Eugene Robinson: A Fair Question

[babylonsister]

A Fair Question

Posted on Feb 22, 2008

By Eugene Robinson


WASHINGTON—Humor me while we conduct a little thought experiment. Imagine that Barack Obama lost 10 states in a row. Imagine that he now trailed Hillary Clinton substantially in the number of Democratic primaries and caucuses won, in total votes cast, in pledged convention delegates, in the overall delegate count, in fundraising and in the ineffable attribute called mojo. Imagine that Obama was struggling, at this late hour, to come up with the right message. What would the conventional wisdom say?

That it was over, of course. That Obama was toast. That staking everything on the March 4 primaries in Ohio and Texas was a starry-eyed hope, not a plan, and that it was time to smell the coffee.

Whenever Obama faced reporters, he’d have to answer tough questions. Why was he carrying on, knowing that he’d have to win by unrealistically large margins in all the remaining states to catch up? Didn’t it worry him that relying on the superdelegates—the Democratic establishment, basically—to hand him the nomination could divide and weaken the party? Wasn’t he concerned that Republican John McCain has such a head start in unifying his party and plotting his general election campaign?

The above, you will have noticed, is an accurate description of where Clinton stands right now. Yet nobody is forcing her to respond publicly to those painful questions. The reason is obvious: She’s Hillary Clinton, and history suggests it’s foolish to count out a Clinton until the last dog dies.

But history can be a deceptive guide—and the Clinton campaign’s failure to recognize that fact may be what finally dooms her candidacy.

more...

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080222_a_fair_question/

[bigtree]

1. all he wants. or anyone else who asks, is for her to drop out

Robinson should respect the right of those states who are left, to decide that question, and not polls and pundits.

[Little Star]

3. Amen.

[kristopher]

4. Lousy dodge - try answering his point. If it was Obama what would HRC's supporters say?

He is pointing to the states that have voted. Why are you ignoring them?

[bigtree]

18. the answer is, that, if those states Obama won matter, then the upcoming ones should matter, as well

Why is there such a fear from Obama supporters of the votes which will come from those states? Most Obama supporters say they're ahead. Let's measure those claims with actual votes.

[KAZ]

7. Apparently, you didn't read beyond the snip.

The rest of the article is more about her campaign, and the thought processes of her advisers, than it is about dropping out.

[bigtree]

16. It's just the same mentality. "My choice is ahead, why doesn't the other candidate quit?"

Politics and gossip.

[KAZ]

2. Eugene Robinson! Man I love that guy. It's weird, but my..

.. day brightens when I see his face on an MSNBC panel.

Sorry, not a substantive reply. Guess I just had to gush.

[babylonsister]

5. You're not alone; I really like him. He seems so

smart and gentle; he doesn't often have a negative word for anyone.

[islandmkl]

6. I don't think Hillary needs to quit. I don't think that is what he is saying.

ALL everyone wants is for Hillary to not take the Party down with her.

[babylonsister]

8. I think he's saying she has some explaining to do, as would

Obama were their current situations reversed. Just because she's a Clinton doesn't mean she should get a free pass.

[islandmkl]

10. it's not even explaining to do...

it's "when is she going to be asked the reality questions?"

[Meldread]

9. Eugene sums up Hillary's problems exactly. He's dead right. -nt-

:kick:

[Barack_America]

14. Yep. Especially the bit about giving Hillary a new persona every week...

...while simultaneously trying to convince voters that Obama was the true unknown.

That's the story of these campaigns, IMO. Steady versus panicked.

[gateley]

11. I must admit I hadn't looked at it from that perspective, as obvious as it might

be. He's right on.

I do find it amusing that there are so many opinions as to what will finally "doom her candidacy". It think just not getting the votes will pretty much do it.

I enjoyed the article - thanks babylonsister! nt

[anigbrowl]

12. She is getting a fairly easy ride from the broadcast media...

who are not pushing her campaign that hard on these questions...not least because the longer the campaign goes on, the better it is for ratings.

Edit to add 'broadcast'. Not true of print or online media.

[TexasObserver]

13. Eugene Robinson is one of my favorites, for decades. He's right.

He's always very fair on the news channels, too.

[Window]

15. As usual, he's right on point.

Thanks for sharing.

K/R



Peace:thumbsup:

[cottonseed]

17. How this is still being covered as a horse race is beyond me.

This article is correct. The mountain of evidence for Obama basically having this thing wrapped up is massive. If it where the other way around, Obama would be run out of town. Maybe the press is running this a bit longer in an attempt to further "vet" Obama, but this thing is over and Obama needs to start concentrating on crushing McCain in the general.

[BenDavid]

19. well hell brother robinson, obama might slip on some ice in

ohio and come down with a severe concussion and be out of the campaign and if all the folks dropped out then you talking about a party being in disarray. DAMN! I say let the clinton campaign do what they think best. Hell, you have done enough anti hillary shit in your columns for us to know you are not objective, but you have a right to express whatever the hell you want too. Just like now when I can push these keys and voice my opinion.

NO brother robinson it is you that fail to understand that hrc is staying in the damn campaign because for her to give up would validate your perception of a woman. They give up to easily if they do not get their way. Same old sexist bullshit and coming from a damn brother at that who knows damn well how hard yo ass had to not give up...

So keep your sexist comments to yourself and be damn proud of yourself for not giving up when folks told you that you had no chance to become a writer, let along a writer for the washington post.

[writes3000]

21. Huh? What did he say that was sexist? n/t

[BenDavid]

23. go to washinton post and look for eugene robinson and read

some of his prior writings and it will amaze you....Sorry i did not have a link to any of them, but he appears in the paper here on a wednesday....

[Cha]

20. Yeah, it's a very fair question and you can

take to the bank that hilarys would have already dismissed Obama as history..but somehow they take umbrage when the same is suggested for hilaryland, the great potemkin village.

Edit~ To add

“Listen, Hillary is going to be the nominee,” campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told reporters the day after Iowa, as if the result were just a clerical error."

Terry McAuliffe the enforcer while Dean is out building a 5-0 State Strategy from the ground up.

"Yes, we’re dealing with Hillary Clinton, whose picture ought to be in the dictionary beside the word resilient. But after losing 10 in a row, she can’t avoid facing—and we can no longer avoid asking—those unwelcome questions about whether she does her party more harm than good if she stays in the race until the convention."

Oh, that they cared whether they did the party any good.. Have they ever?

[Colobo]

22. Great piece by Eugene Robinson.

[my3boyz]

24. Great article. Thanks for sharing. nt

[Johnny__Motown]

25. He should have included a plan to break party rules by seating delegates from FL&MI but good article

[ellisonz]

26. Nailed it.