No They Won't

This afternoon I heard a disturbing statistic. 31% of the People who support Obama say that they will vote for McCain rather than support Hillary. What does that tell you? Never mind, I’ll tell you what it tells me, because I am writing and you are not—and I mean that in the nicest possible way. If Hillary wins the nomination, and there is certainly serious question about her numbers, the people who say they will vote for McCain are most likely young independent voters. They were brought into the process because they wanted to believe there could be a change that would make their future better. They were inspired by the Obama rhetoric and the idea. My guess is that they will not vote—but they certainly won’t vote for McCain. No grown-up real Democrat would vote for anyone who would put another conservative on the Supreme Court or perpetuate the ongoing succession of incompetence in running the government.

The Pundits are still discussing the Reverend Wright. This time it is in the context of the Primaries tomorrow. The Chicago media is non-stop Wright and that is spilling over into Indiana. What could they possibly be saying that the people in Indiana haven’t heard? In case you are groping for an answer, the answer is nothing. So let’s look a little deeper into why it doesn’t stop. Why is it that people are still going to use Wright as a reason not to vote for Obama – if they need a reason.

There are a few possibilities. The first is obvious. They are racists and despite any explanation Obama might give, they will not vote for a person of color. Maybe that’s over simplifying, but there are misogynists and racists endlessly roaming the streets looking for a reason not to be co-opted by a man of mixed color or a woman who is nothing if not relentless. But those people are probably McCain supporters so they do not have impact on this primary. Another is what I blogged about yesterday. Obama hasn’t finished the sentence. He started with, ‘I am not Reverend Wright’ and that’s where it ended. But I think he needed to continue by saying, “Here’s who I am, and this is why you should vote for me”. There’s a third possibility. They believe what Hillary is saying about a gas tax break and they don’t want to admit it because it is so ridiculous. It is ludicrous to think the Congress will pass some law that will make the oil companies pay for any American to go on a holiday. The oil lobby and too many Congressmen are “slap on the back” pals. In case no one noticed, there haven’t been any hearings to address the issue of oil gouging. Hillary is in the Senate. Had she wanted to do something she would have asked for hearings. But nothing would have happened. It’s not like the gas crisis started last week – she had plenty of time to demonstrate how serious she was before the people in Indiana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania had to cast their ballots. Anyway, the Reverend Wright controversy provides a reason for them to vote for the spunky woman who apparently will never give up.

The candidates are tired. It shows in different ways. Hillary seems a bit strident—you can hear it in her voice. Obama is a bit lackluster, you can hear it in his voice as well. It seems this nasty race is never going to end. It reminds me of a scene from the movie “Gandhi”. The British were beating the Indians with sticks and rifles and whatever they had handy. The Indians were not fighting back. They just lined up, were physically abused, fell down and got back into line to take some more abuse. In the movie there was a reporter who was calling in the story—or maybe telegraphing it – but his description was “And still they came... on and on ...” That’s how I feel about the primaries: And still they go on and on... And Hillary – still her attacks go on and on. And here’s the last reason I think the Wright stuff is working. Obama doesn’t fight back. He has had plenty of opportunity. For example, when Hillary said, “I wouldn’t have stayed in the church listening to those sermons” He could have said, “and I wouldn’t have stayed with my wife if” ... well, you get the picture.

Obama has not had great training for the debates or many interviews. He has not learned that he does not have to answer all the questions he is asked. He needs to understand that you go with your strengths. You answer the questions that you want to answer and that meet your needs. Oh if only the candidates read my blog they would be so much wiser.

There are people who think that the primaries still matter. They don’t. No candidate is going to get the number they need before the Convention. What does matter? Harold Ickes is working the Duper Delegates. That matters. And the Clinton campaign no longer thinks the truth is more important than the win. Obama is surrounded by people who appear to still be running a local election, and the pundits are never going to sit down and shut up. No they’re not, no they can’t, no they won’t. We're just sayin... Iris