The Turning Point?

I think this post by Chris Bowers of Open Left here spoke volumes about what is truly taking place in the Democratic presidential primary (as does this), particularly this excerpt…

While publicly elected officials and primary voters are virtually split between the two candidates, the Democratic Party leadership heavily favors Clinton and the highly engaged activists who keep the party's electoral engine running heavily favor Obama. This divide between the party leadership and the rising, activist base points strongly toward an ongoing battle in the party that online we have deemed "the silent revolution." While the other demographic divides listed above have longstanding cultural legacies that go well beyond a single election or political party, it is truly shocking to see such a huge gap between a party's leadership and that party's most dedicated activists. At least in theory, these are two groups of people who should be on the same page.

As you can read, Bowers notes that Obama has claimed 64 percent of the national caucus delegate totals, while Hillary has claimed 36 percent.

I know I and others have noted often of the basic disconnect between the netroots and the Democratic national party organizations; I know I even once said for anyone inclined to donate to do so only through Act Blue and ignore the pleas of the national organizations (here, concerning the FISA sellout last August).

And I believe that the success of the Obama candidacy, while due first and foremost to the candidate himself, is also due to the commitment of the netroots and netroots-supported candidates.

To say that this has caught the Clinton campaign off guard is an understatement. The rules of the game have changed, and apparently, they never got the memo.

Instead, they have returned over and over to the only strategy that they apparently understand, and that is to go negative (yes, Obama has criticized Clinton on her recent statement about entering Bosnia under fire in the ‘90s, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s a fair shot, particularly when the TV footage is available of the former First Lady receiving flowers instead of scurrying and ducking from gunfire).

And The Big Dog himself confirms what Bowers says here…

"Right now, among all the primary states, believe it or not, Hillary's only 16 votes behind in pledged delegates," said Bill Clinton, "and she's gonna wind up with the lead in the popular vote in the primary states. She's gonna wind up with the lead in the delegates [from primary states]."

"It's the caucuses that have been killing us," he added.

Funny, though - as at least one commenter has noted, I don't recall hearing that this was a problem either time that Clinton himself ran for president.

Now, for the harsh reality (from the same link)…

Bill Clinton's decision to flatly predict that his wife will finish ahead of Obama in the pledged delegates and popular vote which come strictly from primary states comes as his wife's advisers concede that the former first lady will not be able to catch Obama in the total number of pledged delegates.

And my God, if there is one thing I am SO TIRED OF, it is reading about stuff like this from the Clinton campaign…

At a stop in rural Pennsylvania, over winding roads and through rolling hills in small Lewistown, PA, where people lined the streets to watch his motorcade approach, former President Bill Clinton had high praise for the man who has clinched the nomination for the other party.

Mr. Clinton said all three major candidates remaining in the race are talented and special people.

He did not go into detail on Sen. Barack Obama, the Illinois Senator still locked in political combat with Sen. Clinton's wife for the Democratic nomination. Their next battle takes place next month in Pennsylvania.

But McCain, who Mr. Clinton said is a "moderate", "has given about all you can give for this country without dyin' for it."

He said McCain was on the right side of issues like being against torture of enemy combatants and global warming, which "just about crosses the bridge for them (Republicans)."

(Well, at least Clinton knew not to exclude Obama this time.)

All this does is separate “Senator Honor And Virtue” from Dubya, which is the LAST THING ANY DEMOCRAT SHOULD BE DOING!! The two of them should be tethered together and anchored every way possible at every opportunity!

In the general election, would any Repug ever say, “Well, Senator Clinton and/or Senator Obama want to do what’s right for our country, but we happen to have philosophical disagreements”?

HELL, NO!! The Repugs are going to describe one or the other as terrorist-loving liberals who want to destroy the spirit of American entrepreneurship and the comfy, cozy way of life for the investor class, to say nothing of partnering with those elitist, latte-sipping Hollywood degenerates who want to “advance the homosexual agenda” and let al Qaeda infiltrate every area of our lives!

And why Bill Clinton, the man who was hounded and victimized at every turn during his entire term of office (some of it deserved) would not get that is a truly inexplicable mystery to me.

The netroots gets that, Mr. President, even if you and the national party organizations don’t by fueling and perpetuating the “Insult-40-States Express.”

And we intend to win back the White House in November. And we would like to do it with your help and that of the Beltway party poobahs who apparently think that the nomination should be awarded to Hillary in much the same way as one recognizes years of service for a well-heeled corporate loyalist.

The organization is what wins (and we can respectfully thank Dr. Dean for teaching that lesson). And while Obama continues to build his pretty much away from the headlines, yours generates bad news just about every day.

And we’re going to use ours to win even if we have to drag you kicking and screaming with us.