The groupthink on display among the Washington babbling class is something to behold. Amidst all the rife speculation about "what Hillary wants", complete with pop psychoanalysis and endless tidbits of gossip, our beloved press corps appears to have forgotten to report what actually happened last night.
So, for the record, this is it: On an historic night, where the first African American candidate for the Democratic nomination for president was to give his victory speech, marking the official kickoff of the general election, Ms. Clinton went before the nation, surrounded by her most loyal supporters and staff, and sought to delegitimize that victory, and, the party's process under which that victory was achieved.
Put aside what Ms. Clinton will do, or why. This is what she did. And she did it by reiterating her same cynical and dishonest talking points: Votes for her weren't counted, and she won the "popular" vote.
Here are the words she used to undermine the validity of Obama's victory:
Who will be ready to take back the White House and take charge as commander-in-chief and lead our country to better tomorrows?
People in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the territories, all had a chance to make your voices heard. And on election day after election day, you came out in record numbers to cast your ballots. Nearly 18 million of you cast your votes for our campaign, carrying the popular vote with more votes than any primary candidate in history.
And with these:
In all of the states, you voted because you wanted a leader who will stand up for the deepest values of our party, a party that believes everyone should have a fair shot at the American dream, a party that cherishes every child, values every family, and counts every single vote.
Translation: I really won, and we were robbed.
Now, these words may seem cryptic and subtle to some. But they were loud and clear to Ms. Clinton's veritable army of angry supporters. And while her suggestion that that army is 18 million strong is dubious at best (there's no evidence that all who voted for her are as devoted as those who seem to find their way onto television), there can be no doubt that for millions of Hillary supporters, her speech last night was a call to arms.
Speculation about Ms. Clinton's true intent is the fodder of the chattering classes, but in the fever to guess at Ms. Clinton's game plan, can we at least acknowledge the facts? She sought last night nothing less than to delegitimize Obama's claim to the nomination, and her party's very system for determining the nominee.
Here are two more facts: She did not win the popular vote. And even if Florida and Michigan were fully seated "as is", she would have still lost.
But this has not stopped her from using this bit of sophistry to rally her army. If this is her strategy to secure the veep spot, it is a destructive one.
And this is my point: The arguments that this close, contested, and extended primary have actually, on average, been good for the party and Obama's chances in the general election ceased to be applicable last night. I agree with many of those arguments. As painful as it's been, this has allowed Obama to build a 50 state machine that will serve us well through November and beyond.
But Ms. Clinton's call to arms last night was not good for the party, it was not good for Obama. And it was not good for the country.
Our mission to finally remove the radical, criminal Republican war machine from the Executive Branch was officially hijacked last night by Hillary Clinton. God help us all.
Update [2008-6-4 23:47:43 by TocqueDeville]:
Hillary's Own Advisors Turn On Her
Howard Fineman at MSNBC has reported that Hillary's top "strategists" actually had to appeal to members of the Senate who supported Hillary to talk her into getting out. He didn't name names, but said they are one who would be associated with Hillary's campaign.
Andrea Mitchell reported that it took a huge conference call of Democrats who were Hillary supporters today to talk some sense into her.
I am just paraphrasing what I heard on MSNBC. But what appears clear from this early reporting is that Hillary faced a backlash today from not only Democratic insiders who were aligned with Obama, but from her own supporters - including Fineman's anonymous "strategists".
Mitchell cites anger over McCaulliff's introduction last night where he referred to Hillary as "the next president of the United States."
It is in our nature, as Lefties, to forgive. Let me say now I do forgive Hillary. I do not need time. I forgive her now.
But, I will also work my ass off to support whoever will challenge her New York senate seat in 2012. She is bad for the party and the country. She will only impede Obama's agenda during her remaining term.
Everything I wrote in this diary still has relevance. The fact that she had to be forced out by her own people just hammers it home more.