PrintApril 18, 2008
Superdelegates a hard sell for Hillary
Even with Barack Obama's univerally recognized abysmal performance in the Philadelphia debate the other night, party members who will decide the race for the Democratic nomination - superdelegates - are still not giving Hillary Clinton much chance at the nomination.
Writing in the New York Times, Patrick Healy:
Writing in the New York Times, Patrick Healy:
Yet despite giving it her best shot in what might have been their final debate, interviews on Thursday with a cross-section of these superdelegates — members of Congress, elected officials and party leaders — showed that none had been persuaded much by her attacks on Mr. Obama’s strength as a potential Democratic nominee, his recent gaffes and his relationships with his former pastor and with a onetime member of the Weather Underground.The problem is that Barack Obama's "gaffes" are not verbal slips but rather long term associations with people of questionable character or problematic political views. Being friends with Chicago 'fixer" Tony Rezko, now on trial for fraud in Chicago, is not a mistake in language but rather a monumental error in judgement. Obama's long term and very close relationship with anti-American bigot Jeremiah Wright is not poor choice if words but rather raises questions about Obama's own beliefs. And the candidate's long term relationship with domestic terrorist William Ayers has nothing to do with exaggerting his record and everything to do with Obama's arrogance in not caring what people think of him hanging around with an unapologetic proponent of murdering innocents. Even his supposed verbal gaffe in San Francisco speaking before billionaire donors where he called rural Ameicans "bitter" for "clinging" to false cultural touchstones like religion, guns and nativism wasn't so much a mistake as it was revealing of the candidate's elitism.
In fact, the Obama campaign announced endorsements from two more superdelegates on Thursday, after rolling out three on Wednesday and two others since late last week in what appeared to be a carefully orchestrated show of strength before Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary.
Obama advisers said that one of the pickups on Thursday, Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. of the District of Columbia, had initially favored Mrs. Clinton, but Clinton advisers denied that, and a Thomas aide said he had been neutral before Thursday.
In interviews, 15 uncommitted superdelegates said they did not believe that recent gaffes by both candidates would carry any particular influence over their final decision.
The superdelegates better wake up. Almost every day, Obama says or does something that reduces his chances to be elected in November. And in this, perhaps the best chance at winning the presidency for the Democrats since the depression years, nominating Obama may be the most spectacular error in recent political history.
