Ding! Dong! The Witch is.... Oops... Not so fast!
Posted by: Craig DeLuz | 06/03/2008 12:09 PM
The Associated Press is already calling the Presidential nominations for Barak Obama: Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House. Campaigning on an insistent call for change, Obama outlasted former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic race that sparked record turnout in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial divisions within the party. The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.So, one would think that the natural thing for Hillary Clinton to do would be to offer her concession speech tonight as well. But this may not be the case.
According to another AP story she may be willing to admitt she is down, but not out:
Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president. The former first lady was not ready to formally suspend or end her race in a speech Tuesday night in New York City. But if Obama get to the magic number of delegates, 2,118, she was prepared to acknowledge that milestone, according to aides who declined to be identified.
Now this doesn't mean that she will still be running for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination. But you can bet she will be positioning herself to be the next presidential candidate from her party. And she will do this by either negotiating for the VP spot or undermining Obama's candidacy by injecting unpopular issues into the campaign.
The 'Clinton' loans were done long before this mess & would have had a significant impact long ago...
What does Hillary Want?
The announcement that Hillary Clinton will "suspend" her presidential campaign Saturday and endorse Barack Obama has still left questions unanswered.
For example, will she hold onto her delegates until the convention? If so, for what purpose? So that the 18 million people who voted for her will be treated with respect (as she stated in New York)? I don't think so. So that she will have leverage for her favorite issues, such as universal health care? I don't think so. Is it because she really wants to be on the ticket as VP? Again, I don't think so even though it appears that her camp is making a strong-arm push to have Obama offer her the spot. (Obama would be crazy to offer her the spot. Not only would he have to deal with both Clintons during the campaign-and in the White House, he would appear weak if he allowed himself to be pressured into giving her the nod.)
I suspect there is something else going on in the dark recesses of Hillary's mind. There is still a lot of angst going on in Democratic circles about Obama's candidacy in the wake of Jeremiah Wright, Michael Pfleger, William Ayres and Tony Rezko, the latter just being convicted in federal court of racketeering charges. The Clintons have to be thinking that another bombshell could doom Obama's chances of victory in November once and for all. What if Rezko decides to make a deal with the government (a prospect that already has Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich sweating). If Obama has any bodies buried in his backyard, Rezko would know where they are. The fact is that with Obama, God only knows what could happen between now and the convention-or now and November.
Could it be that Hillary's strategy is to simply wait in the wings? After all, the primaries are over. There is no need to make any more trips or any more speeches. There isn't really anything for her or her campaign workers to do.
Except wait.
Remember in 2002, when Senator Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) quit his Senate race in the late stages because of corruption allegations and was replaced by Frank Lautenberg-who went on to win? I'll bet the Clintons remember. Who says that new bombshells couldn't explode between now and November? Perhaps, that is why Hillary is "open" to a spot on the ticket.
Whatever the considerations being tossed about in Clintonland, we can be sure of one thing: It's all about Bill and Hillary. Because, in the final analysis, Hillary Clinton wants one thing that has not changed.
She wants to be president.
gary fouse
fousesquawk