Democratic Primary: This is Survivor, not Deal or No Deal
Let’s be clear here. For all of the constant yammering about electoral votes in primary races, daily tracking polls that move one way or the other consistent with the whims of the media stream that day, uncounted states and superdelegates, the Democratic primary race is all about endurance.
We’re not here to open 47 cases and wait for the banker’s call before deciding whether the last 9 have the million bucks. That’s the game show George Bush played last week.
Survivor: Democrats is the name of this race. When Chris Wilson over at Slate makes the absurd call for Barack Obama to withdraw from the primary race despite having won the greatest number of primaries, having a solid delegate lead, raising the most money, closing the superdelegate gap, and acting as the driving force behind the new voter registrations of one million new Democrats, I can only ask: “Whose crack are you smoking?“
Somewhere in this silly post there’s a vague argument that Obama should withdraw for the sake of party unity because he would have a better chance in 2012. Or something. There’s more than a small whiff of bait in the tone mixed with some sarcasm, which would at least give credibility to the idea that I’m the sucker who has gulped it down. Guilty as charged, with the defense that some poor fool out there might actually take it seriously.
Think about that for a minute. I don’t know how anyone else would feel, but I’d hardly be willing to put my support behind someone who quit when they were 10 feet from the finish line. That’s like holding the immunity idol but not playing it because of some strange trust in one of the other players. Imagine telling a marathon runner to stop when the finish line is just around the corner because, hey, he’s young and can win next year but the woman behind him has worked soooo hard and wants it soooo much that he should let her win. How insulting and patronizing!
Imagine it:
November comes around. Hillary wins. She’s inaugurated. The next day she’s on the phone, that red phone, to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“Mahmoud, I know you have the nukes. I know you can control Iraq. I know you can win. But I’m asking you to step down, and give me the nukes. Because I want them sooooo very much. If I can’t have them, I will obliterate you.”
As reports leak out of this conversation, a Slate blogger calls for Ahmadinejad to step down for the good of the world.
Yeah, right.
Note to Chris Wilson: Come on back to earth, that crack must’ve been laced with a heavy dose of illusion. The Democrats will survive this primary season, they’ll have a great convention, and Hillary Clinton will do her part to smooth ruffled feathers, as will Barack Obama. So relax, breathe, and enjoy the road to Denver. He or she who plays the smart game wins.
Bonus: Here’s a hidden treasure clue for the media pundits smoking up my living room tonight…listen to me now….are you ready?
Jeremiah Wright isn’t running for office. He’s interesting (even to me), but irrelevant. Calm down.
Photo Credits:
Technorati Tags: slate, chris wilson, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Survivor, DealorNoDeal