I Could Have Been a Contender!

Hillary Clinton has finally gotten shrill. We knew she had it in her.

Too bad it’s too late, though. The time to cut Obama down was before his political beanstalk was watered (I am feeling exceptionally metaphorical this morning). Now, even Hillary’s pledged super delegates are jumping ship (it makes me think of that commercial where the dalmatian leaps from the Budweiser horse-drawn wagon to the Miller Lite beer truck). Earlier action on her part certainly could have kept the troops in line, but someone convinced Hillary that she should treat Obama with kid gloves. It was as if she has been drafting the whole campaign, waiting until it was too late to make her inside move. What is puzzling is that it appeared, at least to me, that she initially had what it took to win straight-up.

An era has passed. The Clintons have maintained their political power by adhering to the rule that all deserters will be shot (metaphorically, of course). Now, if you’re a Democrat, desertion from Hillary Clinton can be considered the only right option. Her dream of a super delegate coup at the convention is no longer viable. The rats are clear, and they’re not coming back.

So, now we can start framing the real debate. We have an exceptionally experienced Republican candidate, with no delusions as to the niceties of foreign relations, against a lightweight Democrat nominee whose greatest political campaign involved trouncing the eccentric Alan Keyes. Democrats will attempt to paint McCain as a Bush-sycophant, but that’s going to be a bit hard now, having had eight years of those same Democrats and media-types declaring him a “maverick” with great fanfare and adulation.

Everyone knows about John McCain. Obama is a different matter. Given his supporters’ declarations that he’s got the beef, let’s all offer a toast to Obama’s straightforward nature, assured now that since Hillary Clinton has been de facto dispatched, he will have the courage to run on his record.

That’s doubtful, actually, and academic - we Republicans will certainly make sure he has no other choice.