At the end of the primaries, Hillary Clinton thanks her supporters
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Download | play (h/t Heather)
Well, it wasn't the speech that many had hoped for after this exhausting primary season. It certainly wasn't a concession speech on the eve where Barack Obama clinched the number needed to be the Democratic presidential candidate. I'm sure that many will be angry that it wasn't. What it was, however, was a thank you to all her supporters for standing by her and working so hard on what has been a historic campaign, and moreover, a call to respect her supporters and their values. But, for all her detractors online, we must acknowledge that it has been historic. More than seventeen million Americans voted for the first serious female presidential contender in U.S. history (no offense intended to Shirley Chisholm). As a woman and as the mother of girls for whom I hope will find no glass ceilings to impede them, this has been an extremely hard fought race that will open doors for future generations. Christy at FDL:
Given how narrow the margins are between the Obama and Clinton camps, can we honestly say that potentially throwing out close to half the Democratic party's votes to salve individual needs for revenge or punishment or saying "suck it up and deal" is a winning strategy for November? Is it the human thing to do -- something that felt right when the GOP spat it at you after the 2000 race was decided by SCOTUS? Is that who we want to be as a party, who Obama supporters want to be as a whole? Clinton folks? I don't think so, not based on most conversations I've had with staunch supporters on either side.
I certainly hope folks aren't willing to cut off their votes to spite their nation, anyway, and that supporters of one candidate aren't quick to be dismissive to those on the other side of the fray.
It's time we all stood up and became the leaders we wish to see. That means putting the nation and it's desperately needed policy changes ahead of our own egos and grudges and snippy, poo-flinging urges. That means finding compassion somewhere inside the ire, and forgiveness inside the scars from a very closely fought race -- because we must, or we will lose. All of us will lose.
Transcript below the fold
Thank you all so much. Thank you and thanks so much to South Dakota. You had the last word in this primary season, and it was worth the wait.
I want to start tonight by congratulating Senator Obama and his supporters on the extraordinary race that they have run. Senator Obama has inspired so many Americans to care about politics and empowered so many more to get involved, and our party and our democracy is stronger and more vibrant as a result. So, we are grateful, and it has been an honor to contest these primaries with him, just as it is an honor to call him my friend. And tonight, I would like all of us to take a moment to recognize him and his supporters for all they have accomplished.
Now, sixteen months ago, you and I began a journey to make history and to remake America. And from the hills of New Hampshire to the hollows of West Virginia and Kentucky, from the fields of California to the factories of Ohio, from the Alleghenies to the Ozarks to the Everglades, to right here in the great state of New York, we saw millions of Americans registering to vote for the first time, raising money for the first time, knocking on doors, making calls, talking to their friends and neighbors, mothers and fathers lifting their little girls and their little boys on to their shoulders and whispering, "See, you can be anything you want to be."
I think, too, of all of those wonderful women in their nineties who came out to see me because they were born before women could vote, and they wanted to be part of making history. And the people who drove for miles, who waved their handmade signs, who went to all the events that we held, who came to hillaryclinton.com and showed the tangible support that they felt in their hearts. And I am just enormously grateful, because in the millions of quiet moments, in thousands of places, you asked yourself a simple question: Who will be the strongest candidate and the strongest president?
Who will be ready to take back the White House and take charge as Commander-in-Chief and lead our country to better tomorrows? People in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the territories, all had a chance to make your voices heard and on Election Day after Election Day, you came out in record numbers to cast your ballots. Nearly eighteen million of you cast your votes for our campaign, carrying the popular vote with more votes than any primary candidate in history. Even when the pundits and the naysayers proclaimed week after week that this race was over, you kept on voting.
You are the nurse on the second shift, the worker on the line, the waitress on her feet, the small business owner, the farmer, the teacher, the miner, the trucker, the soldier, the veteran, the student, the hard working men and women who don't always make the headlines but have always written America's story. You have voted because you wanted to take back the White House, and because of you, we won together the swing states necessary to get to 270 electoral
votes.
In all of the states you voted because you wanted a leader who will stand up for the deepest values of our party. A party that believes everyone should have a fair shot at the American Dream. A party that cherishes every child, values every family, and counts every single vote.
I often felt that each of your votes was a prayer for our nation, a declaration of your dreams for your children, a reflection of your desire to chart a new course in this new century and in the end, while this primary was long, I am so proud we stayed the course together because we stood our ground, it meant that every single United States citizen had a chance to make his or her voice heard.
A record thirty-five million people voted in this primary, from every state, red, blue, purple, people of every age, faith, color and walk of life. And we have brought so many people into the Democratic Party and created enthusiasm among those we seek to serve. And I am committed to uniting our Party, so we move forward, stronger and more ready than ever to take back the White house this November.
For the past seven years, so many people in this country have felt invisible, like your president didn't even really see you. I have seen the shuttered factories, the jobs shipped overseas, the families struggling to afford gas and groceries, but I've also seen unions retraining workers to build energy efficient buildings, innovators designing cars that run on fuel cells and bio-fuels and electricity, cars that get more miles per gallon than ever before, cars that will cut the cost of driving, reduce our reliance on foreign oil and fight global warming.
I have met too many people without health care, just a diagnosis away from financial ruin, but I have also seen the scientists and researchers solving the medical mysteries and finding the treatments and cures that are transforming lives. I have seen the struggling schools with the crumbling classrooms and the unfair burdens imposed
by No Child Left Behind, but I have also met dedicated and caring teachers who use their own savings to buy supplies, and students passionately engaged in the issues of our time, from ending the genocide in Darfur to once again making the environment a central issue of our day.
None of you is invisible to me. You never have been. I see you, and I know how hardworking you are. I've been fighting for you my whole adult life, and I will keep standing for you and working for you every single day because in your courage and character, your energy and ingenuity, your compassion and faith, I see the promise of America every day. The challenges we face are great, but our determination is greater.
You know, I understand that a lot of people are asking, what does Hillary want? What does she want? Well, I want what I have always fought for in this whole campaign. I want to end the war in Iraq. I want to turn this economy around. I want health care for every American. I want every child to live up to his or her God-given potential, and I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and no longer to be invisible.
You see, I have an old-fashioned notion, one that's been the basis of my candidacy and my life's work, that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their own dreams. This nation has given me every opportunity, and that's what I want for every single American.
That's why I want universal health care. It is wrong that Americans pay 50% more for health care than the people of any other wealthy nation, with costs doubling this decade and nearly 50 million people without any health insurance at all. It is wrong for parents to have to choose between care for themselves or their children, to be stuck in dead-end jobs just to keep their insurance or to give up working altogether so their kids will qualify for Medicaid. I have been working on this issue not just for the past 16 months, but for 16 years. And it is a fight I will continue until every single American has health insurance. No exceptions and no excuses.
I want an economy that works for all families. That's why I have been fighting to create millions of new jobs in clean energy and rebuilding our infrastructure, jobs to come to all of our states and urban and rural areas and suburban communities and small towns. That's why I sounded the alarm on the home mortgage crisis well over a year ago, because these are the issues that will determine whether we will once again grow together as a nation or continue to grow apart. And I want to restore America's leadership in the world. I want us to be led once again by the power of our values, to have a foreign policy that is both strong and smart, to join with our allies and confront our shared
challenges from poverty and genocide to global terrorism and global warming.
These are the issues that brought me into this race. They are the life blood of my campaign, and they have been and will continue to be the causes of my life. And your spirit has inspired me every day in this race.
While I traveled our country talking about how I wanted to help you, time and again, you reached out to help me, to grab my hand or grip my arm, to look into my eyes and tell me, don't quit, keep fighting, stay in this race for us.
Now there were days when I had the strength enough to fight for all of us, and on the days that I didn't, I leaned on you, the soldier on his third tour of duty in Iraq who told his wife, an Iraqi veteran herself, to take his spending money and donate it to our campaign instead. The 11-year-old boy in Kentucky who sold his bike and video
games to raise money for our campaign. The woman who came to a rally hours early, waited and waited to give me a rosary. And all those who whispered to me, simply to say I am praying for you.
So many people said this race was over five months ago in Iowa, but we had faith in each other and you brought me back in New Hampshire and on Super Tuesday and in Ohio and in Pennsylvania and Texas and Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Puerto Rico and South Dakota. I will carry your stories and your dreams with me every day for the rest of
my life. I will carry your stories and your dreams with me every day for the rest of my life.
Now the question is, where do we go from here, and given how far we've come and where we need to go as a party, it's a question I don't take lightly. This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight. But this has always been your campaign, so to the 18 million people who voted for me and to our many other supporters out there of all ages, I want to hear from you. I hope you'll go to my website at HillaryClinton.com and share your thoughts with me and help in any way that you can.
In the coming days, I'll be consulting with supporters and party leaders to determine how to move forward with the best interests of our party and our country guiding my way. And I want to conclude tonight by saying thank you. Thank you to the people across America for welcoming me and my family into your homes and your hearts. Thanks to all of you in every corner of this country who cast your votes for our campaign. I am honored and humbled by your support and your trust. Thanks to my staff and volunteers for all those long hours and late nights, and I thank your families and your loved ones as well, because your sacrifice was theirs. And I especially want to thank all of the leadership of my campaign. Our chairman, Terry McAuliffe and everyone who worked so hard. And, of course, my family for their incredible love, support and work. Bill and Chelsea, Hugh and Maria, Tony and Megan, Zach and Fiona and my mother who turns 89 tomorrow. And,finally, I want to thank all of the people who had the courage to share your stories with me out on the campaign trail.
Tonight, I am thinking of a woman I met just yesterday in Rapid City, South Dakota. We were outside Talley's Restaurant. There was a crowd there as I was walking into the restaurant. And she was standing right up against the barrier. She grabbed my hand and she said, "What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?" And as she was talking, she began to cry. She told me she works three jobs. She has suffered from seizures since childhood. She hasn't been able to afford insurance ever since she left her parents' home. It is shameful that anyone in this country could tell that story to me. And whatever path I travel next, I promise I will keep faith with her and with everyone I met across this great and good country.
You know, tonight we stand just a few miles from the Statue of Liberty. And from the site where the Twin Towers fell and where America rose again. Lady Liberty's presence and the towers' absence are a constant reminder that here in America, we are resilient, we are courageous, we embrace all of our people and that when we face our challenges together, there is no barrier we can't overcome, no dream we can't realize, nothing we can't do if we just start acting like Americans again.
Thank you all very much. God bless you and God bless America.
FIRST!!! Hilllary...quit already!!!
She had an opportunity to graciously concede the election and she chose not to. IMO, she threw away any possibility of becoming the VP.
In the transcripts of last nights speeches, lets count the number of times the canidates said "me"
Obama - 2
Clinton - 19
After the last eight years, no way does any Republican win the Presidency. Obama doesn't need Hillary at all. If anything, she'd be a huge minus.
Yes, it most certainly was historic - but that includes BOTH candidates, not only what Senator Clinton has achieved. But within the rules of the democratic nomination process, Senator Obama achieved the required number of delegates. These were rules set long before this process began, and to not concede, as she refused to do, and instead fire up her base and ask for their opinion is a slap in the fact to the entire Democratic party. Her campaign was run poorly, as we can all agree, but to dismiss the achievement of her opponent because she did not achieve her desired result is disingenuous.
She's introduced as the next President by her campaign person? and can't acknowledge Obama's win?
Any woman can be the next President, but not her. Nor does she deserve the VP position.
why do you even post this? pretty obvious you are a clinton supporter. this woman is not doing a service for women's rights or the Dem. party, she is doing what she can to fulfill her selfish desires. This woman reinforces many of the hateful stereotypes that keep strong minded women down. I find it hilarous that she is insisting that she is not conceeding. Guess what, there is not condceeding anymore. You lost. That is like going into work the day after you got fired to say you quit.
Please, can we get past this silliness now? Clinton supporters aren't going to vote for McCain just like Huckabee supporters aren't going to vote for Obama. And if Hillary had pulled out an amazing upset in the final month all you Obama supporters would vote for her in November. You all know it, let's move on now.
Well, as I've been saying, this election was historical for the first viable female candidate, first viable black candidate, and the first to be running who's already in his 70's. Coupled with the historic length of the campaign, the huge amounts spent on the campaigns, and additionally the two establishment front-runners, julianni and Hillary not becoming the candidate.
Senator Clinton to Senator Obama: "Okay, you want me to concede? What's it worth to you? I'm not just gonna drop out without some extra incentive." Brinksmanship.
Well...gotta give it to her...she doesn't quit, even when someone else has the nomination locked up, she never gives up, even when the (seemingly) VAST MAJORITY of Dem voters are ready for her to step down...she doesn't recognize when she's been outclassed and continues to plow ahead. How, like a drowning person, she grabs wildly at anyone within reach, pulling them down with her...so I thank you Hillary...thank you for stickin there and potentially destroying the Democratic Party for your ambition. Way to go.
Hillary could have been more gracious..but she is an obvious fighter. Obama needs her supporters and she would make for a great VP.
Justin Raimando tackles the issue no one wants to or dares to talk about
Will Obama Stand Up to the War Party?
Don't bet the ranch on it
If you want to know what the future holds in store, just take a look at what John McCain said recently to the AIPAC conference:
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12942
4 VoR
I still suspect the publicans to pull something. It may or not be gay marriage, flag burning, or patriotism.
I suspect it'll be illegal immigration. The Democrats have never really stated an opinion on this. But they seem to favor boosh's "reforms" on immigration, which are terribly unpopular.
mccain was also for boosh "reforms," but he's back-flipped on so many of his stances, what's one more? He'll probably rationalize it as first enforcements (to please the nativists), and then reform.
He'll try to draw Democrats out on the issue and fault them for whatever they say, in front of a USA who's increasingly hostile to unchecked illegal immigrations.
Kathleen @ 12:
My understanding is JFK and LBJ frankly hated each other, but JFK needed LBJ to help him win the states where he was weakest.
If Obama picks her as VP I'm not voting.
As a father of 2 young daughters, I am happy that Hillary did not get the nomination. Frankly, I think she is an embarassment for women. What she did, or in this case did not do last night, was an embarassment to women and even more, a kick in the groing to the minority movement in this contry.
In addition to the the nasty, lousy and dishonest campaign she ran, to come out and try to hold Obama and the country hostage was just disgracefull. When my daughters grow up, it will not be Hillary Clinton I will cite as an example to women's movement. Go away Hillary and God help NY state.
Thanks Hillary...now get off the stage.
for what its worth, terry mcauliffe is a friggin' lunatic. he's good enough for global crossing though, which is hardly a compliment.
and, like others, i viewed hillaey's speech more as a permanent-campaign lifeline.
she isn't conceding, she's "suspending"
Other than our current President, I can't remember the last time I saw a candidate as delusional as Hillary.
Even when EVERYONE ON EARTH knows it is over, she won't do the right thing.
It's sad to see what she has turned into - a person who is so addicted to gaining power that she can't give it up.
WhalersFan @ 3:
Well said!
Back when, that was the first thing that I noticed about Sen. Obama. With this man we don't get a me, me, me or an I, I, I, type of person. The vision is a truly one that is for all and will take all of us to get it done.
America,when you put the government on autopilot, where we are now is where it goes, straight down the toilet. We all have a long tough several years ahead, and it going to take the involvement and awareness of all. Let's not drop the ball now!
I've been a Hillary supporter from waay back.
Now that Obama owns the nomination, the choice for VP... and THE TIMING of making that choice public... MUST be his decision... and HIS alone. The WORLD is watching him now... and he's run a really good campaign thru the primaries. He should do the right thing by two standards: Who will help him get elected, and who will be the right person in the office of VP after Jan. 2009.
Obama's doesn't care about "throwing out close to half the Democratic party’s votes".
It should be obvious.
Samson- @ 18:
drat, hillary's, not "hillaey's"
Personally, I'd like to thank C&L for not joining with some other progressive blogs and bashing HRC. Sites like americablog became 24/7 HRC hatefests of the worst kind. It was as if they were channeling the ghost of '90s rightwingers. It was truly disgusting. I'm glad this is over and we can now support our nominee.
It seems like everyone is given here her due. But the problem remains, her failure to concede and endorse Obama was a major failure. It was the only right thing to do, and she refused to do so.
I suspect that there is some validity to the theory that she needs to keep the donators donating so she can pay off her huge debt...to herself.
Clearly, whatever the reason, it was a self-serving move last night and not what's in the best interest of the people of the Democratic Party, let alone the people at large of this country.
As with virtually every other opportunity Senator Clinton has had to show graciousness and ameliorate some of the negative perceptions she has earned over the years, last night's speech was just one more failure on her part. Is it really possible that she still believes there is a way to win the nomination? Or was it simply necessary to diminish Obama's moment of victory? Whatever it was, Clinton again proved that she cares only about herself.
Some Hillary supporters think she is fighting for them, fact is its all about Hillary. I have never heard someone say "I did" so many times in one speech before.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 11:
I have to agree with you on that. No way will I ever vote for any Clinton, ever again.
This woman seems to be running out of spite at this point. She is going to try to make Obama lose so she can run again in four years.
That's twisted, especially when you think of the damage a republican president will do during that time. We would have gone down the path of pure fascism by then.
Think about the lives that would costs. The misery that would cause. Talk about selfish and inhuman.
I've NEVER liked Hillary. Even as first lady she was always rubbing people the wrong way. She's one of the most selfish, self interested politicians outside of the Republican part.
If Obama were to pick Edwards as his running mate, that would make me very, very happy.
But not Hillary. We can do much better than her.
Obama put together an awesome team to beat Hillary, against all odds no matter how close it was in the end...his team was awesome. I trust in him to put together another team to lead the nation for the next 4-8 years that does not have to include Hillary. The man out maneuvered her somehow so I'm sure he can do it again. Clinton was smug and full of herself last night. the way to unite the party is to have her join in supporting him not being his vp unless he ask...
NishNish @ 7:
and if she was a man she would be a shrewed politician please give the woman credit where credit is due
“The Democrats chose to play the game of identity politics with the voters’ and the nation’s future when we’re facing serious times.”
R.I.P.
You know what? Fuck her! Just fuck her! She's gonna keep hanging around, shamelessly hinting (or demanding) that she wants the VP spot. This is a distraction away from Obama's campaign against McCain. This is all about Hillary, nothing else.
Sali @ 29:
Yes indeed Clyburn and Axlerod pounded their own party-voters with the Race Card as their opening slavo awesome team there.
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 32:
Oh my oh my what a Uniter this one is huh?
Could not disagree more with you, Nicole. Aside from the obvious about HRC's talk last night, which was nothing, aside from letting everyone know that she is not prepared to concede even though she lost; i take particular umbrage with people parroting the Clinton line of "17-18 million people have voted for me". Show me the votes. You can't, that's because it's another aspect of the Clinton's campaign of "say anything that might be picked up and run w/ by the msm".
Michael Beschloss was on the news hour last night and said it best - "no matter that Clinton got 48%. This was a race and there is a winner and a loser, and she lost."
L.A. Confidential @ 22:
Obvious? Maybe to someone swimming underwater laps in pool filled with Klinton Kool-Aid.
To any rational individual it ought to be clear that Obama knows he has little chance of winning in November unless he brings the party together.
Still, I can understand how difficult it is to renounce victimhood on such short notice. After all, Obama's victory has only been all but inevitable for many, many weeks.
L.A. Confidential @ 34:
Gimme Mine Gimme Mine! It's all about ME ME ME!!!! I want it all! I want it NOW!!!!
I really would be shocked if Obama picked HRC as a running mate. I just don't think that's going to happen. But I'm sure, with her garnering 18 million votes, he will consider her for some other position in his administration.
You guys are morons. You are all caught up in the rioting crowd mentality of Hillary Bashing. My guess is that each of you have health insurance and don't give a damn about anybody else.
L.A. Confidential @ 34:
unfortunately if she is not given the vp position he will lose. you can spin it anyway you want but that is just fact
L.A. Confidential @ 37:
dude? are you responding to yourself on purpose?
This thread demonstrates exactly why so many Clinton supporters will not vote for Obama. Obama has won yet you continue to piss on us. It's bad enough being called a bigot and threatened by Obama supporters for months, but now that it's over you want to continue to kick a down dog. Good luck with your election.
ebone @ 35:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_vote_c...
WhalersFan @ 3:
You stole my thought. Clinton says almost everything with "I" rather than "we." Her crowds chant "Yes she can," rather than "Yes we can."
How can Obama pick her for VP? Time and again she proves that she's only interested in serving herself.
You know the fable about the frog and the scorpion, no?
How could he ever know or trust what was going on from her office, especially with the state of Executive Orders being what they are, granting profound powers to the VP? And then there's Bill . . .
I was disgusted last night.
robyn williams @ 40:
It's NOT a fact, but a fearful probability.
oh really @ 36:
What Victory? Oh thats right you guys changed the rules we don't have to wait anymore until the convention legally and democratically authorizes the winner.
Slick stuff there. Real Slick. Chicago Politics elevated to High Art.
Good Luck
oz9 @ 42:
Nobody's pissing on you.
Concede and show us and the country some class for _____'s sake!
Throughout the entire primary I tried to keep in mind what this whole thing is about and I never wavered from that. To me, its never been about one particular candidate or party although I do have my own particular favorite just like everyone else. The way I see it, this election has always been about what is best for the nation and nothing more. Obama and Clinton are top notch candidates. No one can deny that. Both are class acts and each would wipe the floor with any of the Republican candidates that I have seen. The Democrats should be proud that they have fielded such a powerful selection of candidates.
Now that the primaries are over, I'd say that its time for the Democrats to get to work on the business at hand. Personally and as an Obama supporter, I welcome the Clinton supporters and I would easily back Clinton if she had won. As I have said, I've never thought about what I want, just what is best for the nation and from the looks of McCain, he is the worst thing that could ever happen to this country.
HRC better get out of the race by Saturday, because my guess is that Saturday Night Live will make her look like an IDIOT if she doesn't.
oz9 @ 42:
So you will punish, not only Barack, but the entire United States because someone on a blog got overzealous?
Really? That makes sense to you?
I'm an Obama supporter, but I admire Hillary Clinton very much. I don't see anything wrong with her trying to keep the support up and the donations coming in as long as she can. She's tough and shrewd and doesn't give up, and I agree that some of the criticism of her actions would not be made if she were a man. It was a good speech, and it hardly matters if she concedes or not -- she's lost the nomination. We know it and she knows it.
I think Obama's victory is an encouraging sign that voters truly want something new, someone who at least has the potential to think about governing in a new way. Clinton, with all her strengths, couldn't offer us that.
Hi, I'm Mike and, like most Democrats under 30, I am shocked by how afraid Hilary's generation is of the idea of a black man being President. I think that a human evolutionary shift just occurred. We will not allow our country to be hijacked by Clintons or Bushes. As Dylan sang...
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
You're "blocking up the hall" Hilary. Now fuck off.
Her intention is to weaken Obama as much as possible, in the hopes that he loses the general election. That will leave DLC in charge of the Democratic Party, and the Republicans in charge of the country. Exactly what the corporate wing wants.
That's why she's continuing to stir up as much division as possible amongst Democratic voters. You people who are saying you won't vote for the nominee are the biggest damn suckers on this side of the aisle-- you're being played and you don't even know it.
For the record, Obama was not my first choice, nor my second or even third. But you vote for the chosen candidate.
MonkeyMan @ 39:
I'm not really worried about having health insurance at the moment. I'm more interested in having at least one job. Health insurance as a campaign issue is sooo backburner right now.
Blue Knuckle @ 44:
it is a fact if Obama loses just 10% of Clinton supporters he will lose and it's very easy for him to lose at least 10% without picking her.
Joe O. @ 47:
Wow. One walks the earth that has some common sense and decency.
Mike @ 51:
Typical. And he quotes Dylan.
Hillarious
Although I disagree with her tactics, the only option we have is to just ignore her pressure, and allow her to concede on her own time. We all know Obama is the nominee, and nothing she can do will change that. Hardcore Clinton supporters need to be welcomed back into the Democratic party from the Clinton party, and we need to be sure they are not disenfranchised.
That being said, her rightful place is no longer as veep, and she needs to begin acknowledging that Obama can, and will win in November.
Unification includes Clinton and Obama supporters.
As a party, and a nation, we MUST move forward.
L.A. Confidential @ 37:
Duuude, you are answering your own posts. LOL, is it the delusional paranoia or do you expect to be paid on a per-post basis.
Time to move on and focus on the real campaign.
oz9 @ 42:
And what did she do last night? Last night should have been Obamas night, instead Hillary didn't have the grace to even give him that. She leaks the "I want to be VP" and then doesn't even have the grace to say he had won. When you piss on someone, don't cry when people piss back.
Rick @ 15:
and McCain thanks you.
Seriously, get ready for election results in which the Democrats make significant gains in both houses and McCain gets elected President. Not because either Democrat has "destroyed the party" or some such bullshit claim, but because of regional voting.
Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama poll at similar percentages of the popular vote. Senator Clinton, on the other hand is more popular than Senator Obama in the swing states (and especially Florida). With current polling data, Senator Clinton wins these states and Senator Obama does not.
Like it not, he will need her help.
robyn williams @ 40:
If I had the same crystal ball as you, I would personally not waste time posting on the internet and get busy playing the lottery.
She didn't disappoint. This was precisely what I expected of her. The woman is seriously delusional. No new ground forged.
The Dude @ 58:
I'm not kissing your ass. Count on it. Seriously count on it.
robyn williams @ 54:
It's ONLY a fact if McCain can hold his base and Independents. I say he cannot. Not in this war and this economy. No, sir.
The Dude @ 61:
See your the exact reason people are hesitant to support Obama. Because your part of the package.
L.A. Confidential @ 65:
If the package contains logic, self-sacrifice, decency, class, and DELEGATE VOTES, . . . sure.
I think the premise of your post - or implied premise - is off base.
It is NOT discarding 17 million votes or disrespecting 17 million voters to have wished Hillary made a gracious exit speech last night. It was a hard fought campaign and an incredibly close campaign. But Clinton lost. Why could she not gracefully exit - thank her 17+ million supporters, say she will continue to work for the things they believe in, congratulate Obama on Montana and on reaching the delegate threshold, and vow to work for the party.
Instead we saw chants of Denver, wild cheers that she was not making any decision that night, no congratulations to Obama, and no reference to her having lost the campaign.
Graciousness and reality are not in opposition to recognizing her and her supporters great efforts.
L.A. Confidential @ 63:
What the hell are you talking about... your unhinging has been epic.
Sure it was entertaining at first, but you should take care of your mental health... life is too sort.
Anyhow, I am sure the rest of the people in this board have no problem focusing on the task at hand now: defeating the GOP and turn back the past 8 years of hell.
Mr M @ 67:
Hear, hear.
and so continues the scorched earth candidacy
she doesnt believe that obama can or will win
she and bill can go straight to fucking hell
Blue Knuckle @ 46:
Like her, hate or or not care, HRC received MILLIONS of votes. Why would any Dem want to alienate those voters by trashing her and, in effect, trashing those that voted for her? It was a hard fought race. We need those votes.
c. atrox @ 17:
what? no parting gifts?
uncle joe hussein mccarthy @ 70:
She's making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. I guess we should admire her audacity . . . ?
It certainly was an historic moment for Hillary, because this was the first presidential campaign IN HISTORY where a candidate hopes that her rival is assassinated THREE SEPARATE TIMES.
theWalrus @ 72:
Why should any American (albeit Obama supporters) want to be held hostage by her?
oz9 @ 42:
The capacity for projection by some Hillary supporters is starting to border the surreal...
theWalrus @ 72:
why??? cuz she doesnt give a crap about the party or the country
she had the opportunity last nite to rise above politics...she chose not to
I think any woman who runs for president would be called the same things as what people are calling Hillary. She gets ripped for her ambitions but McCain and Obama don't. It's obvious with this double standard that a woman will never be president nor should one even try again. This is a man's world so to the women who are Hillary supporters you should just get used to it. I should also remind posters this is about uniting the party, not about Hillary being a self obsessed egotistical whiny "entitled" bitch.
theWalrus @ 72:
Ron Paul also got millions of votes. Whats your point?
I spent the last few days visiting the pro-Hillary blogs. There are some seriously pissed off and deluded people over there. Apparently, Hillary won the primary. I am so happy that I visited those sites or I would not have known that. There's about a billion hours of psychiatric care needed over there. If you thought, as I did, that Harriet Christianson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KACQuZVAE3s) was an aberration, take a stroll around the pro-Hillary block and you will quickly find that you are, as I was, mistaken.
L.A. Confidential @ 22:
Half my ass and you know it. Stop pimping that bullshit myth. Losers don't make treats. He doesn't need her to win and clearly will not be intimidated by losers.... he proved it already in this primary. Unlike you and a few other bitter psychotics, most sensible people understand what is at stake and won't prostitute their vote. Just like Hillary, your leverage is imaginary. Now go run to McWar. Obviously your single vote didn't mean shit.
Bud @ 79:
Um, the difference is NOT gender; it's victory and a certain amount of class.
ysbaddaden @ 14:
And then LBJ had JFK assassinated.
"After today, that sonofabitch is never going to embarass me again" - LBJ to his mistress Madeleine Duncan Brown in Houston the night before JFK was killed
Watch the interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79lOKs0Kr_Y
Joe O. @ 47:
I agree for the most part...
Though I think Hillary should do the honorable thing by stepping down, and publicly endorsing Obama.
You have to read Hillary Rosen's article on Huff Po because she was a LOYAL Clinton supporters. Basically her last two lines sums it up well:
"I'm not a bargaining chip. I am a Democrat."
As a non American, therefore a non voter, I have been struck by the sneaky nastiness of Obama supporters' sexism. Hillary Clinton is branded the one who has divided the party, yet Obama is just as divisive a candidate. Just as many voters will not give their vote to a black man as would not have voted for a woman. It should not be so, but this is real life, not fairyland. Added to that Obama's inexperience will make lie easy for the Republican attack dogs. I can't help thinking the Dems have made a big mistake.
Let me insert a blast from the past.
Ted Kennedy ran a campaign against President Carter (whom he did not consider liberal enough) up to and into the 1980 Democratic Convention, where he declared that "the fight will go on." People--28 years later--now look back on that speech with fondness and clouded memory [memory "clouded", I must say, by Sen Kennedy's lifelong leadership and service]. I however went through the early 1980's describing how Kennedy had carried the fight against Carter for as long as he could--until he could hand the baton to Ronald Reagan! [Reagan, you may recall, eked out his win against Carter and Andersen, with less than 50% of the vote.] My respect for Ted Kennedy after 1980 was on a par with my respect for Ralph Nader after 2000. I got over it [for Senator Kennedy, whom I number among the great senators of my lifetime].
Let this not be the story for Senator Clinton--a great senator, a great leader.
Hand the baton to Barack Obama, not John McCain.
Between you and Christy, thank God there's some sanity on the blogosphere.
Blue Knuckle @ 83:
Al Gore has a VALID claim to the Presidential nomination in 2000, but he chose to concede for the good of the nation even though he could've won at the end of the day if they recounted the state of Florida. Even though we have suffered through 8 horrible Bush years, I still believe Gore made the right decision.
Hillary Clinton is no Al Gore.
I'm a Hillary supporter but after her losing the race I have no desire to vote for Obama.
In fact, I'll be voting McCain instead.
Bud @ 79:
i respectfully disagree
no one rips for her ambitions
they rip her for throwing away her progressive ideals to achieve those goals
they rip her for running an awful campaign...then crying sexism
they blame her for being a cheerleader for an illegal and immoral war...then refusing to admit she was wrong
the next woman to run will not make these same mistakes
theWalrus @ 72:
The problem is that some people are trying to frame that pointing out that she lost to be the same as "trashing her."
Other candidates have dropped before her, and had no problem in moving on and supporting the party. Hillary is creating her own standards as she goes along it seems. And right now, even as you point out, she is using her votes as a negotiation card to further her interests. That is what I find alarming.
Some people, me included, are done giving her the benefit of the doubt. At this point her attitude is damaging the party, in fact the GOP has already started running attack ads against Obama using Hillary and Bill's own words. And I think that is a fairly serious legacy that she has brought to the table.
Mister Anderson @ 90:
Um, so your point is that Obama = Bush?
WHAT?!?!?!
Ian Thorpe @ 87:
Good Lord... Why is it that if you don't like HRC, you're sexist? And if you don't like Obama, you're racist? And if you don't like McCain, you're mean to old people...?
Can't we just all have our beliefs without the negative crap attached to them? Seriously, 95% of the people commenting here are Democrats. No one is voting for McCain because of who won, and if anyone stays home on election day rather than voting for Obama, they're stupid and deserve four more years of fascism.
Ian Thorpe @ 87:
You are right, there is racism and sexism in America. Beside that, whats your point?
Blue Knuckle @ 94:
The point is that Gore had class which Hillary lacks.
theWalrus @ 72:
Many of those voters are Israel firsters who regard Obama as too bipartisan, honest and fair towards a balanced goal of a two state solution for the Palestinians; They will vote for McCain regardless, because he will continue the onesided Israeli genocidal policy where a two state solution will never happen.
Hillary is a Clinton first, a woman second. Everything points to that. The Democratic Party needs to move beyond Clintons. They are self-serving at every turn. Here again is the proof.
Mister Anderson @ 97:
Is it your contention then that you'd win a recount of cast votes? What IS your point?
Ian Thorpe @ 87:
Care to point out the "divisive" statements by Obama?
Actually Obama has been in elected office longer than Hillary... but facts be damned...
Amen
MLV @ 91:
Have a little race problem or are you just another of limbos cool-aid drinkers?
As a life-long democrat, I'm done providing financial support to a party with superdelegates. After reading many of the posts here and listening to the talking assholes on cable TV (and they get paid for it), the democrats have a very, very loooonnnng way to go to secure the White House--even against the miserable Republican lot. Fervent and vitriolic Obama supports are more than capable of taking this thing down. Good luck, America.
Mister Anderson @ 97:
Al Gore's claim to the Presidency was because he, absent fraud in the Florida vote count, had the most electoral votes - not because he won the popular vote. Would you deluded Clinton supporters please pull you heads out of your asses long enough to at least get this one simple distinction between then and now straight! On behalf of the rational people, we would appreciate it.
Ian Thorpe @ 87:
I totally agree! What an intelligent observer you are!!
Obama's superb judgement about Iraq cannot possibly be compared to Hillary's complicit misjudgement which resulted in only more than a million deaths, but whose counting? Moreover it's wonderful how you conveniently forget about Hillary's superb and respectful tact when she hoped on three separate occasions that Obama was assassinated. She and her husband have been a thorough delight and we are so proud of both of them. You have to call the asylum to find out when visiting hours are.
diamondmc @ 103:
This person is a republican troll sent out to confuse those who could be easily swayed to make such a stupid, stupid choice. Pretty much what this person is saying is, "Because the person I wanted didn't win, I will pass over the candidate with the remarkably similar platform and go for the guy who is the polar goddamned opposite!"
I guess that makes sense.
Ian Thorpe @ 87:
This is one of those single posting Repub troll operatives who make dumb factless comments then run away like a sissy back to Hannityland. This sorry troll stole the name of the seven time olympic champion swimmer from Australia.
To MS Clinton, it is over, throw in the towel already.
Bill Richardson for VP.
Unfortunately, without filibuster-proof House & Senate the Republicans will still control the show. So, in that sense, it doesn't really matter who is elected President but frankly, after 8 years of disastrous Republican rule I would expect nothing less than a total Dem blowout in November. Look at Bush's polling! The fact that some are saying it will be a close race stuns me and fills me with politically hopeless angst. If McCain wins, not only will it signal the beginning of the end for America, it will support the image of the Democratic Party as the half-assed self-destructive Party that can't even tie its shoelaces straight.
MLV @ 91:
I have to ask, if you are willing to vote for McCain and the extension of Bush/Cheney policies, what in the world made you a Hillary supporter to begin with?
Or did I just answer my own question?
But Hillary is a bitch...
If Hillary was a man he would be a dick.
MLV @ 91:
This is why I love the Democratic Party; even with certain victory, they always find a way to mess up. Obama--more or less--is identical to Hillary Clinton in every way, but many Democrats refuse to acknowledge this fact. They have to have their candidate, or else. Come on guys: Get it together, just this one time! Just imagine Obama wearing a wig when you are voting.
pickles @ 104:
Obama won the majority of pledged delegates.
pickles @ 104:
I understand your concern; You express yourself so articulately!! Isn't it a bummer when you have a system where one is allowed to bribe superdelegates? I mean, how do I know how much to write the check, or is a bribe only legal if it is in cash? For the record, Hillary's campaign was caught on one occasion trying to bribe two superdelagtes with $1m. It was denied and reported. Isn't that an absolute bummer!! Surely we ought to be allowed to bribe without interpherence?
But the way she did it was insulting.
I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and no longer to be invisible
A person who wants to unite the party does not imply that the party's nominee (and his supporters) considers nearly half the primary voters to be invisible.
The way for her to gain some respect for both her and her supporters would have been to have given a gracious congratulations to the nominee.
MLV @ 91:
You know, I'm really going to miss those Operation Chaos trolls...
Chris H. @ 113:
LOL, indeed...
From a policy stand point, both candidates are center/right. That is why I simply don't get the scorched earth campaign carried out by the Clinton camp.
Alice Hussein @ 109:
And equally, to all HRC bashers - it's over, time to refocus your efforts on McCain.
Bud @ 79:
Again, for the record, this ass-clown and I are not the same...
The Dude @ 68:
Well said.
It's quite clear that the hillary supporters like LAC would rather put their personal candidate choice over the sake of the party and over the sake of the country. McGrampa is the wrong choice, plain-and-simple. Obama supporters would have backed Hillary and wouldn't be going out of their way to derail the Democratic's run to the White House. LAC is really defines anti-Americanism.
I'm a Hillary supporter but after her losing the race I have no desire to vote for Obama.
So I'm going to club some baby seals, kick a few puppies and make a coat out of all your cats. Then I'm going to push some old people into traffic (watch out, McCain) and punch a couple of girl guides because they always had it coming to them. Smug little jerks.
theWalrus @ 110:
Haven't you read "What's The Matter With Kansas" by Thomas Frank? It tries to explain this paradox of mostly Republicans voting against their own interests.
pickles @ 104:
so, lemme get this straight:
as a 'lifelong democrat' you just learned that the dems use superdelegates? or is it that the superdelegates didn't support your candidate?
one is a sign of ignorance, the other double standards.
theWalrus @ 24:
What was disgusting was the HRC crowd over at TalkLeft.com. They are still shrieking over there.
So, you think Obama needs Hillary to beat McCain, eh? Well, here are my Top Ten Reasons Why Barack Obama Should Not Make Hillary His Running Mate. And, no, it isn’t a funny David Letterman-type Top Ten List. These are ten very good reasons why Hillary needs to be off the ticket.
MLV @ 91:
You are absolutely entitled to vote for a dictatorship, a continuation of Bush. What a wonderful person you must be at a party! And what fun!! Do you say "heil!" and snap your heels when you greet your friends?
MonkeyMan @ 39:
Actually, MonkeyBoy, I'm probably going to lose my health insurance soon. I think both Obama's and Clinton's health care plans are utterly inadequate. The biggest difference seems to be Clinton's "mandates." Anyone who thinks that mandates have any chance of passing in the Senate hasn't paid much attention in the last fifteen years. Mandates will be the sledgehammer that Republicans use to crush all health care reform. Just wait until the ads about the government stealing money from your paycheck begin airing.
I favor a single-payer plan without employers and insurance companies. However, that is obviously not going to pass in this America. But neither will mandates. A plan that has no chance of becoming law is no plan at all (just ask HRC, she's got some relevant experience, which apparently didn't teach her anything). If we're going to back a plan with no chance of passing, I'd prefer we start debating a single-payer plan, rather than the mess the candidates have cobbled together.
When it mattered most, she wet her pants, rolled over, and let Bush have his way by giving him crucial congressional votes which resulted in the degradation of the country's health and reputation. Some tough guy.
And she shows no remorse. The Physicians Desk Reference has a term for people like that.
Lucky for me, I had all this figured out before I was 20 years old, while being insulted and dismissed by those who refused to get their heads around the self-destructive foreign and economic policies that true believers still latch onto. They said "why should I worry, I am an American".
I left the country in 1999 thinking Americans neither want jobs nor health, and they are even less interested in knowing about their country's psychopathic foreign policies. They no longer cared for the world's respect because their arrogance led them to believe that they did not need it. It is the only explanation for their voting patterns.
I like Obama. His language belies a very strong intelligence, and his life shows he's no sell-out. But most important of all, his life is evidence that the 96% of the world's population who do not live in US still rank as "human" in his vocabulary.
But I'm not coming around until after I see specific actions taken: (1) Reigning in Israel -- religious fundamentalist settlers from Brooklyn must leave the West Bank, and the state of Palestine must be created and secured and bankrolled through US reparations. And then there is (2) the issue of reigning in the Wall Street psychos who bankrolled, with pilfered middle-class money, this evil generational war on an abstract noun. Double, no, triple their taxes. See: top marginal tax rates in US during WW I and WW II.
Oh, almost forgot.. (3) Pay massive reparations to Iraq.
I'm waiting... I'm not voting again -- to avoid being complicit -- until you take care of business. Cause if you don't, business will be taken care of for you. And I do not want to be there when it happens.
Ian Thorpe @ 87:
Thank God you are not an American! Keep that Hilllary talking point abrod. It's old news. Obama will win the presidency unless it is stolen from him.
I can ask you to name one incident where Obama has done to be devisive but you will not be able to so it is a te of time. lol
For all the Hillary supporters who are crying about how the Obama supporters are treating them, they ought to check out Hillarys web site. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Both sides need to chill out and focus on the real enemy McCrazy and the repug goons.
Dhalgren @ 125:
Two wrongs do not a right make.
MLV @ 91:
If whatever it was that appealed to you about Clinton makes McCain your second choice, one wonders why you were supporting a Democrat in the first place. Apparently, you don't vote based on policy issues, but rather on some mystical character issue (you know, like race).
It is nice to see that you are at least in touch enough with reality to accept that HRC has lost. Maybe you should let her know.
MLV @ 91:
Well, goooood riddance! Tha party needs some cleansing anyway. I hope you will be happy with your new Party!
Couldn't agree more. She just refuses to accept that her time is over... she's only to blame for running a shit campaign. And now she's demanding more spotlight? Nobody made her hire Terry McAuliffe -- fuck the attention whore.
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 32:
Chris H. @ 113:
You hit the nail on the head, Chris, and your closing line was funny to boot. Even in this very thread, the anti-Clinton vitriol continues unabated. Many accused Clinton of "triangulating" (one of the more idiotic terms ever concocted) and destroying the Democratic Party from within - only to turn around and lambaste Hillary Clinton and her millions of supporters.
As someone who initially supported Clinton and eventually ended up hoping Obama would win (mostly out of principle, since I believe Clinton would make an excellent leader of the United States), I too was disappointed and even angry at times with the way in which her campaign was managed. It was beneath her, and in my opinion, misrepresented her. She was, and is, better than what she managed to accomplish throughout these primaries.
Nonetheless, there are those who consider Hillary Clinton to be an Evil Nazi Republican Robot Monster Demon, mostly because they want to believe it (a popular meme is a popular meme, after all), and find the worst in everything she says or does so that their theories are 'validated.' On the other hand, I believe that once we stop focusing on both candidates with a microscope, and we take a step back, her campaign won't seem so hideous and cancerous. In fact, a couple of months after the DNC, it will be all but forgotten entirely. Clinton didn't run a great campaign, but those who are tripping over themselves to grab pitchforks while foaming at the mouth hysterically are melodramatic and childish.
If Obama supporters truly want unity, they should attempt to behave like the adults Barack has repeatedly challenged them to be. Stop chastising Clinton and her supporters, and instead respectfully ask her to step down and commend her for her diligence and determination. She, too, has had to fight against myriad obstacles and a deck stacked against her. I understand that people are enthusiastic about Barack Obama, a handsome and young charismatic man with rock star popularity. Regardless, it's really a self-destructive game to direct all of this negative energy at Hillary Clinton. 'Well, she started it!' is a bad argument. There are men and women in Washington, right now, in power, who have policies that are utterly destructive to the United States. If John McCain is elected, the neoconservative agenda will be furthered and the U.S. will be led down a road of economic destitution, moral ineptitude, and if worse comes to worse, eventual collapse. And that's not even touching the moral crime that is a lack of universal healthcare and the current man-made climate crisis. In short, there are bigger fish to fry, so let's stop acting like children and simply move forward. I hope that within the next few days, Clinton will step down (that seemed to be the subtext of her speech, as I read and heard it), but even if she doesn't, it matters little. The nominee has been chosen, the Democratic National Convention will confirm it, and Clinton will attempt to rally her supporters to get Obama elected. But that's going to be hard if they're confronted at every turn by those who want to spit on them and call Clinton names.
oz9 @ 42:
forget it all they want to do is reform the bush party of hate! they really believe they can elect a one speach wonder for president without the hillary voters , i say let em have thier small minded dreams!
MLV @ 91:
nice
so you want everything that hillary says she stands against
ChrisM70 @ 48:
not likely saturday night live is on reruns!
Kathleen @ 12:
Why should she be given the VP slot? Of the people who voted for her, a good portion did so from the right just so they could vote against her in November. She also has negatives far more than any other candidate still in the race, and those numbers continue to climb. She would also stroke some fire in the now dormant right wing.
I asked this before and all you Clinton supporters ignored it: Is there anyone else in the Democratic fold, including women candidates, who you'd support? Or is this entirely about Clinton?
This outsiders opinion:
The candidate is chosen to run for the Democratic PARTY, not for themselves. Suggesting that Clinton's votes aren't being counted because Obama won is silly, it's as if it's the Obama Party vs. the Clinton Party. If the votes she got mean so much, why doesn't she just run independently? Sour grapes is all this is.
diamondmc @ 131:
You're right; whatever Obama supporters do is justified because there are some loony Clinton supporters who do the same. No rationalization there. No cognitive dissonance at all.
mystic @ 98:
nice...stick israel in where it doest belong
you guys can start a new party too for all i care
Doom and gloom. That's all that is printed on this site. Bye!
rain @ 144:
cya....troll
Pepper @ 140:
I think Clinton should be left in charge of the healthcare system, personally. I can't remember what the title is in the U.S., but here it's Minister of Health. Secretary of Health, perhaps? In any event, it's like making Al Gore the Chief of Environment: it's what she cares most about, what she knows a lot about, and an excellent way of appeasing her supporters. She'd also have to answer to President Obama, so even the paranoid Obama supporters who think she's a Republican android could rest easy.
uncle joe hussein mccarthy @ 143:
People offer prejudiced statement about the whole of Israel without really understanding or appreciating how diverse its people are, let alone the utter complexity of the situation. While Israel isn't without sin, their ministers have tried again and again to work towards a two-state solution, something that isn't welcome by those who want Israel gone entirely (and this includes a crapload of Palestinians, who, when Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip, attacked Israel). In any event, there are a lot more Israelis interested in ending the conflict than you obviously think, folks.
rain @ 144:
Instead of C&L, you might want to check out U&R - Unicorns & Rainbows.
L.A. Confidential @ 45:
Once again, LA, I've got this overwhelming impression that you are a seventh grader who should be paying more attention to school and spending less time on the Intertubes. After all, it was no less a personage than Hillary Clinton who was just talking about her husband locking up the nomination in June. Apparently, her standards are different from yours. The convention is now seen as the place where the nominee is officially recognized -- not the place where the nominee is chosen. That would be the primaries and caucuses, which seem to be over. Obviously, in the event of something unforeseen, the convention could conceivably alter the decision of voters, but that's quite unlikely. It's certainly never happened under modern Democratic Party rules.
Of course, you can spend the next few months hoping that something horrible will happen, or you could come to grips with the real issue -- beating McCain.
Still, now that you have been grievously wronged, I'm sure Saint John will appreciate your vote. However, I'd urge you not to seek relief from your pain by contributing to more pain, not only for yourself and other Democrats, but also for the rest of the world.
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