tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post4073560832656688741..comments2023-10-23T11:10:05.945-04:00Comments on Karen Duncan: Life in the Time of Coronavirus: Storm Warnings for Democrats While McCain Closes In On VictoryKaren Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13954405672195734097noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-57844073610291978952008-03-29T16:52:00.000-04:002008-03-29T16:52:00.000-04:00Good points anonymous 5:40. I am conflicted and no...Good points anonymous 5:40. I am conflicted and not quite as confident as you are about McCain.<BR/><BR/>The reason for my anxiety is that he seems to have captured the fancy of the press corps. While Democrats are still fighting each other, not only is McCain free to define himself, but as my post points out, he's getting a hefty hand from the media in doing it.<BR/><BR/>Because of his crony relationship with a corporatist media, McCain mostly gets a pass on any negatives.<BR/><BR/>At the same time, I agree that all the calls for Hillary to quit are premature. The race is close and there are still 10 other primaries or caucuses to go. And there is only a 130-vote difference in pledged delegates between the two and less than a one percent difference in the popular vote. <BR/><BR/>That doesn't make her a spoiler, as some would have it. A spoiler is somebody who stays in when they have no mathematical chance of winning. That's not the case here.<BR/><BR/>Nor is it true that her strategy is to pressure super delegates if she comes up short on the pledged delegates and popular vote. Her strategy is to let the voters actually decide.<BR/><BR/>And there is a double standard when it comes to anything Hillary. When she won in New Hampshire, fair and square, Obamamots were all over the blogs screaming that she had stolen the election and demanding an investigation of New Hampshire.<BR/><BR/>They were confident that New Hampshire had become a banana republic that stole elections. <BR/><BR/>But when Hillary won the primary in Texas but then somehow lost the less democratic caucus (for some reason, Texas had a two process system) and ended up with less delegates than Obama, they are gleeful and brag. Somehow that's not stealing anything.<BR/><BR/>Every accusation they've hurled at Hillary is actually a projection and accusation of themselves. They are the ones with the sense of entitlement. They are pushing the inevitability of Obama, which is just as arrogant as "the inevitability of Hillary" was. I was always turned off by that strategy too. Still am when it's used by the other side.<BR/><BR/>I also think that many of them have lost their sense of fairness and even their moral compass.<BR/><BR/>If Hillary appears to be cheated, I will have as hard a time re-uniting with the Obama campaign as they claim they would have in voting for Hillary should she win.<BR/><BR/>And that's new for me. I always, always pushed for unity. But frankly, their tactics and rhetoric have been a huge turn off.<BR/><BR/>I've always said I'm a contrarian. I like fair play. And I usually feel compelled to defend an underdog, which is what Hillary has become. And an underdog who is being treated unfairly at that!Karen Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13954405672195734097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-81884039633021651902008-03-28T17:40:00.000-04:002008-03-28T17:40:00.000-04:00I'm not worried about McSame at all. The voters ar...I'm not worried about McSame at all. The voters are not tuned in to the election now. It's too early. Plenty of time for the economy to get worse and Iraq to drag on. We will bury him in the Fall.<BR/>If we prematurely end the nomination process, half of this party will never forgive the other half. You are right that that will not be a winning situation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-61392312697879439762008-03-27T21:56:00.000-04:002008-03-27T21:56:00.000-04:00All your points are good and valid, Ed. I am conf...All your points are good and valid, Ed. I am conflicted. I certainly have no objection to Obama. But I think Hillary has gotten a raw deal from both the media and some bloggers.<BR/><BR/>I think she has a right to finish this thing. There's nothing worse than the regret you can feel if you give up and always wonder why or what if.<BR/><BR/>I agree that the longer the fight between Clinton and Obama goes on, the more opportunity John McCain has to define himself. And the more bloodletting we do, the harder it is to unite.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, everybody jumped on the John Kerry bandwagon too quickly last time. All our unity did not guarantee him a victory either. <BR/><BR/>He turned out to not be a good candidate and he didn't run a good campaign. Maybe if the vetting process had been longer and more truly competitive, we'd have gotten a better candidate then.<BR/><BR/>If Obama comes out of this a winner, I hope he might be the stronger for it. If he can't weather Hillary's attacks, he sure won't be able to take the much stronger hits the Republicans will lob at him.<BR/><BR/>Having said that, I hope that it ends with one or the other having a clean and clear victory before the convention.<BR/><BR/>The worst thing would be for it to go to the super delegates and for them to appear to be ignoring the will of the voters. I'm not in favor of the super delegates overturning the results of the primaries and caucuses even to benefit my chosen candidate.<BR/><BR/>If people perceive that the process was rigged, we will surely lose in November.Karen Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13954405672195734097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-8035847865627138352008-03-27T09:36:00.000-04:002008-03-27T09:36:00.000-04:00Karen, I agree with your sentiments 100% and your ...Karen, I agree with your sentiments 100% and your characterization of the Carter administration (remember the road race Carter was in and fainted? He was doomed because he seemed just as weak as the economy).<BR/><BR/>However, the reality is we have a fight on our hands until one of the Democratic nominees bows out of the race. So, McCain gets a free pass until the race is over and there's really nothing that we can do about it, short of asking Super-delegates to commit prematurely.<BR/><BR/>And, the truth is, Hillary Clinton can only win IF there is a long campaign that goes the distance. So, anyone supporting Clinton would have to accept the protracted battle while McCain gets a free pass.<BR/><BR/>Hotly contested nomination battles are bad for any party's chances in the general election. In 1976, Reagan challenged the sitting President Ford just as Kennedy did Carter in 1980. The result was a fractured Republican party. Ford feels he could have beaten Carter in 1976 if Reagan had campaigned for him in key battleground states. <BR/><BR/>Then there was 1968 and 1972 for the Democrats.<BR/><BR/>Any way you look at it, the Democrats need to end this. But, ending it would mean rallying around Obama. Thoughts?Edward Harrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06078305973678479125noreply@blogger.com