Let's call a spade a spade.... it's impossible for Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination aboveboard. Even with wins in most of the upcoming primaries...which gives her a huge benefit of the doubt and then some.... she still trails Obama in elected delegates.
Unless, she can get the superdelegates to go against the wishes of the majority of the elected delegates, breaks party rules in Michigan and Florida, and continues her campaign of personal destruction against Barack Obama.... and in the process tears apart the Democratic party to John McCain's benefit.
And even then, Clinton's nomination is problematic. Let's take these desperate and destructive Clinton strategies one by one.
Superdelegates. According to Politico today, there is a "behind the scenes battle" over superdelegates with Clinton scrambling last night to "freeze" them before they announce support for Obama.
According to Democratic officials, Obama is lining up a package of superdelegates to announce their support as a bloc. Will these party stalwarts stay on the fence looking to their own political fortunes or act now in the best interests of the party?
Michigan and Florida. They were counted out after they moved their primaries up to January against party rules; Clinton stayed on the ballot in both and "won" them with no real competition in Michigan and no real campaign in Florida. Regardless.... she named them as hers in her victory speech last night, and on MSNBC's Morning Joe today.
Personal destruction. That can go two ways. Until now Obama has avoided the politics of personal destruction, limiting himself to responding to her attacks, attacks which are arming the GOP for the coming slug fest.
With her bulldozing win-at-any-cost methods, Clinton even said that she and McCain had experience but Obama had "just one speech." McCain must be jumping for joy with this endorsement, which will undoubtedly show up in his general election ads.
Word is that Obama will.... must.... take off the gloves. Clinton has plenty of skeletons to choose from.... tax records she has so far refused to release, source of donations to the Clinton library, not making available papers from her time in the White House.... all pointing to a lack of transparency that is the reviled modus-operandi of the Bush administration.
"The winner of that fight would be John McCain.... who would love nothing more than fratricide among Democrats. He could use the time to raise money, energize conservative voters and sharpen his general election message." To say nothing of sniping from the sidelines.
This Clinton-Obama mud wrestle is a no-win for the Democratic party.... bound to soil Obama's message of hope, splashing supporters in both camps with Clinton's no-hope dirty tactics.
It's time for the superdelegates to step up and end the Clinton's scorched-earth, smoke-filled-room grab before the party self-destructs and hands the presidency to the GOP. Otherwise, why are they super?
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