To Senator Clinton: The End is Near!

DeathI don’t hate Hillary Clinton – I really don’t. Nor am I a raving Obama fan; I just have to call it I like I see it. Several of my recent posts have dealt with apparent reality that Barack Obama is the clear winner of the Democratic primary. After Clinton’s disappointing showing in North Carolina and Indiana (she won the latter, but by a far smaller margin than expected), the New York senator was hoping to again revitalize her campaign with a big win in West Virginia. Nevertheless, while she did win West Virginia by a landslide yesterday, any momentum she hoped to gain has just been squashed; John Edwards has finally decided to endorse a candidate, and he’s throwing his support behind Obama.

I’ve got to hand it to Edwards – his timing is pretty impeccable. If he wanted to hold out as long as possible, yet give his endorsement while it was still relevant this is probably the perfect moment. Despite the fact that many political pundits were already calling the race for Barack, Hillary’s lead in West Virginia and Kentucky still left room for a tiny bit of doubt. Edward’s endorsement is sure to be seen as a watershed moment, and will be endowed with a large share of the credit for Obama’s eventual primary victory.

Now I realize that Edward’s supporters aren’t all going to line up behind Obama just because of this endorsement; however, it will serve as a powerful symbol to the remaining uncommitted superdelegates who wanted to play it safe and withhold their votes until the winner was plainly obvious. As the party’s powers come to the unanimous decision that Barack is the inevitable nominee, they will bring tremendous pressure to bear on Senator Clinton to bow out of the race. Bill and Hillary Clinton have both been called many things – but “stupid” isn’t one of them; if they want to avoid being labeled as pariahs they’ll step aside and work to unify the party for a victory in November.

It is because of this that I hereby declare my official “Senator Clinton Campaign Deathwatch!” At the risk of sticking myself out there for future scorn, I think it’s safe to say that we’re seeing the final weeks, if not days of the Hillary’s run president.

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categories Politics | Christopher Wood May 14, 2008 | comments Comments (7)

To Senator Obama: Assume the Sale!

HandshakeI read an interesting article about Senator Obama’s reaction to yesterday’s primary in West Virginia where Hillary Clinton won by a large margin. According to the article, Obama spent very little time in that state, or attempted to undo Clinton’s anticipated victory – instead, it appears that he is turning his attention to states that are important to the general election. I think this is a wise approach for him to take – simply put, it’s time for Obama to assume the sale.

I give this opinion, not as a committed Obama supporter, but simply as someone who appreciates good strategy. Every major news publication I read has declared that the Democratic primary is essentially over (often they include an asterisk and a footnote stating, “This time we really mean it!”). Now that Obama has added a lead in superdelegates to his existing lead in pledged delegates and the popular vote, his best strategy is to stop campaigning for his party and begin his general election campaign.

What does this mean for Obama? First, it means he should stop running advertisements for the primaries and only run advertisements targeted at the general election. Let Hillary run as many attack ads against Obama as she wants (or can afford), the Obama camp should remain silent. No rebuttals, no more debates, no more mention of Senator Clinton’s name. Barack needs to treat Hillary as if she were a non-factor. Such a display of confidence would make Clinton’s continued efforts appear pathetic and futile – like someone attempting to spit into the wind.

In business there comes a point where a good salesperson will stop trying to persuade the customer – instead he/she will simply pull out an order form and show the customer where to sign. I believe the Democratic primary has finally reached this moment, and it’s time for Senator Obama to make such an assumptive close. Such a demonstration will not only secure his victory in primaries, but serve as an important sign that he has the mettle for the general election.

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categories Politics | Christopher Wood | comments Comments (6)