Hillary Clinton's Enthusiasm Peters Out On The Campaign Trail

[Purveyor]

The warm-up acts fluffed their lines. The microphone kept dropping out. At one point, the room went black when the lights unexpectedly cut.

Bill Clinton, the former US president, did the job he was sent for. He made the case to a gathering of students at Tarrant County College, Fort Worth - that his wife Hillary should be the Democratic nominee for president. But it was a battle. He sounded - and looked - tired and old.

He struggled to keep his sense of humour about that hopeless microphone. There was a hardcore of excited supporters, cheering his exhortation to get votes out of strangers on the street. But the rally felt altogether flat, especially when I compared it to the last time I saw Bill Clinton stumping for a candidate - Barack Obama - in 2012.

It's not really fair to compare Texas, a day before Super Tuesday, to the momentum behind Obama in Ohio (a vital swing state) days out from the last election. Texas is hardly inundated with enthusiastic Democrats, and picking the nominee is not the same as picking the president. But the differences between then and now are important.

Whereas Obama's 2012 campaign was able to excite a palpable and widespread sense of energy and excitement, Clinton's, so far, has not. There is a wild enthusiasm fuelling her sole rival in the Democratic race, Bernie Sanders. A fearsome anger powers the Donald Trump juggernaut. Hillary Clinton has … excellent organisation and first-class networks for funding and endorsements. Jeb Bush had those too.

MORE...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/77588705/Hillary-Clintons-enthusiasm-peters-out-on-the-campaign-trail

[Metric System]

1. This was written about Texas? How did that turn out?

[Perogie]

4. Turned out Hillary is still a corporate Shill

Last edited Sun Mar 6, 2016, 09:29 AM - Edit history (1)

[Metric System]

7. This response is very telling. Sounds like you put me on ignore simply because I support Hillary.

I don't care if you can't see this because others can, and it says more about you than me since we've never even interacted before.

[okasha]

18. Hillary won Texas in a blowout,

The only enthusiasm that counts is the balllt count.

[roguevalley]

32. she will lose it in the general if she gets there.

[okasha]

33. Her chances here would be much enhanced by Julian Castro for VP.

Not ro mention Republican women and sane Republicans scared to death of a Trump presidency.

We are a minority-majority state, and the wind is shifting here.

[Cali_Democrat]

37. LOL!

You seem angry.

[grossproffit]

5. If one only read this forum, you'd never know that Hillary was ahead.

[vdogg]

8. Lol

Seriously, they might want to check the results....

[grossproffit]

10. Well, they are in New Zealand. Maybe it's still February there?

[metroins]

2. Clinton has a larger Delegate lead than Obama did in 2008

She must be doing something right...the American public is speaking and they are voting for Hillary.

[jeff47]

11. Nope. At this point Clinton had the delegate lead in 2008.

Using 'distance from Super Tuesday' as the benchmark, since many states have moved their primary.

[metroins]

12. What do you mean nope?

Clinton right now has a larger delegate lead than Obama EVER did in 2008.

You literally just reaffirmed my stance by quoting she was leading then...

[jeff47]

29. Your claim appeared to be about Obama's lead at this

point in the 2008 primary. At this point in the 2008 primary, Clinton had the lead. And then the lead switched

[metroins]

35. No. My fact is"

Clinton right now has a larger lead than Obama ever had in 2008.

[Cali_Democrat]

38. Try reading the post more carefully next time. nt

[grossproffit]

3. Votes tell a different story.

She's winning more of them.

[noretreatnosurrender]

6. Trouble

Trump seems to have more or less done his job in exciting support for his campaign through to November. His task now is to keep up his outsized media presence and sustain the hype among his supporters while smoothing off some of his sharpest edges (the temporary ban on Muslims, for example, is already being de-emphasised).

Clinton's is to somehow find the energy booster button. She is already borrowing from both the Obama and Sanders playbooks for this. But whatever she tries, she will still be Hillary Clinton, former First Lady, former Senator, former Secretary of State. How can even liberals get excited about someone so familiar?

When my host in the New York borough of Brooklyn asked me who I thought would win the Democratic nomination, I told him it would be Clinton. He, an artist, seemed surprised and disappointed. If Clinton - the former New York senator whose last name adorns streets and underground stations in this city - can't get guys like him to care about her candidacy, she might be in trouble.

[Metric System]

9. If he was surprised, he mustn't be very politically active or aware. I doubt he even votes.

[metroins]

14. Energy Booster button?

More votes and More delegates for Clinton than Sanders.

I agree turnout is an issue, but Clinton has much higher turnout than Sanders.

[Hydra]

13. The Clintons never planned on having to seriously primary

It was all supposed to be over in Iowa, and Bill was never supposed to have to come out to stump.

You can see it all over in the campaign- they're constantly trying to play catchup, and can't seem to grasp opportunities presented. Hillary is irritated and Bill is tired. Team Hill pounds every talking point they can find and nothing is sticking.

It's just bad timing- the status quo is stale and getting moldy. No amount of marketing is going to sell that anymore.

[metroins]

15. Catchup?

She's leading in votes and delegates....

[demwing]

16. but not in enthusiasm generated

Or in honesty and integrity, for that matter.

[metroins]

19. Isn't enthusiasm determined by the will of the public?

And that public is overwhelmingly supporting Clinton.

[marions ghost]

30. "the public"

--ie. low turnouts for Dems in a primary race, with wide regional divergence.

Not exactly "the will of the public"---

Long way to go.

[metroins]

34. Seems pretty cut and dry to me nt

[marions ghost]

36. That's the appearance

but not the reality.

[Hydra]

17. Sure, for right now

That wasn't the case going in to NV, and SC finally got some momentum going.

That doesn't change the primary forces involved. Hillary flubbed her third chance with BLM. Bill's behavior in MA was not only illegal, it was stupid. Team Hill is working overtime to shut the primary down early because of problems brewing we don't even know about yet.

I'm impressed how many hail marys Presidential hopeful Clinton has gotten recently, but she's needed every one just to stay in the race. Her wealthy donors want assurances on the return on their investment, not signs of greater risk.

[metroins]

20. Are you sure?

She's overwhelmingly winning this race.

I don't see Hail Mary's..

[Hydra]

21. That's ok, keep watching

We've needed buckets of popcorn for this race- I never believed anything like it would ever happen. Her Majesty seems not to be enjoying all the excitement.

[metroins]

22. I think she does need a boost of excitement

personally.

I think she also doesn't have a "stump speech" like Bernie does. Where she can repeat the same talking points over and over.

There's always room for more excitement.

[KoKo]

23. Thanks..I thought I was alone in thinking that...

he has seemed weak on the Campaign Trail..but, that Bull Horn Incident where he stopped traffic and voters to vote in Massachusetts might have been his best "Come Back" moment. But, he made a mess of it and has many voters angry who watched the video and others who couldn't get into the polling places because of his Voter Intimidation with this outrageous act to show his Power Over the People. Like, that he can't get over that he's no longer President and he still wants that power, glory and manipulation to be "His Own Province" because he's GOTTA GET BACK into that White House?

[Hydra]

24. It sent absolutely the wrong message

Thinking about it, I think our party power players have started to believe their own bull. The third way is based on the (incorrect) assumption that the entire US is really Republican but want a better marketed version of it.

Team Hillary seems to be campaigning as if they are talking to Republicans. If Trump had done the polling incident thing his supporters would have lapped it up.

If this is their motivation for all of the bad behavior...you can stick a fork in our party.

[KoKo]

27. ...! I hear ya!

[bigtree]

25. enthusiasm where it counts

...blow-out victory at the polls in Texas.

Reads like a Sanders Duer wrote this.

They should realize that Hillary's margin of victory is far wider than Obama's was at this point in 2008.

[libdem4life]

26. Clinton Fatigue. They're fatigued, and so are millions of us. n/t

[marions ghost]

31. "Clinton Fatigue"...

--would you put that up as a thread topic?

[tabasco]

28. She is the least exciting Democratic candidate in my lifetime.

Just a typical two-faced politician. I predict she will not be elected if she is the nominee. I will hold my nose and vote for her.