The world has changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.
- Galadriel (The Fellowship of the Ring [Movie Edition])
- Galadriel (The Fellowship of the Ring [Movie Edition])
Yes, I know. I'm using a quote from The Lord of the Rings to start out a political blog, but I have to tell you, it is the first thing that came to my mind when doing my usual political readings on the web yesterday. The world HAS changed, or at least the political narrative has, and right now, with a week to go before the Indiana and North Carolina primary, the landscape is quite different than what is has been for many months. Will it hold? As crazy as this cycle has been, I do not think anyone can say for sure, but as it stands right now, I feel it in my bones that Hillary Clinton has both Indiana and North Carolina in her grasp.
Since Pennsylvania, Barack Obama has seemed to be a shell of his former self. He seems spent and just ready for this entire thing to be over with. This has only been made more prominent by the fact that Hillary Clinton, 15 years his senior, seems to be completely energized and ready to take on the world (literally). Obama's attempts to energize the blue collar base of this party have been lackluster at best, and probably his greatest attempt, a three-on-three basketball game that he played in Kokomo, Indiana on Friday, got lost in the weekend newscycle. I am loathe to say that any of the remaining primaries are "make or break" because that has been the meme way too many times in the past few months, but if Hillary Clinton can win by double digits in Indiana and come close or even win in North Carolina, then it is going to be a very rough path for Obama to take the nomination, even with a delegate lead.
Of course, the biggest problem for the Obama campaign at the moment isn't their base issues, it is the fact that Rev. Jeremiah Wright decided now was a good time to go on a PR-apolooza, which has done nothing more than pick the scab on the wound that might have healed eventually. I do not know if it is just unmitigated ego or borderline insanity, but I simply do not understand why this man would throw Obama under the bus like this. Divorcing myself from my opinions on his message, I can certainly understand why Rev. Wright might feel it neccisary to strike back against the media that has maligned him, but why now? It almost (ALMOST) makes me feel sorry for the Obama campaign, but it also reinforces my main argument about why Obama is not ready to be President. Allowing Wright free reign to control the headlines a week before crucial primaries is just a laughable rookie error.
Outside of a few people with severe cases of CDS on DailyKos and MyDD who actually are trying to find a connection between Wright's current eruptions and the Clinton campaign, the overall feeling I am getting in the blogsphere and in the mainstream media (MSM) is that Obama is clearly damaged and is continually taking on more water as the Wright saga continues to play out. Even Howard Dean and Donna Brazile, who have stated that this needs to end soon, have retreated a bit behind the veil of electibility to state that Superdelegates should now be more concerned with who will be the strongest candidate in November. This is a shocking reversal and a clear indication of how badly things have gone for Obama lately. Even the MSM, which for so long seemed to be in the tank for Obama, have started to question whether he is reaching the point of no return. Again, it is an absolute disaster for this change in the narrative to happen in a week building up to a Tuesday with the largest remaining amount of delegates at stake.
Is this the end for Obama? I will not answer that. If this election cycle has taught me anything, it is that it does not take very long for a new page to be written. I will not tap dance on anyone's grave at this point, but I cannot sit here and deny that I am shocked and ultimately happy with current change in the world. If nothing else, it is going to be an exciting week for Indiana and for the Nation.
Since Pennsylvania, Barack Obama has seemed to be a shell of his former self. He seems spent and just ready for this entire thing to be over with. This has only been made more prominent by the fact that Hillary Clinton, 15 years his senior, seems to be completely energized and ready to take on the world (literally). Obama's attempts to energize the blue collar base of this party have been lackluster at best, and probably his greatest attempt, a three-on-three basketball game that he played in Kokomo, Indiana on Friday, got lost in the weekend newscycle. I am loathe to say that any of the remaining primaries are "make or break" because that has been the meme way too many times in the past few months, but if Hillary Clinton can win by double digits in Indiana and come close or even win in North Carolina, then it is going to be a very rough path for Obama to take the nomination, even with a delegate lead.
Of course, the biggest problem for the Obama campaign at the moment isn't their base issues, it is the fact that Rev. Jeremiah Wright decided now was a good time to go on a PR-apolooza, which has done nothing more than pick the scab on the wound that might have healed eventually. I do not know if it is just unmitigated ego or borderline insanity, but I simply do not understand why this man would throw Obama under the bus like this. Divorcing myself from my opinions on his message, I can certainly understand why Rev. Wright might feel it neccisary to strike back against the media that has maligned him, but why now? It almost (ALMOST) makes me feel sorry for the Obama campaign, but it also reinforces my main argument about why Obama is not ready to be President. Allowing Wright free reign to control the headlines a week before crucial primaries is just a laughable rookie error.
Outside of a few people with severe cases of CDS on DailyKos and MyDD who actually are trying to find a connection between Wright's current eruptions and the Clinton campaign, the overall feeling I am getting in the blogsphere and in the mainstream media (MSM) is that Obama is clearly damaged and is continually taking on more water as the Wright saga continues to play out. Even Howard Dean and Donna Brazile, who have stated that this needs to end soon, have retreated a bit behind the veil of electibility to state that Superdelegates should now be more concerned with who will be the strongest candidate in November. This is a shocking reversal and a clear indication of how badly things have gone for Obama lately. Even the MSM, which for so long seemed to be in the tank for Obama, have started to question whether he is reaching the point of no return. Again, it is an absolute disaster for this change in the narrative to happen in a week building up to a Tuesday with the largest remaining amount of delegates at stake.
Is this the end for Obama? I will not answer that. If this election cycle has taught me anything, it is that it does not take very long for a new page to be written. I will not tap dance on anyone's grave at this point, but I cannot sit here and deny that I am shocked and ultimately happy with current change in the world. If nothing else, it is going to be an exciting week for Indiana and for the Nation.
3 comments:
So, I just ran across this blog and was impressed with the calm, tone and thoughtfulness of this post. So, I figured, "What the heck, I have to ask...why do the gay folks in Indiana support Hillary?" That's my question.
As a gay guy out here in sunny California, I don't get it. And when I ask Hillary people here why they support her, I don't get a clear answer. Does anyone care to discuss?
Thank you for visiting...
I can't speak for all gays in Indiana, but for me, the fact that I am gay does not predicate my entire decision for whom to elect to higher office. Sure, I would love for candidates to take a stand on gay marriage and other gay rights issues, but I am not so egomanical to think that my issues are important to everyone.
When it comes down to it, Hillary is by far a better choice to be president than Barack. I just do not feel that he has the experience to run the greatest country in the world. If this were 2016, then yes, my vote would be for him, but at this point in history, he is not the person I feel is most qualified to lead. The fact that he cannot deal with a loose cannon like Rev. Wright is just a small example of the rookie mistakes he has made in this campaign. Yes, of course, Hillary has not run a perfect campaign, but I really do think she has dealed with the adversity better than he has.
As for gay issues, I feel that Obama has only given lip service to us. Yes, he's "mentioned" us in speeches to black congregations, but when it comes down to him actually making time to speak to the gay press, he has openly avoided that. It took a smack down with the Philly gay press for him to finally agree to an interview with The Advocate, and frankly, that interview was a puff piece. Hillary has sat down with the local gay press again and again, and she has answered the tough questions.
The bottom line is the woman is absolutely brilliant. If you need proof, look for the interview she just gave to the editorial board of The Indianapolis Star. She brought up topics and spoke to them with authority that I have never even considered, and I am a big political nerd.
For her not to be winning this outright now is a great tragedy for me, and I will fight my hardest to make sure she wins Indiana and this nomination.
FN:
Thanks for the comment. I have to say you've done a better job explaining your support than some other Dems I've talked to.
I voted for Barack and am glad I did, although I could easily vote for Hillary if she got the nomination. I just think Hillary is too polarizing as a general election candidate and I'm not fond of her middle-of-the-road, centrist politics. She's definitely tough. But I don't think she has firm convictions on a lot of important issues -- she just says whatever she thinks will get her elected. Just my opinion.
Anyway, thanks for the polite response. I read a lot of political blogs and sometimes it gets pretty contentious.
Cheers,
SS
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