The Folly Of The Campaign To Get Clinton To Drop Out
By Big Tent Democrat
Speaking for me only
It is quickly being proven that the Obama network (NBC), the Obama pundits (the NBC pundits, Ed Schultz, etc.), the Obama blogs, the Obama endorsers (Leahy, Dodd, Casey) and the Obama campaign do not know how to close the deal in this race. (For those who want a more negative viewpoint on Clinton to leaven the point being made here, I recommend this post.)
The way NOT to do it is to attack Hillary Clinton at every turn. It does not exude inevitability. It exudes fear. It alienates the Clinton supporters who would have to accept and support Obama as the nominee. It is harmful and divisive. And more pragmatically, it STRENGTHENS Clinton. Todd Beeton explains:
Is The Obama Inevitability Campaign Backfiring?
Hillary Clinton is clearly winning the message war here. On the campaign trail in Indiana today, responding to questions about Sen. Patrick Leahy's call for her to drop out of the race, Hillary Clinton framed her staying in the race as letting voters' "voices be heard."
From The AP:
"There are millions of reasons to continue this race: people in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina, and all of the contests yet to come," Clinton told reporters Friday. "This is a very close race and clearly I believe strongly that everyone should have their voices heard and their votes counted." [...]. . .
And as if to prove her point, look at how the AP describes the crowds at her campaign events today:
If Hillary Rodham Clinton is feeling heat from pundits and party elders to quit the race and back Barack Obama, you'd never know it from her crowds, energy level and upbeat demeanor on the campaign trail. [...][. . .]
The Tweety Effect writ large. What these Obama supporters, from Olbermann on down, need to learn is that Obama needs to beat Clinton, not have it handed to him. What they suggest would be the absolute worst result for Obama.
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