Depending on the poll, (which have been far more wrong than right this year) Barack Obama now holds a lead over Hillary Clinton nationally. In Ohio, he is only behind by single digits, after being behind by as much as 29%. In Texas, either they are tied, or Barack has earned a small lead.
Yet this morning, the Clinton campaign sent out its talking heads on cue, hitting all cable and morning news stations. The message was clear. She plans to win this, and stay in until the very end.
Her words made one group of people happy. The McCain team. The more that Clinton’s people play dirty (they are truly expert at it) the more his people can pick up on cues and hints. Plus, they can quickly see which piece of garbage sticks, and which are dead-enders.
No matter how an independent looks at her campaign’s level of health, he/she/it is led to an inescapable – her campaign is bankrupt, digging itself deeper, and incapable of turning it around. Even Bill has taken his former reputation and trashed it into something not easily recognizable.
Just one year ago, she had a wide lead nationally, close to 40% in some states. She earned the astounding sum of $140,000,000, and at one point had $40 million in her US Senate war chest. Even in December, she and her staff went on the air and predicted that everything would be over by Super Tuesday, confident that they would have wrapped up the entire campaign. Hillary herself stated that her campaign was organized to pretty much end the nomination fight on February 5th, saving her money and energy for the general election.
Ten straight losses later, her plan is a shambles, Wes Clark publicly admits that her campaign is in total disarray, her contributions can’t cover her expenditures, and even a big change in campaign staff and leadership accomplished nothing but earn her more bad press.
So, what drives her?
I suspect that much will be written on this subject, much like Adlai Stevenson’s losses were the topic of many debates and articles. I also suspect that we won’t ever really find out.
At the very least, she had a dream, probably as early as Barack Obama. She had the drive, the necessary ego, and the support. But she also had a horrendous plan and a hideous campaign. In this game, two strikes like that, and you are out.
In her own words, IT IS TIME TO GET REAL. For you Senator Clinton, getting real involves getting out of the race.
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