Clinton's High Profile Healing Process Has Begun
Staff and officials move to unite, but the hard feelings are still there
Shortly after Hillary Clinton gave her historic concession speech at the National Building Museum in Washington, she asked Representative Eliot Engel—one of two members of New York’s House delegation to make the trip down—for a bit of feedback.
“She asked me if I thought it would help in getting her people to support Obama, and I said I thought it would,” Mr. Engel recalled. “And then she said, ‘Tell the media.’”
With the primary over, Mrs. Clinton will be undertaking the process, vital to the Democratic Party, of moving her supporters into Barack Obama’s camp. She will also be undertaking the process, vital to her, of ensuring that everyone sees her doing it.
In terms of the political insiders in Mrs. Clinton’s orbit, people seem inclined to follow her now-harmonious lead.
As Mrs. Clinton’s elected supporters have continued to stream toward Mr. Obama, she has been making a series of private calls (confirmed publicly by her campaign) to her delegates urging them to do likewise.
And even before she officially ended her bid, her campaign staff had been making formal preparations for a merger with their Obama counterparts.
According to two former Clinton staffers, in the time between the last primaries on June 3 and the concession speech on June 7, communications director Howard Wolfson called staff members into his office to see who had the desire, and the energy, to work on the Obama campaign in the general election.
Mr. Wolfson, who couldn’t be reached for comment—he was taking a rare overseas vacation—then compiled those names and the résumés of Clinton staffers around the country into a list for delivery to the Obama campaign. Next Page >
- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
- Spread
- RCP Average
- 46.8
- 44.0
- Obama +2.8
- Candidate
- Favorable
- Unfavorable
- Spread
- Obama
- 55.8
- 35.8
- +20.0
- McCain
- 54.8
- 36.6
- +18.2
During a primary campaign, the DNC should remain neutral. It should not be responding to attacks or criticsms against one candidate or spouse, either from other candidates or the media, because that would be taking sides. That is the job of each candidate and campaign organization.
The stupid rules that "cost Hillary the election" were established through the work of Clinton's backers to fit her strategy of an early knockout on super-Tuesday. It is an example of where a lack of neutrality backfired.
Mrs. Clinton was not forced to accept the party's rules about states that disobeyed the primary calendar, and she agreed with the other candidates about Florida and Michigan before the voting. But then she played cute by not taking her name off the Michigan ballot, like the other candidates, and said it would not matter because everyone knew the votes would not count. The failure of her attempt to ignore her commitment on this issue is not the DNC's fault, but is not to her credit.
Unfair attacks against any candidate should not occur, but there is too much excuse making going on. Mrs. Clinton lost by a small margin overall, but a large margin in many states, because she did not run a good campaign and had the unexpected bad luck that a more talented rival emerged and won.
Jose Alfaro
Maywood, NJ
WRITE-IN VOTING IN NYS
Here are 2 links which explain how easy it is to go to the polls in NYS and write-in a candidate's name - such as Hillary's:
http://www.nysthirdparty.com/how.html
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDE1030F937A25753C1A...
I understand Mrs. Clinton needs to do what she needs to do. Likewise, I need to do what I need to do. Step 1 - change party affiliation. Step 2 - don't vote for BO. Step 3 - well, I haven't exactly worked that out yet. So, all you dems out there...good luck with this project, but I personally will do all I can to see that BO doesn't get anywhere near 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
I'M WRITING IN HILLARY'S NAME IN NOVEMBER.
The media continues to hail Obama's use of the internet to gather his supporters, which certainly, cannot be denied. But what is failing to be reported is that the internet community of supporters for Mr Obama are proving to be quite a double edged sword.
As a staunch Democrat, but fervent Hillary Clinton supporter, I am absolutely appalled by the vitriol that has passed as Obama support. These posters hate Senator Clinton, and the difference between this election and all others is that this has become very personal. Not just personal at a Hillary vs Barack level, but personal at a supporter of Hillary vs a supporter of Barack level. They deride and demean.
Mr Obama let his genies out of the bottles, and he may well pay a price for their disrespect of the political process and the humans we all are. Senator Clinton can tell us all to support Mr Obama, but there are many of us who bear substantial scars ourselves, and there is nothing that the good Senator from New York can do to assuage that.
To the victor goes the spoiled.
You do not give up your loyalty to a person and transfer it to another just because the DNC says you should do it.
Voters are one vote and that is their right.
I will not vote for OBAMA.
Sorry DNC - Will vote for McCain
Clinton Democrats for Mc Cain '08!
Lifelong democrat - highly educated well earning female - have changed my party to Independant in NJ and will work to elect John Maccain. I cannot vote for BHO
I admit to being a "Reagan Democrat"...in the same breath vehemently opposed Bush in 2000 & 2004. I can say...without a shred of doubt whatsoever...that I will be voting for John McCain in November.
Reasons:
Barack and his wife, although deny being racists or anti-American, clearly had no problem identifying with people who are (Wright, etc).
The DNC clearly manipulated the process to support Barack Obama. If they want to play with each other's genitals behind closed doors... fine... but when you start discounting votes by the American people...you are trying to screw Democracy. The fact the DNC supported Obama's lawyers in killing a revote in Michigan and Florida... DESERVES A SERIOUS RETRIBUTION from the American people. That retribution needs to come in the form of John McCain for President.
Finally...if Barack Obama were white instead of black...his non-existent resume would have laughed him off the stage. The guy has no foreign policy experience during a time when this country is at war AND no history of making any kind of changes in his entire short political career.
John McCain...despite his right wing to middle of the road approach to politics...has the experience and PATRIOTISM to lead this country and the American people 100 times better than what Obama could ever offer.
This Floridian...will be voting for McCain in 2008... and for Hillary in 2012. You can count on Florida Mr. McCain...!
The THREE HEADED SNAKE in the DNC:
DEAN, PELOSI, REID....go to hell all three of you!
Wow!!!
Bitter - party of....6!
HARD FEELINGS!
Lets all get something really straight NO WAY ARE THE CLINTON SUPPORTERS GOING TO VOTE FOR OBAMA!
Wether you are aware of it or not there are 50 to 60 different organizations with websites set up by Democrats since 5/31 organizing to defeat OBAMA..........WE WILL VOTE McCain!
Our first major drive was to UNSUBSCRIBE form the DNC donors list.
OBAMANOTS....your insults and general anti social behavior has a price!
And in November remember!
18 million strong+ nader=NOBAMA . we will not, repeat, NOT, vote for the dem. nominee selected by the party, not the voters.
I refuse to vote for Obama. My vote will go to McCain as well.
I understand the pain and the passion, I voted for Bill twice, and even though Im a Obama supporter , I made up in my mind that I would vote for hillery if she won. I could take Clinton as my president but I just cant afford another republican administration. I cannot as a Patriot vote for a candidate that could overturn roe V wade....I cannot vote for a candidate who wants to continue the disastrous tax policys.....For the Good of Our Country and your fellow man I beg you to reconsider.
Michael T Cushman Jr
Obama Fellow
DNC? Hillary said it.
It continually amazes me how personal the electorate takes political contests. Hillary was running a general election campaign during the early primary season. hat was a mistake. You play the game today before you concern yourself with the game tomorrow. Take Michigan, for example. Hillary did not take her name off the ballot because she wanted the Michigan electorate to perceive her to be loyal, even though the vote would not count. It was a stratgy looking toward the general election. Barack and John Edwards did remove their names from the ballot in order to curry favor with the Iowa and New Hampshire Democratic voters. The DNC, with the full backing of both Hillary's and Barack's supporters, told Michigan that the primary in January would not count. Yet, the late debate over whether to count the Michigan ballots turned divisive because no one would admit the reasons why the respective actions were taken. Each side hit the other unfairly on a lot of fronts. Don't discount race when railing against sexism. Remember the media's graphic attention to the Wright controversy, fuelled in large measure by Hillary. Obviously, it is easier for the winner and his supporters to be magnanimous, but the supporters of Hillary should not forget or discount her jumps regarding Reverand Wright, Bill Ayers, the Commander and Chief threshhold statement placing John McCain ahead of Barack, etc. To those Hillary supporters that have a mind to punish Barack by voting for McCain, I can only say that should you be successful, then please take a portion of the responsibility that your votes helped keep us in Iraq, helped give us more judges like Alito and Scalia and helped keep the Bush economic policies in play for another four years. The ball and the vote is, literally, in your court.
drae wrote:
They are delusional. No matter how much I support and admire Hillary, I will not change my stance because she asks it. She must do what she must do, but I will not put my party above my values and beliefs.
There IS no party unity, there will be no party unity until they address the voters. This campaign has been a farce.
Yes, I support Hillary, but it goes so far beyond that now. There is absolutely no excuse for the RBC meetings decision, no excuse for the FL MI debacle. There is no excuse for the Obama campaign's use of passive aggressive racism, etc. It not only openly insulted voters, they just keep doing it.
To hear the Obama people, they don't "need" our votes, we are racist, poor and uneducated, simple-minded, bitter, poor losers, menopausal women, hysterical women who will come around when they see reason, latinos who will just do the right thing in the end, and all the others set aside in the name of unity. The Obama campaign doesn't even support its own constituents: notice the flops, and the fact that they have rarely supported black papers or business throughout this campaign. But hey, they'll get over it, right.
What I really want to know is, where is the unity? Where was it in this campaign? And let's not even get into the campaign's use of the media's endless bashing of Hillary. They misogyny, the President bashing.
Now, they want they same people they publicly destroyed to jump up on the unity bus and convince the stupid voters that McCain is evil?
No. What is evil is our party has descended to such a level. What is evil is not listening to the voters, only hearing money and big interests. What is evil is creating and selecting a candidate, supporting a candidate, and shoving him down our throats instead of listening to the voters who in the last two months have gone overwhelming for Hillary.
We can not allow this anymore. It is time for people to rise and take back this party from those who think to do our voting for us. Tabk back our country from those who presume to do our thinking for us.
It is time to say no. No will will not support this man; we will not vote for this man, we will not tolerate another man who is not just a projection without substance.
We will say no.
Sure there were somethings Hillary's campaign could have done better, but Dean, Pelosi, Reid and the DNC as a whole decided from day 1 who they wanted to be POTUS. They should have remained neutral throughout the process, but didn't!! Now, BO has asked Dean to stay in command! What a reward for Dean!! Politics as usual, certainly not "change"!!
I think it is ridiculous to think that people mistake patriotism with daft blindness. John McCain is George Bush in an older body. Americans want change and some people arent ready for it. Barack Obama represents change in Washington. Believe it or not this election is not going to be decided by middle age white men. It is going to be decided by the unheard generation. A generation of people that have been so fed up with the same old BS thats been fed to us for the last 8 years. There will be more recorded voters in this election then of any in recent years. Hey and guess what, were all on the hope train.
Obama 08!
The DNC is a joke. I agree with "The THREE HEADED SNAKE IN DNC: DEAN, PELOSI, REID, all three of you go to hell!" Dittos! Hillary may oblige to support Obama, but I will not vote for him at all. I might as well change my party affiliation altogether.
I don't understand the bitterness of some of Hillary's supporters. Obama won fair and square. Hillary has too high negatives, and would be a detriment to the ticket. Also, she's due to appear in court soon re one of the Clinton's nefarious deals. By the by, when are the Clinton's going to return the items they stole from the Whitehouse when leaving in 2001?
I will not vote for Obama. I love Hillary because I run my business the same way she ran her campaign. I will lie, cheat or steal in order to get what I want. Let my employees be damned. That's what America is all about. I love Hillary and Bill. They are my kind of people!!
It is good that your vote only accounts for one.
She LOST the nomination. I don't CARE how many votes, how you add them, I don't CARE how many delegates she had, she LOST the race and how NO choice but to stop her campaign. These people, like Emily's List, need to grow up and figure out that she lost. She did not conceed for the good of the party. She was not going to erase Obama's lead and no matter how close the popular vote, the delegates WON by a vote of the American people won the election for Senator Obama. PERIOD.
Has Senator Clinton been busy helping him at this point? You bet she has but to do anything different would have been a death knell on her political life.
DON'T believe anything else.
All of you that will not vote for Obama because Hillary did not win - will you let the Republicans continue to bring this country down as they have done for the last 8 years? This is impossible for me to understand.
There must be a lot of misguided people out there.
It beats me how, whoever your personal favorite happen to be, you can convert your Hillary vote to a McCain vote when the two are polar opposites on most issues. Hillary and Obama are practically issue-twins unless you go hair-splitting. Plus, Hillary will have a greater chance of huge success working for her issue goals in an Obama administration than she will in a McCain administration. Not sure how Hillary supporters see jumping on the Vote McCain bandwagon as serving their own interests.
Yes, I can understand it as a grudge-vote. Too bad if that's all that it is, because then these people are just throwing away their vote.
There was nothing fair in the way Obama WON. He gamed the system and was assisted heavily by DNC. Had he won 2110 PLEDEGED delegates, you can say FAIR AND SQAURE.
The way the last week of this primaries was orchestrated and the way FL and MI fiasco was handled is a shame on DNC. They made a mockery of Democracy.
I am an independant now and my vote goes to Mccain -
A disgruntled former democrat from FL.
How dare you mistreat Mrs. Clinton and her family the way you have. We owned this election! Hope you ingrateful b****** enjoy 4 more years of the Bush!
How dare you mistreat Mrs. Clinton and her family the way you have. We owned this election! Hope you ingrateful b****** enjoy 4 more years of the Bush!