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: Begging the Question

The Day After

By "Milbarge" and "Fitz-Hume"

Well, it looks like tonight might finally be end of the line for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Yes, yes, I suppose pixie dust could coat the superdelegats and win the nomination for Hillary, but her real problem is the new media line that it's finally over. She can't overcome that. The media's willingness to play along with her implausible argument that she could still win is the only thing that's kept it going this long.

I have mixed feelings. I voted for her and think she would have made a good president. Although many of her problems on the trail were of her (and her husband's) own making, I think she was treated unfairly at times. She tended to exaggerate the magnitude of the foul blows (in sports, they call this "flopping," and it's as reviled as it is in politics), but that doesn't change that some foul blows were struck.

Her obvious desperation to win shone through in ugly ways. But my sense is that she sincerely believes she has a better chance at beating John McCain than Barack Obama does. If she really thinks that, it's her duty to run as hard against him as the GOP will. (And McCain's noble sentiments aside, this race will get nasty.)

But now what? Has she crippled Obama's chances by pointing out his flaws so well over the last several months? As I said recently, I don't think so. But it would help a lot if, when she eventually endorses him, she affects some humility and apologizes if she went too far. She might not want to come right out and say, "At first, I didn't think he was qualified to be president, but if he can beat me, he can do anything!" But she can figure out a way to get that message across. She should do whatever she can to get the voters who supported her to support him. That will be sufficient penance, I'd think.

And after November, whither Hillary? If Obama loses, she will surely think about running in 2012, but maybe her window has closed. Either way, I think what she ought to do is act as if she'll never run for president again. I think her role model should be fellow senators Edward Kennedy and Joseph Biden. Those men ran for president, failed to get the nomination, and instead devoted their careers to significant legislative accomplishments.

Hillary can do the same thing. She can become chair on an important committee. Maybe she'll even run for Democratic leader one day. It's not like the press will ever quit covering her, and even if the national media abandons her, her constituents in the New York media are loud enough.

Transforming into a real legislator serves Hillary's interests either way -- if she decides to run for president again, she'll have a library of tangible results to point to; if not, it's still an admirable legacy and it keeps her relevant and in the arena. (I'm sure some will say it's evidence that the executive office is a masculine domain and the legislative branch more suited for women, but that's for another day.) In any event, I think Hillary can be a great senator if she wants to be, and that would be my advice for her.

And now the news cycle will spin a few times on "What went wrong for Hillary?", but pretty soon it will come around to nominee Obama. So what's next for him? Time to pick a running mate yet? I'll have a post soon about vice-presidents, so feel free to offer your suggestions in the comments. Obama-____?

Full post as published by Begging the Question on May 07, 2008 (boomark / email).