If Perception Is Everything In Politics…
…then Hillary Clinton has had the worst day of the campaign. You can’t swing a cat without hitting some pundit, famous or otherwise, calling her presidential bid doomed (and you won’t find any disagreement here – it’s over). Her chance of securing the nomination plummeted to 8.5% at Intrade after trading as high as 22% before Tuesday. Previous big-time loser George McGovern advised her to withdraw. Tim Russert said you could put in a fork in this one: it’s done.
And still, she soldiers on? Irrationally? I would say so, given the cost (much now coming from the Clintons’ own fortune)…but Marc Ambinder plays devil’s advocate and offers 7 reasons she should stay in:
1. Florida and Michigan. Clinton, not Obama, is identified with the cause of seating those delegations. Since FL and MI won’t decide the nomination now, Clinton has every reason to push for a negotiated settlement. It way well be that Clinton refuses to officially drop out until she is satisfied that the voices of Florida and Michigan are heard.
2. Her voters. Almost half of those voting in the Democratic primaries chose Clinton. Certain parts of her support base — older women, for example — are as fervently in her corner as Obama as college kids are in Obama’s corner. For these women, Clinton has succeeded in convincing them that her candidacy is just as historic as Obama’s. Forget about the nomination: Clinton has a much deeper political base than when she started to campaign for the presidency. She needs to tend to this base whether she continues to represent New York, becomes Senate Majority Leader, becomes the vice presidential nominee, or runs in 2012.
3. Embarrassment. If she drops out tomorrow and winds up winning in West Virginia and Kentucky, Obama will be mightily embarrassed. Having her in the race gives him an excuse for losing those two states. (I ran this by an Obama adviser who said, “We’ll take our chances.”)
4. The Ask. Does Clinton want to be Obama’s vice president? Who knows? But does Clinton want to be asked whether she wants to be his vice president and this be in a position to decline it? Surely. The more Obama is reminded that Clinton cannot not be dispensed with, the more pressure he will feel to at least solicit her views on the subject of the vice presidency.
You’ll have to click through to read the other three…
????
8. Help John McCain so he asks her to be his VP.
The reason why everyone is asking Hillary to leave is because her campaign has been so negative and generally hurtful to the Democratic party.
Of course, there is no compelling reason for her to leave unless she cares about the Democratic party.
Of course the dhimmierats want the Hildabeast out. The longer she stays in the more we learn about Snobama. And the annointed one wouldn’t throw her under a bus just as he did his grandmother and preacher.