Hillary Endorses Obama: Public Mauling Might Cease Soon

by Deb Cupples |   Today in Washington, Hillary Clinton (once again) voiced support for her former opponent.  Her website is already calling for people to "sign up now" and "support Barack Obama."  Some may disagree with her, but she has said for months that she thinks Obama would be better than McCain.

I am not trying to persuade anyone to agree with Hillary.  I honestly don't yet know how I will vote in November.  Fortunately, I have about five months to ponder and decide.

Unfortunately, I've seen comments around the blogosphere over the last few days expressing anger at Hillary because of her stated support for Obama.

It's hard to tell from watching how some media outlets and DNC "leaders" treated (and still are treating) her, but Hillary Clinton is made of the same flesh and blood that we all are -- and she has faced considerable brutality.

Starting in early March, certain pundits and DNC "leaders" commanded Hillary to drop out of the race.  Instead, she exercised her right to hold her head high and carry on -- and she racked up impressive victories along the way.  This angered some members of the Thunderdome-ish crowd, whose sentiments steadily grew even more toxic.

The Angry Ones cranked up their vituperations to the verbal equivalent of a mob taking her to the town square, tearing off her frock, and taking turns lacerating her flesh with a raw hide whip.

The soundtrack included ample hoots and whistles and cheers -- which drowned out the horrified gasps from those of us who could not believe what we were witnessing.

Crying "uncle" or pleading for mercy wouldn't have moved that mob an inch.  The Angry Ones wanted their pound of flesh and were set on taking it a few, blood-soaked cubic-millimeters at a time.

Given that Hillary's back looks like a topographical map of the Grand Canyon, wouldn't it be understandable if Hillary has simply chosen to do what was necessary to calm The Angry Ones?

On the other hand, Hillary may not feel wounded at all.  She's an experienced Pro, which is one reason that millions of people support her.

Maybe Hillary is looking ahead and thinking about practicalities.  We know that she is committed to changing some public policies so that they actually serve the public (another reason millions of Americans support her).

If Hillary chooses to stay in the Senate, she'll need help from congressional Democrats to repair our public policies.  Having been in the Senate for seven years (and U.S. first lady for eight), she knows what's needed to get things done.

In short, maybe Hillary is choosing to retreat from this battle so she can re-charge for the long war that looms ahead as our nation tries to repair the massive damage that President Bush has inflicted upon us.

Do I plan to give a free pass to those media outlets and DNC "leaders" who poisoned the Democratic primaries with noxious sentiments?  Not a chance. Visions of boycotts and protest letters are dancing in my head.

But I hold no ill will toward Hillary for doing what she did today -- whatever her reasons may be.

Note: I embedded the object below from Hillary's site.  It's supposed to be a video of her speech, but it seems to be still shots.  I don't know whether it will morph into a video later on.

Memeorandum has commentary.

Comments

[Danny]

I have wondered if there were people working for Obama who were paid to post on blogs across the blogosphere? Like 'Adam' for instance? Are they still getting paid by Obama to argue for him?

I love Hillary Clinton - There isn't a supporter out here that will fault her for her brilliant speech endorsing Barack Obama. You said it perfectly --- "On the other hand, Hillary may not feel wounded at all. She's an experienced Pro, which is one reason that millions of people support her. Maybe Hillary is looking ahead and thinking about practicalities. We know that she is committed to changing some public policies so that they actually serve the public."

Hillary is our champion. I really feel that she is best poised to take this country in the right direction. So... she has bigger fish to fry now - whether I like it or not.

This spring, a lot of us found ourselves on blogs posting this and that about how we felt, what we saw, and how we percieved the way things were going. We have seen those 'Angry Ones' that you mention FIRST HAND. Nothing is ever going to be enough for the 'Angry Ones' that have attacked Hillary repeatedly and mercilessly. I will never support Obama for pulling out the RBC and killing her on the track.

I for one am not in this for Obama. And I don't see that it's time to pass the torch to what the media is calling a 'new, younger generation' of the party that supports Obama. I'm sorry (well, maybe I'm not), but I see this party as split down the middle. I have seen nothing from Obama, his surrogates, or his supporters OF REAL SUBSTANCE that will begin to heal the wrongs and attrocities they have inflicted on the supporters of Hillary Clinton. It is NOT only Hillary's responsibility to heal and bring together the party - Obama and his surrogates have an OBLIGATION to reach out... YET all I've seen this week and today is people complaining that she didn't do enough, she didn't do it right, she did too much, blah, blah, blah - what about Obama? Where is his magical rhetoric? It better get one HELL of a lot better. He had better reach out and respect those who support Hillary or he is going to be VERY LONELY this fall.

I don't think that Obama is prepared for what is to come from the right wing in this country. Look out! Because it is going to be EASY PICKIN'S for the 'Right' when it comes to Obama.

[Deb]

Danny,

I supposed some people are paid by Obama to blog, but I DON'T think Adam is one of them. He just truly believes and disagrees with me about Obama. He didn't hate Hillary, though.

This whole situation is unbelievable to me, in terms of what it has revealed about a sgment of the Dem party.

From 9/11 through Hurricane Katrina, I was unnerved by the brute force with which Bush supporters bullied the rest of us into silence.

I'm still a bit shocked to see fellow Democrats zealously employing the same tactics against Hillary supporters.

But I won't be silent like I was 3-7 years ago.

[Danny]

Please don't let them silence you.

Sorry to Adam.

Big Brown comes in LAST. I guess now Obama will distance himself from the horse. I'm glad the horse wasn't hurt. But really saw that coming - BIG BUILD UP for NOTHING. Obama will go out the same way sadly enough. He doesn't have what it takes for a triple crown win either.

[Charles]

Fortunately the presidential race doesn't involve actual running, Danny. If it had, FDR and JFK would never have made it.

I think that what Hillary said should be taken at face value. It is in the interest of her supporters to support the Democratic nominee, who happens to be Obama.

It's never fun to support someone who loses. Only one of the candidates that I supported in the primary made it to the White House. But every Democrat has advanced my interests (peace, economic growth, environmental stewardship, respect for civil liberties, national reconciliation) more than any Republican. Sober self-interest is the proper perspective to apply.

[Adam]

Here's the text of the speech:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=7903

For a long while now, I've been saying that I don't care WHEN Hillary drops out, I care HOW she drops out. Well, so far, so good. We're not ready to hold a unity party quite yet, but that speech was almost pitch perfect.

I thought it was rhetorically a particularly well-crafted speech. She stayed true to her style and her message, while preaching unity. In particular, she did something that would have seemed difficult at first blush: she strongly an unequivocally endorsed Obama, without saying anything that conflicted with anything she had said before.

She walked a rhetorical tightrope in this speech. She had to accomplish two very different tasks. On the one hand, she needed the headline today/tomorrow/Monday to be "Clinton endorses Obama". (Looking around the 'net, she succeeded here hands down.) On the other hand, she had to speak to the subset of her supporters who, for various reasons, don't like Obama. She had to convince them in a way that seemed sincere and not saccharine sweet. That's two very different goals to try to satisfy with one speech.

Note the things that Hillary didn't say in her speech. She never said "Obama will be a great president". She never said "Barack is the best candidate". She never said Barack "won" the nomination. Heck, she never even said he was qualified to be President. And yet the speech was widely hailed as a solid endorsement. That's impressive.

I truly mean this as a compliment to Hillary, as odd as that may sound coming from an Obama supporter. The goal from her perspective, at least at this stage, was not to go over the top in praising Obama, it was just to endorse him in an unambiguous way. The MSM never picked up on the "non-personal" (for lack of a better term) nature of the endorsement, because there was so much "unity" red meat for them to dig into. I was flipping back and forth between CNN and MSNBC after the speech, and nobody was implying that she had done anything except give a ringing endorsement.

Just as important were the things she said in an effort to convince her supporters. She was very specific about the issues where she thought Obama's position is better on than McCain. It wasn't personality, it was policy. She brought up a progressive tax code, health care, global warming, Iraq, and the supreme court, among others.

Her pitch to her supporters was extremely clear - you have to vote on policy, and we can't afford the "lost opportunities" caused by having a Republican in the white house. She didn't try to convince supporters to support Obama, as much as she tried to convince them to support the Democratic nominee.

People are saying it's her best speech of the campaign, and/or her best speech ever - including some Hillary supporters like Taylor Marsh. I definitely lack the perspective to make that call, but I will say that it was impressive and hit the right notes. She was in a VERY difficult spot and she pulled it off very well.