Obama Supporters: Hillary Clinton Has Simply Lost Her Perspective, Have Some Compassion

[writes3000]

Put yourself in Hillary Clinton's shoes. How long has she planned this run for the White House? How much unbelievable pressure has she been under every single day?

On her shoulders, this woman has been carrying the hopes and dreams of American women present and past. What immense pressure she must put on herself every day for two and a half years.

And truthfully, most of us know, she had the victory in her grasp. This was her race to win. And she didn't.

So she is fighting as hard as she can - giving this race everything she's got. It has consumed her.

And in the last few months, she has slowly but surely lost perspective.

"McCain has a lifetime of experience. Barack Obama has a speech."

"Hard working Americans, white Americans, are voting for me"

"We will obliterate Iran"

...and multiple references to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.

NONE of these statements have helped her. NONE.

She's a smart woman. She has simply lost perspective of what is smart, what is politically savvy and what is appropriate to say.

This loss must be devastating to her. Because she has placed enormous pressure on herself to win - for herself and for women around the world.

Today's comments were self-destructive. They didn't serve Hillary Clinton.

As we all pile on, maybe we should take a moment to be smart, sensitive and compassionate.

You can be sure Barack Obama will be all of those things.

[NJmaverick]

1. Sorry, she is not sorry for anything she has done, and I am not inclined to forgive her

it's not like she has a long track record of helping our nation, that would cause me to over look all the damage she has and has tried to inflict.

[writes3000]

3. Has she done more damage to the nation or more damage to herself?

Seriously. Honest question.

I think she's done far more damage to herself.

[NJmaverick]

11. The difference is I care about our nation, I no longer give a rat's behind about her

or her husband.

[Blondiegrrl]

24. WORD.

[TimesNY]

14. Can we say "both of the above"?

Just wondered if you offer that choice......

Look at all the poor choices she has made in this campaign, and what horrible things she has said, and yet 16 million people still think she's "experienced" enough to be President? I think we need to question how qualified to make decisions people like her supporters are. They obviously don't get it.....it's NOT 1996..or 2000, having a stupid insensitive white woman for Prez is no different than having a white guy like Bush.

[dchill]

35. For the time being, herself. As for the nation...

we won't know for perhaps a few years, will we?

"Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

[apocalypsehow]

2. I believe she did this deliberately, not expecting such a firestorm. It was more dog-whistling for

the Hate Vote she's been courting, and this time it backfired big time.

[havocmom]

6. BINGO

She has been pushing this shit and she finally pushed too hard.
She is a full grown woman and she is responsible for what she says

[writes3000]

15. But this is a race for the Superdelegates. How would courting the hate vote help her?

[XtianCombat]

32. ...or what Krugman calls "the Clinton rules"

What’s particularly saddening is the way many Obama supporters seem happy with the application of “Clinton rules” — the term a number of observers use for the way pundits and some news organizations treat any action or statement by the Clintons, no matter how innocuous, as proof of evil intent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/opinion/11krugman.html

[Heather MC]

4. Can I just say I love this post

No need to gloat she has buried herself
In a way she has assassinated herself
Wow what a tragedy of errors

[KAZ]

Sorry. Not this time.

[DJ13]

5. As we all pile on, maybe we should take a moment to be smart, sensitive and compassionate.

Screw that.

How many supposed "gaffes" can she be forgiven for before its time to say theres no more forgiveness to give?

The notion that she's only staying in the race because she's been secretly hoping a nut job would take out Obama is beyond forgivable.

[BlooInBloo]

7. "Have Some Compassion" - I assume you're kidding.

[quantass]

8. She has lost perspective.Perhaps she needs to be shaken awake to her gaffes and led to the exit ASAP

[Cha]

25. Exactly..and I think Keith Olbermann did

the country a favor tonight with his Wake Up, hilary clinton, call.

[KittyWampus]

9. Tell you what, if you and other DU'ers ADMIT she's mentally unstable and decompensating

I will give her a break.

[Duke Newcombe]

10. You could say, "she lost her bearings", then...

Understandable.

Duke

[Mz Pip]

12. It is sad

I won't pile on. I don't need to. I just wish she would gracefully concede.

I say this in all honesty. I really really wanted to like her. I wanted to see a woman presidnet in my life time. I am in the demographic of Hillary's most ardent supporters but I could never muster up much enthusiasm for her. I never hated her, though.

That said, I wish she and her supporters would have been as thoughtful and compassionate as your post is.

[havocmom]

13. When she shows genuine contrition and then gets the fuck off the stage, we will lay off

Not one minute before. We are not Obama. He is a better leader than we. That may be why he is running and winning.

We are citizens and we can choose to hold hateful, bitter, conniving, obsessed narcissist to task for what she says. Senator Obama can have the high ground. We hold the ground Hillary is trying to take. If people would hold politicians accountable more often, we might be in better condition as a nation.

[crankychatter]

16. she apologized if her comments offended any Kennedy's or other folks

which is to say FUCK Obama, his family, the AA community and everyone else that has fears for his safety

get it?

oh, she meant it... whether or not she meant to say it in the way she really meant it, is another matter

and it doesn't matter

[SaveAmerica]

17. If she had conceded earlier that her chances of winning were slim to none, how much stronger would

the Democratic Party be now? Sure, many of us can see how this is hurting the Clinton's personally, but how many Americans are connecting this tattered mess with the Democratic Party as a whole?

If you let someone continue to do things that are destructive, whether by looking away or assisting him, you are an enabler. When I stopped saying that it would be better for the Clintons and the Democratic Party if she conceded that her chances of winning were slim to none, I was an enabler. Every time I deleted a sentence (even in this post) because I thought it would offend a Clinton supporter because they couldn't handle that truth I enabled their weakness.

We can't just let it go anymore, losing perspective might be the polite way of saying what's happening here, but this is snowballing in ways that are so far beyond healthy for her and the Democratic Party.

We've got to get those keys out of Hillary Clinton's hands.

[TexasObserver]

18. She's like a pilot in bad weather who quits believing her controls.

That happens, and the pilot sometimes stop following the controls. They lose all perspective and fly themselves into a mountain or the ground. She's doing that.

[Whisp]

19. sorry, no compassion from me.

i have saved it for the people the clintons and bushes have harmed - welfare reform from the 90s, etc. and the suffering people of Iraq and the hurting military that went on a wild goose chase for nothing but pain to fill fat assholes pockets - thanks to votes like hers and others.

[Diane R]

20. We all have disappointments in our lives. Most of us accept them with grace and dignity.

[AuntPatsy]

21. This was very well written and thoughtful, its a shame so many will

throw mire into what I feel to be a wonderful attempt at uniting,its becoming clearer to me that some simply could care less about unity. What a sad world we live in, I once thought only re pubs guilty of such actions.

[crankychatter]

26. don't tell other people how to feel, or invalidate their feelings or DEMAND unity at a time like NOW

let folks process this latest BULLSHIT...

it's shocking and awful

many very smart people agree...

unity?

you get unity by pretending you're not getting a SWORD in the pinions?

should we apologize for saying 'OUCH' when someone kicks us?

[Blondiegrrl]

22. I can't have compassion because she is KILLING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

There is no feasible way for her to win the nomination. Every day she remains in the race is another day for McSame to strengthen his chances in November.

[Bluebear]

28. She is doint no such thing. Obama & the Democrats will trounce McCain if we work heard at it.

[Joe the Revelator]

23. No more passes

[woofless]

27. The only place she "had the victory in hand" was in the

corporate media echo chamber for years on end, and in her own mind. Obama won more contests. Period. For years the media screamed that the Dem's would nominate Hillary for Pres. in '08. She only became the "presumptive" nominee 'cuz they would not shut up about it. (Conversely, corporate media ignored Mr. Edwards and focused almost entirely on the Obama/Clinton portion of the contest.)She ran a poor campaign and is now showing how far unbridled ambition can lead a good person astray. She really needs to STFU now and get on with being a great Senator. That is glory enough.

[Triana]

29. She can't lose something she never had. n/t

[americanstranger]

30. This proves beyond all doubt

that she is not psychologically fit to be President of The United States.

She has a way to go toward redemption. She has hurt and used and thrown aside an awful lot of people during this campaign.

She should go home and do some soul-searching, and figure out how she can mend fences. Tall order, and I don't think she can do it.

But she has to try.

- as

[grantcart]

31. But it raises many questions

(BTW you omitted the worst - the Bosnian sniper comments)

1) Why does she make so many totally unprofessional remarks that are clearly below her level of intelligence

2) How is it that other candidates are sunk by less severe gaffes and she is given mulligan after mulligan - and she still charges that she was treated unfairly.

3) Why do people support her when she clearly is not going to get the nomination?

[writes3000]

37. I agree and worry about #1. It's a big problem for her.

I don't know if she's tone deaf, exhausted or just firing wildly. But she has made too many of these kinds of comments, I agree.

I just recognize that she's put a world of expectations on herself. It can't be easy.

I don't think she should be the nominee. But I'm trying to remind myself that she has been hurting herself in today's spectacle most of all.

[zulchzulu]

33. Hillary Clinton will have my compassion when she drops out and resigns her Senate seat

Otherwise, she is no different than any neocon out to fuck the US over.

[chill_wind]

34. Turn off the sound and watch her speaking her non-apology apology.

Watch her face and eyes. Look at her expressions. That is not remorse.

[AZBlue]

36. I'm sure Obama will be, but I will not be, not to Hillary Clinton.

Ever.

[DeschutesRiver]

38. Most candidates who run for office

can say the same thing about the planning, the hopes, the execution of them. Although on the woman issue, it is safe to say that this "gaffe" (which is being added now to a long laundry list of similar gaffes), along with her delusional refusal to either admit mistakes or that her campaign is over, is making a mockery of what I look for in a strong woman candidate.

In fact, if she doesn't immediately quit this race, or god forbid she does an even bigger gaffe, it may result in there being a long time passing before anyone takes another woman candidate seriously. One thing to remember - these gaffes aren't coming from someone with any noble goals for women in general. All they are is proof to me that she doesn't give a rat damn about anyone other than herself - her gaffes are strictly a product of seeing her own personal ambition thwarted. She is unfit for office.

I do agree about what you say Obama will do, at least in public the man will take the high road, and believe me, I admire him greatly for having developed that ability at such a young age. I am older than him, and simply want to kick her ass until she falls off the end of the earth for what she said, and what it means about her real character.

[RiverStone]

39. Her campaign is off life support now...

No need for the lynch mob today.

It's almost over.

Let her campaign die in peace or wish some party elder gently takes her to the exit. She may be too exhausted to know what she is doing anymore.

Very soon, we will all be focusing on beating McCain.

Obama has won. Nothing will change that.

[quiet.american]

40. .... I'll cry tomorrow. nt

[Swamp Rat]

41. How about letting folks process their anger before telling them to feel sorry for Clinton.

The Hillary hacks claiming "fake outrage" is fanning the flames.