Last night before Hillary spoke in Youngstown, OH she was introduced by Tom Buffenbarger, the president of an Aerospace machinists' union. To say he was "dismissive" Of Obama is to understate the case. Even worse, he turned it up a notch in describing Obama's supporters as some kind of effete band of yuppy scum. Think I'm exaggerating? Read on...
Here is the meat of what he said. It is not the language of conciliation.
Buffenbarger called Obama a "thespian," and he sarcastically referred to the junior senator from Illinois as a "wunderkind." He compared Obama to "Janus, the two-faced Roman god of ancient times." And he pleaded with the crowd to boo Obama’s labor record.
Early in his speech, Buffenbarger asked, "So now we have a decision to make. Will we rely on the Harvard Law Review editor? The silver-tongued orator from Kansas, Hawaii and Illinois? The man in love with the microphone?"
Taking off the gloves, he said, "Barack Obama is no Muhammad Ali. He took a walk every time there was a tough vote in the Illinois State Senate. He took a walk more than a 130 times. That's what a shadow boxer does. All the right moves. All the right combinations. All the right footwork. But he never steps into the ring."
But it was Obama supporters for whom Buffenbarger saved his most vitriolic contempt, and he proved that the Democratic Party’s coalition is nothing if not fragile. Channeling Howard Beale from the movie "Network," he yelled into the microphone, "Give me a break! I've got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius- driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust fund babies crowding in to hear him speak! This guy won't last a round against the Republican attack machine. He's a poet, not a fighter."
Here's a link to the whole article: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/
I believe that primaries should be hard-fought. But after last night it's pretty clear that Hillary can only win by scorching the earth. If she's going to spend the next fortnight doing John McCain's dirty work, I'd just as soon wish she would fold up her tent and get back to the Senate.
But I know that's not in her DNA. It therefore is incumbent on us to beat her in Ohio and to beat her in Texas. She'll have no options after that.