Legal Commentary

Late Night: Piece of My Heart

By Jeralyn

In the last six months, more than 18 million voters pushed a lever or touched a screen in the privacy of a voting booth for Hillary Clinton. She's correct that more voters chose her (pdf) than any other candidate in the history of presidential primaries.

Like her opponent, she shattered fundraising records from prior primaries. Unlike her opponent, she won the swing states Democrats must win in November -- Ohio, PA and Florida.

She won the older voters, women voters, rural voters and blue collar voters who make up the bulk of the country's voting populace. [More...]

Since March, she has won the majority of primaries, including one today that no one thought she had a chance of winning.

She has spent every day of the past six months -- no vacations -- introducing herself to the American people and coming up with concrete solutions for their problems on everything from getting out of Iraq to health care, jobs and education. She poured her heart and her soul into her campaign.

Yet, with 82 days left to the Democratic convention in Denver, on a day when voters in the final two states were weighing in, the media and congressional and party leaders decided they couldn't wait another day for the race to be over.

The media floated false concession stories just as the polls were opening. Congressional leaders said wrap it up. Superdelegates, like loyal sheep, trickled in and declared their support for Barack Obama, pushing his pledged delegate lead, a number that unlike the certainty of a cast vote can fluctuate and change until the convention, above the "magic number."

When the media crowned Obama the nominee in late afternoon and Hillary Clinton didn't play her scripted role of demure conceder, the pundits had the nerve to complain she was making the race about her instead of him.

If I were Hillary Clinton tonight, I'd go home, put on my sweats, pour a large snifter of cognac and hum along with Janis, singing "Take Another Piece of My Heart."

She won't of course. Hillary doesn't have an ounce of victimhood in her. She'll get up tomorrow, just like today and proceed to make the decision she deems best for her supporters, her party and her country.

So I'll do it for her, in her honor.

As I've said many times, when she makes her decision, I'll honor it. I'll support the Democratic nominee because that's in the best interest of the country.

But it's over when Hillary says it's over. And that's not tonight.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 04, 2008 (boomark / email).