The NY Times seems to still be dealing with their guilty conscience over their endorsement of HRC. This new editorial in Friday's paper is the latest manifestation. Check out the last two paragraphs first.
They seem to be inching toward a dis-endorsement, like George McGovern's and Joe Andrew's. If Hillary pushes the negative message much further the Times might even act.
In the meantime the editorial also sends a clear message to Clinton supporters about why they should get ready to jump to Barack, and to uncommitted supers that it is time to get off the fence. And no one will be to blame but Hillary herself.
The editorial makes very clear why Clinton's decision to continue or drop out matters; not because of her pride and not because of her money. Because this whole campaign business is supposed to start from the desire to do something good for our country and our world.
For the Times to put up a red flag like this is quite remarkable; they are saying, as I see it, you have lost touch with why we and a lot of other people supported you in the first place, and if you can't recover that, and steer clear of the ugly divisiveness, you will lose that support.
The full text of the editorial also draws a direct link between Clinton to the Republicans whom she claims she is better than and whom we thought we are all trying to boot out; not an Animal Farm type outcome where you can't tell the Repubicans from the Democrats, but a triumph of some core Democratic principles. This is powerful stuff.
Here are the first two paras. The last two are extremely powerful too -- follow the link at the bottom to see.
Obama '08!
May 9, 2008
Sen. Clinton and the Campaign
There is a lot of talk that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is now fated to lose the Democratic nomination and should pull out of the race. We believe it is her right to stay in the fight and challenge Senator Barack Obama as long as she has the desire and the means to do so. That is the essence of the democratic process.
But we believe just as strongly that Mrs. Clinton will be making a terrible mistake — for herself, her party and for the nation — if she continues to press her candidacy through negative campaigning with disturbing racial undertones. We believe it would also be a terrible mistake if she launches a fight over the disqualified delegations from Florida and Michigan.......
http://www.nytimes.com/...