaten her career if she doesn%u2019t do such and such, or if he loses, other public officials who have supported her have also been threatened. They remind me of those %u201Cfar right%u201D Christian groups that are endlessly threatening to boycott businesses on some superior moral ground.
As for the MSM they have stoked the fires of discontent and their bias has shown this election cycle...making everything they report suspect. My one consolation is that because of the Internet within the next 10 to 20 years they will probably be extinct,they just don%u2019t realize it yet.

[likeitis5050]

It''s been such fun watching Hillary play ball with the big boys....and she''s got skillz....I don''t know about qualifications that make her exceptional...but the gal has skillz. Obama is about to chalk yet another one up for the history books and he is on par with her when it comes to qualifications...but hey...who the heck is seriously looking to elect someone highly qualified for the job...first black..first woman...either will do. And with any luck they''ll still both be on the same ticket!!! Score one for the parasites waiting in line for free government money these two will cook up in the kitchen of government programs to reward the pathetic and lazy who think the world owes them as much as those who actually get up and work for a living!! Wooohoooo!!! Great day coming.

[rufisgufis]

We all know McCain has more life experiance for one, and for two- HE is an honorable vet whom= has seen first hand what war is, what is possible to change war, and what exatly CHANGE means.


Posted by jack3213
_________________________

What exactly is that "experience?" Please notice the correct spelling of "exactly."

[Cas2dy]

Posted by ccfsdca at 12:53 PM : Jun 05, 2008
i predict that now that obama has secured the nomination with 90% of the black vote of the party, we''''ll see his white mother and grandmother more often as he tries to get those middle class white voters in the swing states. whadya think?

I wouldn''t mind seieng his multicultural family. it will only serve to remind me of just how cozy a family can be when ALL of its members are equally recognized within the unit...unlike the days when all the little "colored" children were relegated to the servants quarters, on or offsite, but mostly (and notably)...out of sight.
Fortunately today, many, many families are very diverse and so what Obama represents is not simply Black and White, it''s the actual diversity of American families today.