Hillary Clinton Squanders VP Possibility – Or Not?
In March, I was appalled by this remark:
TIME: Can you envision a point at which–if the race stays this close–Democratic Party elders would step in and say, “This is now hurting the party and whoever will be the nominee in the fall”?
CLINTON: No, I really can’t. I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn’t wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual.
And then today, she said this:
“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it,
I don’t understand the linkage, do you? Her husband wrapped up the nomination in June, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June, and exactly how does that translate to her staying in the race?
Taking her premise out to the logical conclusion doesn’t work either, because if (God FORBID) something horrible happened to Obama, would she suddenly be invisible? It isn’t like suspending her campaign would exclude her from stepping up and carrying the banner at that point, right?
Her apology was incredibly thin. She apologized to the Kennedys, but never to Obama, or Obama’s supporters. Why?
There has been a lot of buzz around the idea of Clinton becoming Obama’s running mate. If I look at her comment in that context it could be argued (even with a straight face) that what she is saying is that she is qualified to be his successor.
I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it because I don’t believe she wants to be his running mate. I believe her husband wants her to be Obama’s running mate, but I don’t think she does. I think she views that as taking a back seat, and one that isn’t even as influential as being First Lady.
That leaves me with a few sad options for why she would choose to say such a mean-spirited and ugly thing:
- She is intentionally invoking scary memories and fear in her base (older white folks and for that matter, older black folks) who remember the trauma of 1968, of losing RFK and Martin Luther King to assassination in the same year. The reason? The hope that they will vote for her out of fear, rather than substance. An extremely ugly, cynical move, but she’s been ugly and cynical before. This is no exception.
- Sleep deprivation? Maybe, maybe not.
- An intentional implosion, intended to cut off all speculation about her possibilities for the VP slot in an Obama assassination.
- All three.
I believe that all of the primaries should be held before a declaration of victory, though I assure you that Hillary Clinton would have claimed victory after Super Tuesday, had the results gone her way. She would also have claimed it after mini-Super Tuesday in March, had the results gone her way. But they didn’t, and she was forced to soldier on, which was good for everyone. It seasoned Obama, brought out voters in record numbers, and focused attention on the Democrats while leaving McCain as an afterthought.
But now we’re in the end stages. Obama’s nomination is inevitable, no matter how FL and MI is sliced and diced. The superdelegates have made up their minds. Some just haven’t stepped out and made their declaration. I’m sure they’re waiting until June 4th, when everyone has voted and the choice is clear. Their hesitance to step out is connected, I’m sure, to the idea that all voices in all states must be heard.
However, it was also incumbent upon Hillary Clinton to mind her manners and keep her campaign to the issues, which she has not done. She has claimed herself a champion of civil rights on par with abolitionists and suffragettes, suggested that she is remaining to keep the Democrats’ proxy options in place should Obama be assassinated, and reminded the country and the world that some voters in this country don’t care much for black guys.
I think this tactic backfired on her. The idea of playing people’s fears to her benefit is reprehensible — an adjective I have applied to Mrs. Clinton far too many times. When she stepped over the line with the reference to RFK’s assassination and then refused to apologize to the Obama campaign along with the Kennedys, she blew up her chances for the VP slot.
If I’m wrong, and she does end up as running mate, it should be interesting to see how she handles the inevitable replaying of every stupid smear statement she’s made. I can see the commercial now over her equivocation over whether Barack Obama is a Muslim — the “as far as I know” qualifier to her unequivocal “no, no he’s not a Muslim.”
That’ll play well in Kentucky and West Virginia. Maybe Florida, too. But here in California, it stinks like dirty fish and a dead candidacy.