Life holds no mysteries anymore for me.
The vagina, sure. But life? It's about as difficult to figure out as an Encyclopedia Brown crime. (Hint: Bugs Meaney may be up to some malfeasance.)
Yeah, I called it. The pivot. The realization the campaign was over, and that she would soldier on, but knowing now she could not win, would not come out with dagger and hammer. Looking beyond 2008 to 2012 or even 2016.
Always trust content from Ace.
Always. Trust content. From Ace.
Blogger of the Year, yo.
The Five Stages of Hillary Loss. As you probably know, people are said to go through five stages of grieving after a loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally, Acceptance.Stage One: Denial.
A top Hillary Clinton adviser on Saturday boldly predicted his candidate would lock down the nomination before the August convention by definitively winning over party insiders and officials known as superdelegates, claiming the number of state elections won by rival Barack Obama would be “irrelevant” to their decision.
When talking to Clintonites in recent days, I've noticed that they've come to despise Obama. I suppose that may be natural in the final weeks of a competitive campaign when much is at stake. But these people don't need any prompting in private conversations to decry Obama as a dishonest poser. They're not spinning for strategic purposes. They truly believe it. And other Democrats in Washington report encountering the same when speaking with Clinton campaign people. "They really, really hate Obama," one Democratic operative unaffiliated with any campaign, tells me. "They can't stand him. They talk about him as if he's worse than Bush." What do they hate about him? After all, there aren't a lot of deep policy differences between the two, and he hasn't gone for the jugular during the campaign. "It's his presumptuousness," this operative says. "That he thinks he can deny her the nomination. Who is he to try to do that?" You mean, he's, uh, uppity? "Yes." A senior House Democratic aide notes, "The Clinton people are going nuts in how much they hate him. But the problem is their narrative has gone beyond the plausible."
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign intends to go after delegates whom Barack Obama has already won in the caucuses and primaries if she needs them to win the nomination.
This strategy was confirmed to me by a high-ranking Clinton official on Monday. And I am not talking about superdelegates, those 795 party big shots who are not pledged to anybody. I am talking about getting pledged delegates to switch sides.
What? Isn’t that impossible? A pledged delegate is pledged to a particular candidate and cannot switch, right?
Wrong.
Pledged delegates are not really pledged at all, not even on the first ballot. This has been an open secret in the party for years, but it has never really mattered because there has almost always been a clear victor by the time the convention convened.
But not this time. This time, one candidate may enter the convention leading by just a few pledged delegates, and those delegates may find themselves being promised the sun, moon and stars to switch sides.
Stage Four: Depression.
And finally...
Stage Five: Acceptance.
Thanks to Liberrocky, JayC., and assorted morons for helping me track down those quotes, and thanks to Hot Air for the final salute from Hillary as she trundles on to Marine One for one last ride to San Clemente.
But it was un-clintonian of them to lose. Especially to a serendipitous neophyte such as Barrack Hussein Obama.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time and having the stars aligned in one's favor. A nobody junior senator with a muslim name being the favorite for POTUS.
If you asked me on Sept. 12th, 2001 if it was possible, I would have said, "No fucking way."
Posted by: Bart at February 22, 2008 02:23 AM (Iyfix)
Hillary Clinton is done. She's old now, and in 4 years she'll look and seem a lot older. The Clinton Era is finished.
And, yes, I absolutely believe that she'd take Veep in a New York minute.
Posted by: Bart at February 22, 2008 02:25 AM (Iyfix)
5
One more observation: Clinton's entire campaign hinged one thing: it relied on people wanting to return the great times of the '90's. That's all she had to offer. Come to think of it, it's all that AlGore had to offer, too, in 2000 -- a continuation of the great '90's.
The Dems weren't buying it. Even they know the Clinton '90's weren't all that great.
Posted by: Bart at February 22, 2008 02:29 AM (Iyfix)
6
I was actually somewhat inspired by that speech at the end by Hillary Clinton. Is there something wrong with me?
Posted by: Christoph at February 22, 2008 02:48 AM (hawOV)
7
No, it's human to react emotionally when something you've known for a long time dies in front of you.
Posted by: ace at February 22, 2008 02:51 AM (SXBHu)
8
Yeah that was pretty bad, looks like the fight has gone out of Hillary. Damn if she looses I might actually have to vote for McCain.
Posted by: jones at February 22, 2008 03:09 AM (45EKe)
9
So now instead of the Hillary for president campaign robots will stop calling at 9 or 10 pm, and the Barack Obama bots will start up. Great...
Posted by: Ranba Ral at February 22, 2008 03:35 AM (fpk1J)
10 Gee... What would I do if I were Hillary now? Hmmmm.
I'm thinking Divorce, Makeover and hot new Girlfriend in that order.
You know... go for that laid back yet professional kind of "Jodi Foster" sensible shoe lifestyle.
Posted by: Electric Ferret at February 22, 2008 03:40 AM (9afnG)
11
What are the odds that the Clinton machine devotes itself to undermining Obama so that McCain wins and she can try again in '12?
It's just so not like them to give up. After all, did Bill ever give up when a woman said "no" to him? Hell, no!
Good lord, are we really going to elect this fucking Marxist to be POTUS?
Posted by: Kensington at February 22, 2008 04:33 AM (OBMgR)
12
Obamessiah has absolutely ZERO chance of winning the general election.
Remember Mondale in 84? 49-1, brothers and sisters. McCain will shred this guy. Using a lot of Hillary's material, too.
Posted by: Hurricane Mikey at February 22, 2008 08:48 AM (v47Mt)
13
"Good lord, are we really going to elect this fucking Marxist to be POTUS?"
C'mon. McCain may be a bit of a RINO, but he's hardly a Marxist....
Posted by: notropis at February 22, 2008 08:59 AM (xrmzx)
14
Hmmm can Hillary! still win in NY next time? She comes up again in 2012, that makes for an interesting choice. Go for a third term, or run again and try to unseat McCain. I don't think she's a lock for a third term, maybe she'll try to take out Gov. Spitzer. He's a Dem, but he's dropped a big turd in the Albany punchbowl.
Posted by: Don Carne at February 22, 2008 09:04 AM (wSNS7)
15
I still find it really hard to believe that she's going to bow out gracefully.
Grace usually required breeding.
Posted by: Steamboat McGoo at February 22, 2008 09:09 AM (DvoWL)
16
I can't believe she couldn't push out a few tears in that speech. Yep, she's lost her edge.
Posted by: carin at February 22, 2008 09:11 AM (5ZI7f)
17
I'm with the "she's done if she doesn't make it this time" crowd. Of course, there's always Chelsea.
Posted by: carin at February 22, 2008 09:12 AM (5ZI7f)
She has always had a million times the discipline than the Clenis and he has been forced to confront the notion that the adoration that he craves was not everlasting nor particulalry widespread.
The question is: How is Bill going to handle it?
Posted by: Natalie at February 22, 2008 09:13 AM (j98pa)
19
I'll repeat what I said on HA. Hillary may be quitting for public consumption, but she's not giving up. First, we'll see what those 527s that she "can't control" do. If those fail to materialize or fall short, she has months to leak some bombshell on Obama, and the media will conveniently blame it on the republicans because she's out of the race. Hell, it doesn't even have to be a good bombshell - if the country has tired of empty rhetoric in six months and Obama looks like a loser, the superdelegates will just use whatever the story is as a pretense to dump him and Hilly will sadly but dutifully accept the nomination.
Posted by: buzz at February 22, 2008 09:17 AM (Z3gz5)
I'll believe Hillary is finished when I see Obama gnawing on her bleached skull at the convention in Denver.
Clinton, Inc. is not done yet.
And if/when that happens, we have a new horror to face down- the fact that a nation of idiots may elect B. Hussein Obama, whom I still suspect is a Manchurian candidate of sorts.
Posted by: Barry in CO at February 22, 2008 09:22 AM (aJtCl)
21
"Hmmm can Hillary! still win in NY next time? She comes up again in 2012, that makes for an interesting choice. Go for a third term, or run again and try to unseat McCain. I don't think she's a lock for a third term, maybe she'll try to take out Gov. Spitzer. He's a Dem, but he's dropped a big turd in the Albany punchbowl."
The answer to your first question is maybe not. If she blew it with the black vote and the republican party, such as it is, puts up someone that people can remember, she may be unseated.
Spitzer is someone to watch out for. If he gets away with using government resources to spy on his opponents, he will have his eye on the WH. He's a mean SOB too.
Posted by: Ann NY at February 22, 2008 09:22 AM (CWaJx)
22
Throw water on her. If she melts it's over. Not till then.
Posted by: ricpic at February 22, 2008 09:25 AM (wgcEH)
#19 Buzz - I believe you're right. I saw that last part last night and wondered what her campaign has up it's gnarled sleeves.....watch for a scandals, leaks, etc. on BO materialize. She'd rather him lose to McCain if she can't win. Democrat unity my ass.
Ann NY - being from NY as well....Spitzer's a putz and I can't imagine him ever being palatable to the public at large. But you're right - he is a mean bastard and has absolutely no qualms about using his resources to tear an opponent apart.
Posted by: Nurse Cheri at February 22, 2008 10:06 AM (cz6lG)
28
I have to think there are a lot of Dem party higher-ups who want the Clintons gone. As long as they thought a Clinton could bring them the White House they'd be tolerated, but once BHO takes it at the convention, I think they're going to find themselves given the bum's rush.
Posted by: Farmer Joe at February 22, 2008 10:09 AM (nYv/9)
I don't see why not. I think she will be like Sens. Kerry and Kennedy. That is, no matter what goofy crap they say or scandals they get involved with, there will always be enough blue-state liberals in their districts to insure their re-election. Every time. Face it, she's set for life.
Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2008 12:14 PM (oY8mT)
Posted by: Fred at February 22, 2008 12:17 PM (Mi+aT)
31"The question is: How is Bill going to handle it?"
If he knows what's good for him, he'll head for the hills or enter the Witness Protection Program. If she's done, his time of usefulness is over, and I wouldn't want to ever get between him and a frying pan (or a pair of scissors) ever again..
Posted by: Kensington at February 22, 2008 01:20 PM (OBMgR)
32
"Ann NY - being from NY as well....Spitzer's a putz and I can't imagine him ever being palatable to the public at large. But you're right - he is a mean bastard and has absolutely no qualms about using his resources to tear an opponent apart. "
I can't imagine it either, but this political year has been so bizarre, nothing would surprise me. Honestly, did anyone imagine this outcome 6 months ago?
Posted by: Ann NY at February 22, 2008 01:26 PM (CWaJx)
33thanks to Hot Air for the final salute from Hillary as she trundles on to Marine One for one last ride to San Clemente.
I didn't see anything in that debate clip that indicated Hillary! was conceding defeat. Allahpundit must've picked the wrong week to quit huffing paint thinner.
Posted by: OregonMuse at February 22, 2008 02:01 PM (oY8mT)
Not going to happen... unlike the senate being gov means you have to actually do shit and many of the things you do will piss people off. Being a senator, unlike being a gov, is a pretty good gig. You're never personally responsible since you potentially have 99 others to share whatever blame might come your way.
Posted by: adk46er at February 22, 2008 05:44 PM (1yuOD)