It's quite sad that every time I click on a major news source I hope there is news that Hillary Clinton has conceded her bid for the Democratic Nomination for President. Yes, everyday, every time.
But this recent uproar over her remarks says more about us than it does about her. I sincerely don't believe she was using assassination as an excuse to stay in the race but that she was making connections out loud and it was in June when RFK had won the California Primary and he was killed that very same night.
But the indignation with which many are using to characterize her verbal blunder shows more that she's worn out her welcome for many of the people that do not support her. Clinton fatigue has come to a head.
I personally believe that this is the kind of mistake that Clinton was holding on for, but it would be for Obama to make. Obama though is smarter than this and when he has had things blown out of proportion I think he's handled with much greater grace and dignity.
Clinton did not apologize for her gaffe but maybe she felt no need since it was not her intention to make such a connection nor an excuse for her to stay in the race. I believe her lack of apology means she's still in it to win it.
What I find most interesting is that her inability to raise the money to run the kind of campaign she needs to win is not her biggest point of criticism. It should be. She's spent her money most unwisely and then uses the fact that she's being "outspent" as a means to continue the underdog theme. It really does come down to a failure to run her campaign effectively.
I thought about this because of the fact that my husband is running for State Senate as a Democrat in Southern California. There are only three elected Dems in this County, one Congresswoman, one State Senator and one State Assemblyman. The odds are against are my husband and the only way he can gain attention and compete is to raise obscene amounts of money. That's probably not going to happen (Although, thank you Daily Kos, you helped me raise a little over $2,000 for my husband's campaign in this Diary Thursday Night and into Friday.
Considering that Hillary Clinton is taking PAC and Lobbyist money, you'd think she'd be able to raise as much or more than Obama but that is not the case. Her donors are tapped out. Obama has been able to out raise her since Iowa without the help of PACs and Lobbyists. So, doesn't this too say something about her campaign and Clinton fatigue?
I don't want to defend Clinton since I long for the Primary Season to be done with but at the same time, I would hate to think that she has thought of such things as being a window of opportunity. Nothing like this should be taken lightly, I understand the outrage, it's justifiable but I also want to believe in my heart of hearts that she did not mean for it to come out that way.
And yes, I know there have been other instances of her saying the same thing, I still think she relates the winning of the California Primary with RFK's death, the two are linked in her mind, not as a reason to stay in but as a part of historical context.
Maybe I am naive for wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt but then again, I want to believe that just because Gary Pritchard, my husband, won't be able to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars to compete doesn't mean all is lost. We walked two precincts today as a family to hand out cards and meet the voters. You never know.
And, Clinton might still see the light.