Saturday, March 22, 2008

The Clinton Myth: That She Can Win

This piece, The Story Behind the Story: The Clinton Myth, from Politico yesterday caused quite a stir. And it's right. It also echoes one from The New Republic last week.

One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.

Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency.

Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.

People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet.

But even some of Clinton’s own advisers now concede that she cannot win unless Obama is hit by a political meteor. Something that merely undermines him won't be enough. It would have to be some development that essentially disqualifies him.
And so, all she is accomplishing is lowering both her and Obama's polls numbers against McCain, as she and Bill Clinton work hard to disqualify him openly and secretively. Shame on them.

The piece also examines the press' role (and interest) in keeping this "race" going.

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