Dear Avijit:
Please post this version of my article in M-M. Discard the easrlier submission.
Jaffor
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Commentary
Senator Clinton's moribund campaign kept going against all insuperable odds
A.H. Jaffor Ullah
After Super Tuesday on February 5, 2008 when Senator Clinton could not come out victorious, many observers (including this scribe) had openly said that her candidacy for the White House will be running into trouble in days ahead. Then in February and March 2008 Senator Obama had a winning steak, which further weakened Senator Clinton's campaign. Then we saw how her campaign was mired in controversy, which ultimately became nasty and turned very negative. Her husband, Bubba Clinton, instead of lending her a helping hand, had made some outrageous comments that were laced with racism. Now that her campaign was virtually decimated in the aftermath of North Carolina and Indiana primaries on May 6, 2008, Senator Clinton again resorted to make vicious attack on her opponent.
Sadly, she made a remark in her campaign stump on May 9, 2008, which was laced with racist remark. Senator Clinton essentially said that white Democratic voters who did not attend college will not vote for Obama in November election. There is some truth in it but sometimes it is better not to speak one's mind lest the comment is interpreted as prejudicial and racial one. Remember how Obama's infamous statement concerning financially strapped voters "clinging" to religion and guns played out in the primaries? Senator Obama paid a heavy price for choosing the wrong word. If only he had used a synonym for "clinging" he would have fared well in Pennsylvania and Ohio primaries. Being a politician if one choose the wrong phrase, it may do him or her in!
New York Times in its editorial on Friday (May 9, 2008) voiced its opinion by saying that she continues to press her candidacy through negative campaigning with disturbing racial undertones. It is worth mentioning here that not too long ago, NY Times supported Senator Clinton's with a glowing tribute to her candidacy. After few months into the primaries when her campaign ran into trouble for running one of the most negative campaigns, many of her ardent supporters are becoming disillusioned with her campaign tactics. Many are now switching sides late in this campaign. But the Clintons have their ego. They wrongly think that they are right. Their hubris knows no bounds!
Senator George McGovern who was a powerful liberal voice throughout seventies and eighties had initially supported Senator Clinton's candidacy but after the results of North Carolina and Indiana primaries were published he called President Clinton to tell Senator Clinton to end her campaign to unify the party. Party elder such as George McGovern, who ran against Richard M. Nixon in 1972, realizes now that unless the party was unified, the Democratic nominee will have hard time, if not impossible, to win the contest on November 4, 2008. Senator McGovern, who is now leading a retired life in South Dakota, reminisced how his campaign in 1972 suffered because of a divided party at the end of the convention. He is correct when he stated that Democrats need to unite under one candidate to win the office this year.
As two Democratic candidates were slugging it out in the primaries, the Republican's presumptive candidate, Senator John McCain, was giving speeches in the states where primaries were being held to tell the voters that he is a better candidate then any of his Democratic contenders. After the primaries in North Carolina and Indiana we witnessed that Senator Obama is now answering the questions posed by McCain campaign. Also, we have noticed that most of the attacks against Democratic candidate are now directed against Senator Obama. This goes to prove that in the eyes of the Republican Party, Senator Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee. But sadly, what McCain and his inner circle know is not realized by Clintons.
In the aftermath of disastrous primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, President Bill Clinton while visiting the states in which primaries will be held next had said that he is hopeful about Hillary's candidacy. The goes to show that Clintons are out of touch of reality or else they do not read news stories, comments, blogs, editorials, etc.
Mathematically, Senator Clinton has no chance whatsoever of becoming the flag bearer of the party in November 2008 election. The Clintons are hoping against all odds that the super delegates would somehow change their mind to support Senator Clinton and that the delegates from Florida and Michigan would be seated. It is worth mentioning here that these two states had broken the Party's rule to host their primaries a bit early. Governor Dean. who is the Democratic Party's president, had said all along that if the primaries are held earlier in Florida and Michigan, then the rules will be broken and the delegates will not be seated in the convention. The Clintons are now very vocal about the delegates from these two states where Obama did not even run a campaign.
Senator Clinton had an earlier advantage of having the support of more super delegates (the Party Officials) over Senator Obama. At one point she had 100 more super delegates in her column. But now after North Carolina and Indiana primaries Senator Obama had narrowed the gap and today (May 10, 2008) the super delegate counts are virtually tied. Going forward, it is expected that Senator Obama will garner more votes from the pool of super delegates. This hardly bodes well for Clinton campaign.
Let us be realistic here. The momentum is back again for Obama campaign. Senator Obama had earned more pledged delegates (130-135 more than Senator Clinton), more states, and more popular votes. In other words Senator Obama had beaten her in all the contests. Sadly, the Clintons do not see these developments that way. The still wrongly think that it is their entitlement to get the party's nomination against the all surmountable odds.
In summary, it was a brutal season of primaries in which Senator Clinton was defeated and bruised. The sooner the Clintons realize this, the better for the party. A sign of infirmity has set in in Clinton campaign where money is the main problem now. The spigot of campaign donation has practically shut and Senator Clinton had to bail out her campaign by loaning $ 6.5 million to keep her aspiration alive for the White House. The Clintons are now rich with an estimated asset of over $ 100 million mostly earned from speeches. Is it a small wonder why Hillary Clinton wanted to become the president?
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A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
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A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
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