An Interesting Theory About Why Hillary's Stuck it Out

My mom sent me a link to Kent Nerburn's blog today. He'd posted something someone he knew had passed along in response to a blog entry he'd written about why he thought Hillary should bow out of the race. The guy said something like this--that Hillary was selflessly staying in the race because she knew what no one can say--that America isn't ready for a black man in the White House, and that his candidacy is doomed. Lovely Hillary, this isn't about her, oh, no. It's because she knows she is the Democratic Party's only hope of defeating John McCain come November.

Maybe this is true. I've had my doubts about this myself; I suspected Big Media only allowed his candidacy to progress because they either thought that a) there was no way he could win, or b) they could buy/control/sink him if he did. I mean, look at what they did to Dennis Kucinich. Made sure no one could hear him so that they could perpetuate the myth that he's a crazy guy. Or to John Edwards, mocking his $400 haircuts and saying that because he's a rich guy he must just be pretending he cares about poor people!

But I hope that what I sense is true...that Obama is bigger than the man himself. Not that he's not a great guy and all that. But I think the movement behind Obama has much more to do with a desire for real change in Washington--a hunger for a politics that calls us to live up to the best in ourselves, for the good of us all. He's tapped into an energy that is much bigger than he is.

One man will not be the solution to all that ails us. But as we've seen in the last 7+ years, it does matter who is President. I for one am hoping for brighter days ahead.

Link:
Kent Nerburn's blog

That Could Have Gone Better...

I don't blame Hillary for not wanting to give up. OK, well, maybe I do, a little. The handwriting has been on the wall for a while now, as most of us could see. I was afraid that she might try to take this all the way to the convention. I felt hopeful this morning when I heard that Bill was saying he wouldn't be campaigning much longer and that a memo had gone out to campaign staff letting them know the campaign was being shut down. I had some hopes that Hillary would be gracious. Try to do something to make up for the fact that she had said stuff like that John McCain was more capable of leading the country than Barack Obama. And to think he might have to take her on as a running mate? Yikes!

I tried to find a copy of her speech tonight, to no avail. All I could find was commentary. But it seemed that the messages were clear--"I won more votes than he did. I won the critical swing states. Read between the lines, people--I am the winningest candidate! Me! Me!" Sigh.

I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything better, given the way she's run this campaign. I found it disheartening to peruse her website, to see the comments that her supporters were posting. Things along the line of, "But she won the popular vote! How can they steal this from us?" And "Barack cheated by taking those delegates in Michigan!" And..."She hasn't given up, we're going all the way to Denver, baby!" Double sigh.

Perhaps this process will be educational for some people, that some of them will finally learn how presidential candidates are selected. I imagine many will be angry, or at least disgruntled. In my opinion, the party holds way too much sway. I'd like to see a nationwide primary. Heck, I'd like to do away with the primary system entirely and just do instant runoff voting. But the fact of the matter is that under the current system, the parties get to decide the rules, and the states get to decide if they will caucus or have primaries (or both, as we did here in Washington State). That's the way it is. And even if you don't like it, in my opinion, you should respect the rules enough to at least abide by your own pledges. But perhaps that is too much to ask. Or at least too much to ask of some people.

At any rate--Hillary? You gave it a go. Some even think you did a good job of it. Obama wasn't my first pick either, but I think it's clear that we Americans (and yes, think people in caucus-going states should count too!) have spoken. I hope that you'll redeem yourself soon. Perhaps you are hoping for a McCain victory so you can give it another go in 2012. I hope that isn't so. But so far--I'm still waiting for the evidence that you will do the work you need to do, to throw your support behind the Democratic candidate you have pledged to support at the end of the day...or will that be just another empty pledge?