A History lesson: "It's too early to talk about Hillary's withdrawal."

[Metric System]

It's too early to talk about Hillary's withdrawal.
By David Greenberg
Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 11:33 AM ET

Despite Hillary Clinton's victories in Ohio and Texas yesterday, she still trails Barack Obama in delegates. The Obama camp, claiming she won't be able to close the gap, is spinning the case for her to withdraw. Though self-serving, their argument is framed as a concern for the Democratic Party. At this late date, the reasoning goes, the Democrats need to stop squabbling and unite behind a nominee who can take on the Republican nominee, John McCain. Shouldn't Hillary graciously concede and end this endless primary season?

Like the calls for Al Gore to concede the presidency to George Bush in November 2000, this anxiety about the imagined consequences of a protracted fight misreads both history and the calendar. In 2000, pundits seemed not to know that contested elections in previous years—notably the 1960 race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon—remained officially unresolved until barely a month before Inauguration Day, and so they talked as if each hour of uncertainty brought the republic nearer to doom.

The calls to wrap up the Democratic primary race show a similar amnesia. To suggest that March 5 marks a late date in the calendar ignores the duration of primary seasons past. Indeed, were Hillary Clinton to have pulled out of the race this week, Obama would have actually clinched a contested race for the party's nomination earlier than almost any other Democrat since the current primary system took shape—the sole exception being John Kerry four years ago. Fighting all the way through the primaries, in other words, is perfectly normal.

Read on:
http://www.slate.com/id/2185831/

[jgraz]

1. OK, let's talk about Hillary's defeat

It happened about two weeks ago, in case you missed it.

[Hepburn]

2. ....

...LOL...great reply! :applause:

[LeftCoast]

8. Except that if she really had been defeated we wouldn't be having this conversation

Now would we?

[kelligesq]

3. I find it outrageous that anyone would take the calls for her to concede coming from

0 supporters and the MSM seriously.

[Gore1FL]

5. She isn't taking the calls?

Someone should try at 03:00.

[mattclearing]

4. huh-huh...you said withdrawal. n/t

[JDPriestly]

6. I think it is the nastiness of the candidate'(s)' (not taking sides) campaign strategies

that is causing many Democrats to want the campaign to end.

The candidates differ a little when it comes to ideas, but for the most part, they are both middle-of-the-road, fairly conservative Democrats. Their differences are personal and concern their experience and their personalities and styles.

At this point, they are getting attention by mouning personal attacks. It's one thing for us DUers to flame each other, but quite another when the candidates flame. It's very public, it's very emotional, it's very ugly, and it makes voters feel tired.

It is becoming obvious that we will never have a really clear winner. The events in Texas are instructive. Hillary won the vote at the polls, but Obama won the caucus. Granted the rules were different in the two contests, but still, they both won -- in the same state. They are pretty equal in terms of voter support. Which of them wins a particular contest is almost a matter of luck.

If Hillary and Obama keep bickering and keep contesting every primary up to the convention, it is possible that the nomination will go beyond the first ballot and neither of them will be the nominee. Alternatively, Obama or Hillary may win enough votes to get the nomination on the first ballot at the convention (by a few delegates). But if he/she thinks he/she will be able to just kiss and make up with Hillary/Obama after a couple more months of exchanging low blows and then proceed into the national campaign, he/she is making a big mistake.

Unless Obama and Hillary work a deal very soon, one of them will take the nomination, but not have the whole party solidly behind him/her. Instead of being able to put all his/her energy into the national campaign, he/she will have to spend a lot of time between the convention and the election courting the other candidate's wing of the party. Both Hillary and Obama are well organized, but they are fools if they think either of them can pull that together in time to win the election. It's time for both Obama and Hillary to step out of the ring and make a deal. By setting aside pettiness and working together, they can show Americans how ready they and the Democratic Party are to lead the country. Working together at this point would win the trust and respect of a lot of voters.

[Jawja]

11. Democrats want it to end

because although Hillary HAS been defeated, she - with the help of the Corporate Media - is going to stay in the race under the assumption that she can pull it out at the convention and to do that, she has to run a nasty, negative, "take no prisoners" campaign going into the convention against Obama, which helps McCain. She also has to get the super delegates to overturn the voters and she has to get the Democratic Party to dump it's Primary rules and seat the Michigan and Florida delegates. IF she succeeds in the endeavor, she will have bitterly divided the party and will ENSURE the Rethug grip on power for at least four more years.

THIS is why Democrats want this thing to end; and it's up to the leadership of the Party now to come up with a suitable plan to resolve it in such a way that a united Party faces the Rethug machine in the Fall.

[WheresMyVoice]

7. Using THE math

This race is tied -- slight edge for ~ THE LADY ! ~

[JTFrog]

12. Rove is that you? zOMG!

Is this the same super duper reliable math that the voting machines use? I hear it's so secret that you can only give it to folks via PM!!!!

I'm SERIES!!!1!!! Seakrit MATH pruvs it!!111!! This is HUGH!!!11!!

[RiverStone]

9. Slate also has a calculator...

http://www.slate.com/features/delegatecounter/

There is no way Hillary will win the pledged delegates.

And I can't fathom party leaders opting for a bloody and HUGE floor fight in Denver this summer.

Just being realistic.

peace~

[TexasLady]

10. Ive looked and looked for an answer to a question

scanning the threads, but is it true that Clinton's campaign is trying to freeze superdelegates before they could announce anything?
I just can't seem to find a thread on it.

I heard it on Randi Rhodes.