Votes: Hillary received a "majority of the votes" in all primaries and caucuses. For some it doesn't matter whether this is a valid statement, only that it is arguable, and it should count for something. I somewhat agree with this point, that the number of votes cast for Clinton matters. While it's true that Obama didn't win by a nose, he won by a neck, but he gained that ground very early, and didn't pull away significantly after Wisconsin, which was probably the defining moment of the campaign. Saying that he has an insurmountable lead, though technically true at this point, is like rubbing salt in a deep wound.
Dirty Campaigning. For instance, it is believed by this Hillary-voter that the Obama campaign has engaged in smear tactics against Hillary supporters, calling them "uneducated", "poor", "working class". If Obama is not responsible, according to her, then the talking heads on TV are. Hold your fire people, I know what you're thinking. This is just one example. According to my die-hard hillary supporter, Obama ran a vicious and ruthless campaign. Hillary is the victim of tactics even Rove might be jealous of, and biased media coverage to ice the deal. Obama "started it".
Policy. Domestic: Obama doesn't care about health care. Yep, you heard me right. Only Hillary has what it takes to enact National Health Care. Foreign: She accepts Hillary's explanation for the infamous Iraq vote, and honestly feels that Hillary was the victim of dishonest politicking by the republicans. If you Obama supporters want to hold it against Hillary, she can respect that but thinks you haven't given Hillary a fair hearing on the subject. When I bring up Kyl-Lieberman, we always end up talking about superdelegates somehow. Never got a straight answer on that.
Not sold on Obama. This is the most important of my take-aways. Hillary is partly to blame, for saying that Obama isn't ready, and for saying publicly that he suffers in comparison to the republican nominee. But, says this supporter, she "hasn't said that lately", therefore she is forgiven. There's this thing, its called youtube (?)... well nevermind. In anycase, Obama is perceived as lacking the gravitas and the experience to run the white house. According to her, Obama gives fluffy answers in interviews. She'll vote for Obama, but only because McCain is pro-Life.
Does any of this sound reasonable? I don't sound reasonable to her either. Perceptions of each of the other's candidates have been heavily shaped by 5 months of intensely negative propaganda from both sides, whether officially affiliated with the campaigns or not. I will admit that I have been heavily influenced by reading Andrew Sullivan, a conservative Obama booster who sees Clinton as completely unprincipled. Other prominent liberals (Frank Rich for example) have pushed this view. It won't be hard to find recent comments of mine on this forum that echo that very sentiment. It will be the biggest test of Obama's leadership to overcome real bitterness and division. This does not mean merely appearing magnanimous in victory (as Tom Daschle was attempting to do on MTP this week). We can't afford to dismiss the efforts of the Clinton campaign, because like it or not, Clinton backers are key to a victory in the fall. Some have called them sore losers. The only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner.
I did get something different out of this conversation than from previous ones. The dismissive references to "messiah-worship"
are gone. She acknowledges that there are substantive differences in governing philosophy reflected in the campaigns, and a vision for the party that motivates my choice of Obama. Although she clearly prefers Hillary, she recognizes Obama's leadership potential (underscore "potential"). She believes that Hillary will surprise everybody and campaign hard for Obama in the fall. But Obama has a lot of work to do to convince people like her that he is not a snake-oil salesman.
I want to emphasize that I'm not saying kumbayah. I'm just saying that we all have known that this moment was going to come one day, that it was going to be close, and that someone had to eventually lose. Obama clearly did not get the mandate to change the party that many of us were seeking, although he did give voice to the grassroots, which was ignored for many years. So the DLC is not crushed, and if you didn't notice, neither is Hillary. She plans to continue her campaign as of now. Or, she's winding down. Who knows what to believe?
In the end, you have to admire her for sticking with it all the way to now, although you may abhor the tactics. I would hope that Obama would do the same for me. Since his name isn't Clinton he would have been crushed long ago if he were in her place, but let's get past that. Like it or not, in the real world she is in a strong position to damage or help the democratic ticket in the fall. Therefore, once she concedes, she will be negotiating from a position of strength. Get used to the idea that there will likely be some major concessions in the aftermath of the primary.
posted by hazmat 
