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March 5, 2008
– Obviously, I am not seriously proposing that Barack Obama
withdraw at this point from the contest for the Democratic
nomination for president. However, tonight's results bring
forth the absurdity of the media coverage over the past few weeks.
Let's sum up reality thus far:
Hillary Clinton has won - by double-digit margins - every big state
except Illinois (Obama's home state) and Texas, which she won, just
not by as big a margin. Ohio, New York, California, Florida,
Michigan, New Jersey, Massachusetts (despite a Kennedy endorsement
for Obama,) Connecticut. She is batting 1000 outside of
Illinois in big state contests.
Sure Barack Obama has won a bunch of
small states, and mainly in caucuses, not primaries which actually
resemble what the vote in November will be like. But if you
look at the two candidates, it is clear that Hillary is the viable
one for November. New York, California, Florida, Michigan,
Ohio, Texas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut.... that is a
road to the White House. If she wins the next contest in
Pennsylvania, then it is basically a clean sweep on her part and
Obama should step up and admit that, delegates aside, Hillary has
bested him in every single contest that matters.
Not only has she won every big state,
virtually all by massive margins, but she has done this with the
media doing a full-court press against her candidacy. The
stories this past week were right out of the 2000 Bush/Gore
campaign. First, the lies again about Obama momentum, closing
in in Ohio. Just like with California, New York, etc., that
line of reporting turned out again to be fiction.
But even more interesting to watch was
the line of pressure that was taken right from the Florida recount.
The line of commentary, despite a race separated by just 1000 or so
votes, and despite holding the popular vote, was whether or not Gore
should just concede. Today, all the stories were about should
Hillary give up.
Well, will we see stories now - or, how
about a single story in the mainstream media - suggesting that Obama,
now having been blown out in virtually every large state contest,
should admit his unelectability in November and withdraw? Will
they suggest if he also loses Pennsylvania he should withdraw?
The reality is that with the media
coverage the Obama campaign has gotten thus far, if he couldn't even
come close in Ohio and couldn't eek out Texas, Obama is downright
not viable for a run in November.
The media tried it after Iowa.
They tried it in the run up to the first Super Tuesday. And
they tried it again in the past few weeks. Again and again the
media has desperately tried to knock Hillary Clinton out and push
Barack Obama. And every time they have failed miserably.
And now things are lining up for Clinton. If she takes these
big state wins and then Pennsylvania, she will certainly have the
case that she's won every prize that will be meaningful in the Fall.
So yes, this campaign goes on another
day. The sum result is that the nation will see two exciting
Democratic candidates front and center while lonely ol' John McCain
struggles to find any coverage interesting enough to garner a
notice. The longer the Democratic race goes on, the better the
nation will know both Democratic candidates, and the less time John
McCain will have to be before the nation.
So excuse the somewhat sarcastic opening
asking if Obama should withdraw. But, not sarcastically, I'd
like to request that all the people who've been asking the candidate
who has won and continues to win every large state, virtually all by
double-digit margins, to withdraw to close their yaps. Obama
is the one who should really re-consider if he can win without solid
bases in the most important places. Tuck away the arrogance,
Clinton is by far the front-runner, and Obama's stash of delegate
cash is no more than meaningless scraps in the overall heap that
will be required come November.
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