Election 2008: So is Hillary Clinton finished?

Came out in a NY congressional delegation conference call today. (Wash Post Blog Post)

Washington Post wrote: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) said she was willing to do "whatever it takes" to elect a Democrat in the fall in response to a question from Rep. Nydia Velasquez about the vice presidency during a recently completed conference call with the New York congressional delegation.

Velasquez, a prominent Clinton supporter and Latina, voiced concern that without Clinton on the national ticket, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) might not be able to win the Hispanic vote in the numbers required to claim the presidency, according to someone on the call.

Clinton did not directly address the idea of serving as Obama's second in command, but did make clear that she would do whatever was required of her to help elect a Democrat to the White House in November.

In spite of reports to the contrary (perhaps fueled by Terry McCauliffe's interjections), I get the sense that Clinton is not at all looking to drag things out into some nasty battle. Her own words and attitude right now indicate that she is not putting her own interests above those of the party.

The really interesting activity going on at this very moment IMO is that McCain and his advisors are now out actively seeking to charm and make wooing overtures to the base of female Clinton loyalists (especially those who feel disenfranchised by recent events) over to their side, to capitalize on the "No Clinton, NOBama, MCCain 2008" sentiments that have been whirling around some peoples' minds (and hugely amplified in the press) in recent months.

Granted, this may just be the plan of the moment, and perhaps perceptions of a party rift this will all just be considered a fleeting and/or misunderstood phenomenon down the road.

And Repugs are still grappling with the fact that they get little airtime (hence McCain's announcement that he, too will have a major speech tonight! Me too, dammit! ), so they truly are trying to make lemonade out of anything they can.

McCain himself veered off message at a speaking engagement a day or two ago when questioned about Clinton, and spent a few minutes launching into his praise and respect for Clinton and her campaign and what all of it means for women and America in this day and age etc. that was either a) truly hearfelt by him b) totally calculated and scripted or c) both of the above, you decide.

I tend to give him credit for option c...he has worked with her in the Senate and known her for a long time, and I am sure he was genuinely offering his respect and admiration and appreciation at an appropriate moment...but on the other hand, I am sure his advisors had calculated questions about Clinton coming up and the potential to woo over some of the female base if there was any truth to some sort of Dem schism developing, and had a script primed and ready for the first person that asked McCain about her. Shrewd, predictable.

I also saw an article last night somewhere that specifically mentioned McCain advisors' efforts to mount an organized effort to woo female Clinton loyalists, but will have to track down where I read that.

Eh, all this adds up to the idea that the general election season is finally kicking off with someone at the helm and it's open season for the big battle.

I am heartened to see that Clinton and Obama appear to be working on some manner of cooperation beyond mere detente, an actual partnership toward what's best for putting a Dem in the White House. Whatever that means for either of them, however that ends up, great...I am just happy to see that the process has begun, by their individual actions and statements this week.

***edited to add:

Eager to see what each candidate says in the speeches tonight (and later this week).

Let's keep a close watch on McCain, to see to what degree his speech comments about Clinton (if any) will be heartfelt and above board, and which (if any) are just plain pandering to steal away any and all Clinton loyalists that are open to being wooed.

***edited again to add:
Heh, I seem to have channeled what's on Drudge's site now.

Et voila, here's someone else talking about it: McCain will compete for Clinton backers

So, will it appear in his speech tonight, or will his speech tonight just be about bashing Obama for constant references to "Bush-McCain policy"?

I said it before.....she's gonna run, or have the DNC scared in thinking she's gonna run as an Indie. Am I the only one who gets this feeling after seeing her speech?

I'd love this ticket. oh please oh please! he needs a shark, she needs the balance of someone far less divisive. the folks who support her don't support him and vice versa. they could pull our absurd party together.

I would think that any polls as of even a week ago might differ significantly from any polls taken by this time next week (after conversations have occurred, and matters resolved however they will be...)

Idlewild wrote: I said it before.....she's gonna run, or have the DNC scared in thinking she's gonna run as an Indie. Am I the only one who gets this feeling after seeing her speech?

I don't think so. Not at all.

I see her keeping the door open in case Obama steps in something nasty that won't wipe off between now and the convention. And it is looking more and more like she may be bucking for veep or something. Unclear there.

But I'm not seeing an Indie run. *shrug*

jeffrey wrote: 1) Obama still has serious problems winning certain voter groups (women, seniors, Latinos, rustbelt/lunchbox-ers, others), which translates to certain states that she can easily win against McCain that Obama can't (Florida and others...see FiveThirtyEight.com for example models). That may translate to another close nail-biter where he loses like Gore in 2000.

I think it's too early to say he has "serious problems" with those groups (unless there are polls I haven't seen). Hillary beat him in those groups for sure. But Hispanics vote Democratic in huge numbers (like 80-90% or something). I don't see a large bloc going to the Republican side. Any hispanic momentum the Republicans had was squandered during their xenophobic hate-filled anti immigration spasm over the past 2 years.

As for the female democratic vote, again I don't see huge numbers voting Republican. But I await the polls.

Obama-McGreevy '08

Jimmy Carter is urging Obama not to pick Clinton as his running mate, basically for the same reasons that I think it would be a bad idea.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/04/uselections2008

Carnivore wrote: Jimmy Carter is urging Obama not to pick Clinton as his running mate, basically for the same reasons that I think it would be a bad idea.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/04/uselections2008

hrm. I don't buy carter's argument but really? there needs to be some major polling done in the next few weeks to figure out the pros and cons of obama/clinton. carter could be right, who knows, but I think it's pretty telling that the party was and is pretty divided over this. you're an ardent obama supporter: would you still vote for him if clinton were his VP?

I think the guy that runs abovethelaw was reporting some coverage of the election on cnn that has a slightly better reason for thinking it's a bad idea: it would just reinforce the "weak" image of obama and make it look like clinton strong-armed him into not taking the race all the way to the convention, especially given the timing. I don't really agree with that, either, but I definitely think obama's image is a very critical issue going forward, especially if mccain picks another war vet as his running mate.

So Friday it is, according to just about every news source out there. She will officially suspend or concede or whatever, and endorse Obama.

Apparently not going to be a joint ticket (one apparent deal-breaker is that Bill would have to release detailed records of donations and business dealings, ain't gonna happen).

Perhaps she'll secure an offer for Cabinet position like HHS Secretary, to pwn new healthcare initiatives. Or a guarantee to be the next Supreme Court Justice appointment at the next open seat.

Or perhaps promise of something notable back in the Senate.

***edited to add:

All news sources are now saying this will happen Saturday, at some "party unity" event.

Boygabriel wrote: Seven Ways Hillary Clinton Changed Our Politics at The American Prospect

great article - I really enjoyed it. well, except for the last piece by kai wright. not because of what he's saying, per se, but because of his obvious bitterness and entrenched dislike of clinton. even the people who clearly disagreed with her in their essays spoke of her in a positive matter. I guess I just thought it was inappropriate. but the rest - I loved. dead on - from all of her flaws to all of her strengths. thanks for posting this.

Clinton's homepage: Support Obama!

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/splash/june7/

Yay!

PUMA power.
(Party Unity My Ass - No Deal.)

daver wrote: PUMA power.
(Party Unity My Ass - No Deal.)

Yeah, looks like there are a few who want to make Clinton the new Nader.

Carnivore wrote: A recent poll actually suggests that Obama has a solid lead over McCain among Hispanic voters.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/7/25/73923/7296

Any chance the Republican brand (regardless of candidate) had of gaining any significant Hispanic votes whatsoever was thrown out the window in the orgy of xenophobia known as the immigration "debate".