Clinton said... "[T]hey're trying to get her to cry uncle before the Democratic Party has to decide what to do in Florida and Michigan because they are claiming that it only takes 2029 votes on the first ballot to win, and it takes a lot more than that if you put Florida and Michigan back in.
Bill Clinton Has 'Never Seen a Candidate Treated So Disrespectfully Just for Running'
May 25, 2008 2:25 PM
ABC News' Sarah Amos reports: Former President Bill Clinton in South Dakota today delivered a harsh critique of how his wife has been treated during her presidential bid, telling the crowd that he has "never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running," and that, "she will win the general election if you nominate her. They're just trying to make sure you don't."
Clinton spent more than six minutes calmly discussing what he called a "frantic effort to push her out" of this race, saying that no one asked Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson or Gary Hart to end their presidential campaigns early.
Clinton also spoke against bullying superdelegates to make up their minds, saying, "I cant believe it. It is just frantic the way they are trying to push and pressure and bully all these superdelegates to come out. 'Oh, this is so terrible: The people they want her. Oh, this is so terrible: She is winning the general election, and he is not. Oh my goodness, we have to cover this up.'"
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correction
No one asked Jackson and Hart because no one had to.
We all know that if the situation was reversed, no one would even pretend it's okay for Obama to remain in the race. The commentators would say that he's destroying the party and civil rights.
The Clintons both need to get out the kitchen because apparently it's too hot.
What general election is
What general election is Hillary Clinton winning? This is the Democratic Party primary and she is not winning the popular or pledged delegate vote. I refuse to dignify her absurd claims about Florida and Michigan by even mentioning them.
Usually Pres. Clinton is very articulate
Usually Pres. Clinton is very articulate. I remember his amazing ability to make his points clearly, cogently, and efficiently when he was in those "town meetings." They were a format developed for this extraordinary talent he had. If I were in his shoes, I'd have been flustered because I wouldn't know how to get my point across in 500 words or less.
"I can't believe it. It is just frantic the way they are trying to push and pressure and bully all these superdelegates to come out. 'Oh, this is so terrible: The people they want her. Oh, this is so terrible: She is winning the general election, and he is not. Oh my goodness, we have to cover this up.'"
This is just bizarre. He might mean that, over the course of scores of matchup polls, some (2-5, AFAIK) showed Sen. Clinton performing better than Sen. Obama. Add to that some war room analysts doing a state-by-state map (BHO v. JSM) (HRC v. JSM) would indeed lead one to expect that HRC would do better than BHO against JSM, and he has something of a point. But there has not been any general election yet.
Sen. Clinton makes much of the fact that her husband did not secure the Democratic nomination until "the middle of June" (see fact check here), but there are some important points to make here: first, HRC's analogy ignores the fact that the 1992 campaign began 18 February and not (as in '08), 5 Jan.* Second, WJC's last significant opponent, EGB, essentially threw in the towel by mid-April, and did not run television ads in California. His candidacy was therefore like unto Ron Paul's campaign for the GOP nomination in 2008. Third, while I did not favor EGB and deeply wished he would go away, it has to be said that his challenge to Clinton was not personal, but directed at the general level of corruption (or "honest graft") ambient in the party. Sen. Clinton (2008) claims that she's more electable BECAUSE she represents an experienced pair of hands and she's white. The whole rationale for her campaign is that it's vital for the well-being of the Democratic Party. In contrast, EGB** was running a campaign explicitly challenging the Petainism of the DNC.
I don't expect Sen. Clinton or her husband to recognize the fundamental difference, but here it is: Gov. Brown, the last man standing, was not asked out, but ordered out by DNC Ron Brown. Chairman Brown was, in a blatant conflict of interest I didn't know about at the time (was I shockingly ignorant then?), also closely tied to Gov. WJC's campaign. I'm not claiming there was a conspiracy to deny Gov. Brown the nomination--which would have been a disaster--but it's clear that Gov. Brown was being urged to withdraw by all those capable of doing so in the party well before the 2 June CA primary. And while Sen. Clinton was running for ostentatiously pragmatic reasons, all of her major campaign efforts have amounted to public support for the GOP candidate; Gov. Brown was trying to play the Prophet Ezekiel.
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*In 1992, the New Hampshire primary was 18 February. The Democratic nominees conceded Iowa to favorite son Tom Harkins; Paul Tsongas won in NH. The 2008 Iowa caucus (wide open) was 5 January, or 44 days before 18 February.
** EGB (Jerry Brown) was indeed repeatly urged to drop out after his April blowouts in NY & WS. One of those who did was DNC Chair Ron Brown (s.1989-1993), who not only demanded that Gov. Jerry Brown concede to Clinton after April, but also refused to allow him to speak at the '92 convention before voting. For an excellent article on EGB's role in the '92 DNC Convention, see Joan Didion, "Eye on the Prize" (NYRoB, 24 Sep '92).