I will preface my remarks by saying, clearly and unequivocably, I will vote for and enthusiastically support whoever winds up with the Democratic nomination in November.
As a relatively unbiased observer of this fascinating race thus far, I would like to pose the above question.
For the last two days there has been a real outrage over the internets about a questionable video in which a young Marine is shown delightfully throwing a small puppy off of a cliff, and presumably to its death. There is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the video was real or faked. In either case, it's really in bad taste, and makes a mockery of people's natural good feelings toward small animals. I won't link to the video here but if your curiosity has the better of you, simply Google or YouTube "Marine throws puppy"...
I couldn't help but be struck by the mocking tone of the Marine as he holds up the presumed puppy, saying in effect "Awww... look at the cute little puppy!" and then proceeds to callously toss it like a football off of a cliff.
Some accuse me of some fairly outlandish associations, but in all honesty, one of the first things that registered with me after hearing the sarcasm of the Marine, was that of Hillary playing to her supporters, and mocking the good feelings that her opponent Barack Obama seems to elicit in his supporters. Arguably, over the last two weeks, her campaign then went very negative, and, in effect, threw Obama over the cliff. Hillary supporters would simply say that this is no worse than what he would face in the general election, and is a necessary thing... it's just politics... it's a fake video, get over it in other words.
It will be interesting for me to see how this plays out. Whether the Clinton campaign likes it or not, I believe that they have just reestablished themselves as the front runner and simultaneously recast Obama as the underdog that he has always been... and at the cost of throwing a lot of people's feelings over the cliff.
Again, I will support whoever takes the nomination... and frankly, I am delighted that for once my late primary state may actually count for something! It is wonderful that I will have to consider my vote and that it really is important.
For what it's worth, I think all of this cogitating about a protracted primary weakening the Democratic Party is sort of a baseless fear... the Republicans will not, and cannot win in November... Americans are not stupid.