But I found their characterization in both respects inherently flawed. (Not to mention being cursedly ill-fated for Obama.) Therefore, instead of joining the gaggle of those writing Hillary’s political death notice, here’s the admonition I offered in a published commentary the morning after Iowa:
[I]t really is too premature to count Hillary out. So let’s hold off on the celebrations for now.
And, of course, her razor-thin win over Obama in New Hampshire last night vindicated my admonition. Yet, true to form, almost every political pundit in America immediately began heralding her as the second coming of Lazarus, and (practically) dismissing Obama as the second coming of Howard Dean (grrrrhhhhh).
Whereas, in fact, the only thing truly noteworthy about the results in Iowa and New Hampshire is that – for the first time in a generation – we have bona fide races for both the Democratic and Republican nominations for president of the United States.
(Although, no matter who the Republican nominee is, he won’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell against either Obama or Hillary in November.)
Therefore, I admonish you to ignore all of the talking-head BS that will surely flow from every new poll, political gaffe, or new primary result between now and “Super Tuesday”. Because chances are very good that even after that purportedly fateful day on February 5, we still will not have a definitive nominee for either party.
That said, am I the only one who thinks it was patently disingenuous when Hillary declared last night that – after 35 years of playing a political Mother Teresa – she finally found her voice this week? (Especially since this is the obvious gender-card spin she’s putting on the cracked voice that held back her tears of sorrow over what she feared was her looming defeat…before last night’s results.)
And am I the only one who thinks it was patently offensive when her husband Bill derided Obama supporters on Monday as a bunch of fools for buying into – what he riduculed as – “the biggest fairytale I’ve ever seen . . . Give me a break!”?
Never mind the irony, if not hypocrisy, of Clinton – who far too many blacks have hailed as the first black president of the United States – doing all he can to undermine the opportunity for the first real black man to earn this historic tribute.
But trust me folks, the venal self-righteousness of the Clintons’ political ambitions knows no bounds. For example, I doubt any other white politician in America would dare make the specious, if not latently racist, assertion that President Lyndon Johnson did more to win civil rights for blacks than Martin Luther King, Jr. – as Hillary did a couple days ago. Yet not only does she expect to get away with it, she even expects her supporters to shout “Amen”!
And this brings me to the support of black folk, which the Clintons have always taken for granted. Because they must fear that blacks will now do to them what whites have done to black politicians for decades: i.e., promise they’ll vote across racial lines, then vote their race on election day. . (Which, incidentally, may be the reason why – even though all of the polls had him winning easily going into yesterday’s vote – Barack still came up short.)
Therefore, the Clintons will have to gamble that their old race cards – like ace of spades Rev. Jesse Jackson and ace of clubs Rev. Al Sharpton – will play for their presidential patronage with more zeal than ever before. And, so far, these good ole black boys are rising to the occasion – complete with Andrew Young trying to convince us that even Hillary is blacker than Barack.
They said this day would never come…They said our sights were set too high . . . But on this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn’t do. Years from now you’ll look back and say this is the moment where it all began. – Barack Obama in Iowa, January 3, 2008
But this is Obama’s clarion call to his supporters, and his defiant challenge to all, including white liberals and their enabling black sycophants, who regard him as nothing more than an uppity Negro getting in the way of Hillary’s coronation: “Wait your turn Barack! Wait your turn….”
Meanwhile, I suspect people in Iowa and New Hampshire (the two whitest states in the union) voted for Obama in such high numbers because they felt both in their hearts and minds that he would make them proud in many ways. And no doubt absolving themselves of a little racist guilt by electing him the first black president of the United states figured prominently in this respect.
But if these white people can feel this way about Obama, then I suspect whites in New York, California, Florida, et al will feel even more so. In which case, all he needs is for his fellow blacks to appreciate the categorical imperative of loving and respecting him just as much….
NOTE: Again, let us pray that – as Obama begins to look more and more like the truly inevitable Democratic nominee (and the next president of the United States) – his Secret Service bodyguards will redouble their efforts to protect him. Because the last thing America needs right now is another assassination that triggers all of the lost hope and incendiary rage of the killing of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr…combined!
Alas, there’s nothing Obama’s bodyguards can do to protect him from the character assassination the Clintons have already begun executing against him. But I am confident not only that he can withstand their negative attacks, but also that the American people will resent and reject the Clintons even more for launching them.
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Glenn says
Anthony,
While I am not surprised to see you on the anti-Hillary train, I am disappointed that you buy the media hype about the negative campaign (Clinton) vs. positive campaign (Obama). After all, Obama’s camp was the first to engage in character assassination (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20406221/)