The Clintons: A Greek Tragedy
Thu Apr 24, 2008 at 04:46:51 AM PDT
There is an elemental shift occurring in American politics and the Clintons could have helped birth it. Instead they are seeking to stifle it for selfish reasons. It is unforgivable. It is a travesty. It goes against everything they have ever stood for. Of course, they do not care – the thirst for power dwarfs all other feelings, even sensible considerations. Years from now, when this story is told, it would be told like a classic Greek tragedy, a situation that need not have occurred.
The Clinton campaign cannot be analysed enough, their shenanigans, their strategy for the winning the nomination cannot be examined comprehensively enough. This is a tragedy of indefinable proportions. When the campaign for the nomination started a little over a year ago, many people – including myself – thought Senator Clinton was going to be the Democratic nominee, many people even thought she would be the next President of the United States. This was a fair assessment considering the fact that she is married to a former President, she was perceived as a tough and capable individual, and at that point, there really was no other candidate in the horizon who could conceivably beat the Clintons.
Fast-forward to April, 2008, all that has changed. As I have said numerous times, I first heard of the name ‘Obama’ in a song by the American rapper Jadakiss, in the second verse, there was the line: Why is Bush acting like he trying to get Osama? Why don’t we impeach him and elect Obama? Out of curiosity, I hit the browser, loaded up Google and here I am. Despite all the flaws Barack Obama has, despite the self confidence mistakable for arrogance, despite his occasional deviation from what I consider to be progressive/liberal principles, he is the best candidate on this field and he has proven himself to be most deserving of the nomination and I daresay, Presidency. As a non-citizen, what I find most attractive about his candidacy is his prudent inclination with regard to foreign policy and his openness to vigorous and robust diplomacy. The general Western attitude towards foreign policy, spearheaded by George W Bush, has been alarmingly short-sighted, poisonously uninformed and soaked in neo-conservative ideology. It is indisputable that some sort of new approach is direly needed. Obama represents such a shift. He unashamedly embraced this approach when he indicated his willingness to constructively engage with countries like Iran.
Former President Clinton was an individual who commanded respect and admiration. People looked past his imperfections as a man and the imprudent mistakes of his Presidency because he was a man who was difficult to dislike. Of course, all that has changed. Before Barack Obama’s victory in Iowa, back when he was 20 points behind in the national polls, back when it was a dead-heat in Iowa, President Clinton opined that he ‘loved’ all the Democratic candidates and he was not against anyone. Inevitably, after Obama took Iowa, the former President went through a melt-down of indescribable proportions; he has made injudicious racial statements unbefitting of a former President, he has made political remarks that can at best be described as ill-considered and he has lowered himself into the political arena in such a way that painful to watch. The question one as to ask is: why?
The Clintons feel that they should be in the White House in 2009. To them, it is a right. The sense of belonging or sense of entitlement is probably comparable to the kind a man feels towards his wife. In short, it cannot be aptly described. But it is patently clear. They have run a campaign predicated on a mixture of the following: a dashing sense of urgency, paranoia, panic and selfish idiocy. Andrew Sullivan points out; "[t]he Clintons are prepared to use any argument, any Republican tactic, and any social or cultural division to stay in the game. By tactically morphing into Rove Republicans, they are deliberately pivoting off a myth about Obama to make him unelectable."
It is my inclination that regardless of what happens in this cycle, the Clintons will not be returning to the White House in 2009. Here are the two ultimate scenarios: Number one, the race drags on for a long while with the Clintons maintaining the current level of negativity, they somehow eek out the nomination after having successfully propagated the notion that Obama is unelectable by assassinating his character. In this scenario, they will lose the general election. Indeed, the Democratic Party would probably fare badly in corollary races like the local, senate and house races. Obviously, it would be difficult for Obama’s supporters not to feel robbed. The black vote, the young vote, all the various constituencies Obama has energised would be lost to the Democratic Party. This is not to suggest that they would all somehow vote for McCain, but the apathy would be direly felt considering the fact that Clinton would energise the Republican Party by default. Of course, in this scenario, this can probably be averted by offering Obama the VP slot, but this suggestion proceeds from the point that Obama will even accept it in the first place. And to be perfectly clear, if Obama accepted the VP slot in such a circumstance, the very essence of his message, the logic of his candidacy would have conflicted with his conduct in an unforgivably devastating way.
The second scenario is Obama ultimately becomes the nominee, when it’s all said and done, but he is fatally damaged as a consequence of the Clintons’ negativity. Hence, he ultimately loses to McCain. In such a circumstance, apart from the fact that the Clintons would not return to the White House, the Democratic loss would be their legacy. You see, at this point, Bill Clinton has shredded the good will he enjoyed in American politics beyond recognition. There is nothing left. Nothing. Zero. In yesterday’s Daily Mail – I think – he was described as a "power hungry ex-President who was paid millions by businesses to help close deals." He has conducted himself in a shameful way; he continues to conduct himself in a despicable manner and his latest conduct of directly accusing the Obama campaign of hostility to working class voters is testament to his depraved loss of statesmanship. Senator Clinton on the other hand has morphed into something else who has threatened to "totally obliterate Iran". This kind of talk should not emanate from the Democratic Party, this is not why I started following its politics; this is not why I support its candidates. This is madness.
In the future, the Clintons will realise that this race they ran was fundamentally, totally unnecessary. It was totally unneeded. To put it crudely, what did the Clintons forget in the White House? What pressing policy did they omit to institute that they would engage in the most despicable political hatchet-job of contemporary politics against a candidate that is internationally beloved? They could have played a different position in this election and they could have played it from the back. There is an elemental shift occurring in American politics and the Clintons could have helped birth it. Instead they are seeking to stifle it for selfish reasons. It is unforgivable. It is a travesty. It goes against everything they have ever stood for. Of course, they do not care – the thirst for power dwarfs all other feelings, even sensible considerations. Years from now, when this story is told, it would be told like a classic Greek tragedy, a situation that need not have occurred. Senator Clinton, while a capable individual in her own right, is not the right person for this time. Senator Obama is. It is hard not to come to this conclusion if one looks at things through objective glasses.
In sum, I will lay the blame of the pending calamity at the foot of the Democratic Party. An American friend of mine who is traditionally Republican but supports Obama in this cycle said the reason he is not a Democrat is because institutionally, they have not demonstrated intelligence over the years (these are not my words). The Democrat Party is embarking on a collective suicide mission that will not only affect their chances in the general elections but in the future. There is no fair way for the Clintons to win the nomination. This is clear to every observer, and practically every participant. At this point, all the remaining contests will probably have to be concluded, but the Party establishment is allowing the Clintons plant a divisive seed with many potential sprouts – the scariest of which is racial. The success of the Democratic Party thus far has been predicated on how they have been able to accommodate Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asians, Jews and every other conceivable stripe. When the Clintons are done damaging this umbrella, the Democratic Party will have played a complicit part.
Bless.
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