A sad tale: Hillary, Teetering on the Border

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Teetering on the Border
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, February 21, 2008; A02

HIDALGO, Tex. Hillary Clinton, drubbed by Barack Obama in 10 straight votes, flew down to this dusty border town on Wednesday to make her last stand for the Democratic presidential nomination. But where was the cavalry? On Tuesday night, Obama had packed in a capacity crowd of more than 18,000 at the Toyota Center in Houston, home of the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. But when Clinton emerged to speak at the 6,800-seat Dodge Arena here -- home of a minor-league hockey team -- rows and rows of empty blue seats awaited....She ended up in this outpost on the Rio Grande with a view of the Mexican town of Reynosa. For a candidate who has lost 10 contests in a row to Barack Obama and is fast becoming the Mike Huckabee of the Democratic Party, she must have felt tempted to slip across the bridge and into Mexico, a fugitive from a coronation gone awry....

***

Clinton has gambled it all on wins on March 4 in Ohio and here in Texas. Though Clinton advisers, in a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning, spoke gamely of the Puerto Rico primary in June, they know that a loss in either Ohio or Texas would effectively end Clinton's candidacy. That means she could be down to her final two weeks as a viable presidential candidate....The Clinton campaign had spoken about a major rally here in south Texas, a display of the voting power of Latinos who would revive her campaign. There were indeed thousands of people here, many of them Latinos, but not enough to fill sections 107, 108, 113, 118, 119, 120 and 121. A big Texas flag concealed the empty seats of one whole section, and vast patches of the arena floor went unoccupied.

The musicians, their instruments checked for weapons by the Secret Service, put on their performances. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, the local congressman, tried to fire up the crowd. "Early Start and Head Start are going to be increased!" he promised. Modest applause. Henry Cisneros, a Cabinet officer in Bill Clinton's administration, took a turn next. "This is not a game!" he said, his voice breaking. "This is about the future of our country!" More modest applause. Clinton delivered her usual stump speech, and the audience applauded in all the right places. "Tested, proven, effective -- that's what we need in our next president." Applause. "Do you believe that we will take back our country?" Affirmative applause.

It was a brief speech but insufficiently inspiring. After she got to the part about health care ("I'm not going to leave anyone out; Senator Obama leaves out at least 15 million"), the mariachi band walked off the arena floor in single file and headed for the exit. After she passed the part about "alternative renewable energy" and announced her pleasure at having "the endorsement of the United Farmworkers Union," there was a steady flow of people from the arena floor and out the exit below Section 120.

"There's nothing wrong with America that cannot be fixed once we have new leadership," Clinton called after them. "I will work my heart out for you and your families."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/20/AR2008022002933_pf.html

[babylonsister]

1. Holy mackeral, Mom! That must have been so embarrassing! I

'almost' feel sorry for her. I just can't believe people would make the effort to go hear her, only to walk out.

[Avalux]

2. Dana Milbank - not one to mince words.

He's spot on too, Clinton's efforts here in Texas are not well-organized at all; the national campaign folks are having a difficult time interacting and coordinating with the local campaign folks; publicity not being set up ahead of time for events...

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Are these local people the very ones that Dean was trying to connect

with in all the 50 states?

[Enrique]

7. I don't trust Milbank's reporting

in general he seems to play up the drama and the snark, and in partiucular there are quite a few instances where he has played fast and loose with the facts.

Take some detail from this piece, say the thing about the mariachi band walking off during her speech. If it was most reporters, I would assume that this event really happened. But since it's Milbank, I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't made up, Milbank thinking no one's going to check him on it.

[Avalux]

8. I can vouch for some of what he says from what I'm hearing locally.

Hillary is not organized in Texas.

[snappyturtle]

3. Indeed....sad. n/t

[GodlessBiker]

4. This is the result of a campaign that thought it would not need to campaign after Super-T.

People and events are being thrown together.

[superkia]

6. You are dead right! I dont think she expected Americans to...

ignore the media and actually pay more attention to the campaigns and now they are scrambling. If I were them I would be looking to my powerful friends and making sure that the super delegates give her the election but then that may just piss off enough Americans and cause some problems?

[corkhead]

12. I think you are spot on

when they do the autopsy on her campaign, the hubris that made them think it would be over in early Feb will be her mark on history.

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. It really is kind of sad....

With all the advantages she had coming out of the gate, such as name recognition, US Senator, she has managed to blow through a $135 mil warchest, and for what? She had to know going in, that she wouldn't be a media darling. She is a person they love to hate. The few clips or pics I see of Bill Clinton these days show an aging, tired, and defeated looking former president.

I wish, for Bill's sake, he had taken the GHW Bush approach and just stayed above the fray until the primary season was over. As it is, he's put his legacy on the line, and it's beginning to look like he may be defeated. I'm no fan of Hillary, but something in me finds this whole thing very sad for Bill.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. Thanks for your post, Tarheel. I find no pleasure in this. Two of my nearest and dearest...

are Hillary supporters, and, as Bill used to say, I feel their pain.

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. so do i...

and i'll admit, i sometimes allow myself to get caught up in the moment over in gd:p, but i hope when this is all over, bill can return to his foundation and continue doing his good works.

[grantcart]

13. Here is a DUer at the Obama Dallas event

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpoBb5FY000

[K Gardner]

16. Holy Moly ! It still takes my breath away to see these tens of thousands

of people and realize they are going to a POLITICAL rally. Yes, this is the America we can be ! Thanks for posting this !

[AtomicKitten]

14. Wow.

This leaves me speechless. Clue phone for Mrs. Clinton.

[hendo]

15. and this is why its bad..

to try to win in one fell swoop. I'm surprised that she believed she could win the nomination on Super Tuesday alone. Maybe someone should put her in touch with the average American citizen.

Then again, her base turning against her could be due to her attack ads. Seriously Hillary, if you want to get people to come to your side please try to not be so negative.