Here We Go - Hillary Clinton Unleashed

The past day or two has been very tight, with a huge uncertainty looming in Texas and especially in Ohio. However, the thing of which everyone was most certain was that we’d be seeing a last struggle by Hillary Clinton before she threw in the hat.

Some of us also speculated that we’d be seeing a last struggle by the mainstream media; a fight to keep the democratic race alive. There is nothing the media would like better than a fight all the way to convention, with back room deals in the smoke filled halls, so to speak, as it would give tons of coverage and keep all those reporters and pundits busy. And so the proverbial call, it seems, has come from on high. “Keep the race going,” the call says. “Keep the ratings up.” And so it begins.

Hillary Clinton is on a multi-pronged attack. Her supporters have kicked it up. The great beast has been awakened, so to speak, that rough beast whose hour has come ’round at last, slouching towards Washington to be born (thank you W.B. Yeats).

And so, with poetry failing to press the point, we have the news.

Hillary Clinton Endorses John McCain over Obama

It seems that in this primary it is smears, not tears, upon which Clinton places her hopes. This one is disturbing for the Democratic Party in general, but not disturbing enough for Howard Dean to pull the plug. Hillary Clinton said in a statement yesterday that “I think I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.”

Wait…was that an endorsement for John McCain? Nothing could possibly be more damaging to the Democratic Party than a democratic hopeful praising the competing party OVER a competing candidate of the same party. Barack Obama has many experience points he will draw upon in the general election if nominated, and for Hillary Clinton to give a statement like this just adds fuel to the Republican attack machine once it is put into play.

This is phase one of Hillary’s special brand of fight on the eve of the March 4th primaries. People close to Hillary’s campaign call it the “victimized fighter” tactic. Those of us who have grasped the bigger picture call it a “rat in a cage” tactic. She is trying to bring out more comparison’s between herself and John McCain, and push Obama out of the picture. With this statement, she hopes to show herself as McCain’s democratic equivalent: a P.O.W. of the political machine, tortured and victimized, but still kicking and ready for action. And the ongoing damage of her time as a Political P.O.W. is…wrinkles. According to Hillary, she’s earned every one.

However, I am thankful that Bill Clinton seems to endorse Barack Obama.

Hillary Clinton Supporter Calls Obama “Osama bin Laden”?

I was wondering when something like this would hit the news or blogosphere. A woman calling for Hillary Clinton reportedly called a man in a Cleveland suburb, and said:

“And we haven’t heard anything that specific from Osama bin Laden.”

When rebuked on the comment, she added “I’m sorry…just a slip of the tongue.”

You know, this is just one report of one call. And we have no way to know if this particular instance is true or not. But can any of us truly believe that this isn’t happening? With all the media attention revolving around the emphasis on Barack Obama’s middle name, his clothing in Somalia, and Hillary Clinton saying she doesn’t think Obama is a Muslim, as far as she knows, there must be some calls out there being made to undecided voters that state that Obama is a Muslim, or emphasizing his middle name, or comparing him to Osama bin Laden. And you know what? These attacks are ridiculous.

Because they encourage a call for national racism. It’s not the middle name that’s a problem. There is nothing wrong with a candidate having an Arabic middle name. The problem is the emphasis that is placed upon it, the implied observation that we should all think in terms of race and worry about his middle name. It goes against everything this country stands for.

How about that for a poll, mainstream media? Let’s see an online poll asking if the voters have received calls from Hillary Clinton or John McCain supporters that falsely suggest Obama is a Muslim?

Mainstream Media - Crusaders for Clinton

And if you’ve been shaking your head this whole time thinking that, “no, the media is fair in our country,” let’s talk about Hillary’s support over the last day of Hillary Clinton. Despite her recent acceptance of money from International Profit Associates, a company that allegedly has 103 open sexual harassment/assault cases against it, the news is today hammering on the glimpse of a chance that Barack Obama had any dealings with Tony Rezko. They are conveniently letting it be forgotten that Hillary too had dealings with Rezko. Old news has been stored and saved, waiting for this day to come to spit it right back out in an obvious engame smear attempt against Barack Obama. Hillary has played a Hail Mary with her “wait for Texas and Ohio” tactic, and she is, of course, trying like hell to make sure it succeeds. Only tonight will tell on that one.

Then there’s the Canadian thing. Supposedly a high ranking Obama official spoke with the Canadian government and said that Canada shouldn’t worry about Obama’s NAFTA comments; that they should be taken politically. Two points on this. 1) The Canadian government refutes the claims. 2) So what if he did? It would only go to show that Barack Obama knows how to ease tensions with foreign nations when the political will in America does not work in the best interest of that foreign nation. If I was speaking about tearing down and rebuilding a trade agreement with a nation who prospers due to that trade agreement, you’re damn right I would assure them that I will make sure it works out in the end for everyone. Chalk this one up as a non-issue, and a late game cheapshot for Clinton’s campaign.

All this time the Clinton campaign has been grasping at straws, searching for something to make them more viable, to get back a lead, any lead, against Barack Obama after 11 straight losses, to get that sense of inevitability back. However, the one thing she felt she missed was the endorsement of the mainstream media when making these claims. And finally, the day before a telling primary, she has it. I cannot decide if the media is now supporting her because 1) they feel like fools after SNL’s mockery of the media process with Barack Obama, 2) they feel bad for her after she whined to Tim Russert that she always has to go first, and 3) because they don’t want their ratings to drop if this doesn’t go to convention.

Don’t believe the media is in support of Clinton this morning? Check out this screenshot of the CNN Politics page. Where is Barack Obama on the top navigation bar? Why isn’t he in a front page picture, standing proud?