Don’t Be Afraid of Getting What You Want
January 28, 2008 at 11:00 pm (Obama, politics)
Tags: campaign, Clinton, Democrats, election, Obama, politics, president, primary
Besides the fact that Obama’s got the best message and record of the Democratic candidates, one of my biggest concerns with the Clinton campaign is that she is just not as electable come November (when it really counts) as Obama is. In one-on-one match-ups, Obama beats any Republican contender; Clinton, on the other hand, would lose to McCain. And even when both Clinton and Obama would beat a contender, Obama beats them by a greater margin – about a 5% stronger lead. (See www.realclearpolitics.org for more details.)
We have to face it: there is a lot of antipathy toward the Clintons out there, as unjustifiable as it might be. And, if we ignore it, that antipathy could cost the Democrats too much in 2008.
The danger runs deeper than the White House. In the election this November, Democrats have the chance to take back the nation: we’ve got momentum to elect progressives across the country, especially with visionary Obama leading the movement. Just imagine – inspired by Obama’s message of hope and change, progressives and independents flock to the polls, electing not only a Democrat for president but a strong Democratic majority in Congress, creating potential for glorious synergy from Hill to White House, to make the real national change we need.
It’s possible. The Republican Party is scrambling to regroup, to redefine itself, to find some reason to bring conservatives together. The Democrats themselves could hand the Republicans that reason if they select Clinton as their candidate for president. Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson says as much himself in the 28 January issue of Newsweek, in an essay entitled “How My Party Lost Its Way.” He closes his piece chillingly, writing,
“There is, perhaps, one large American political figure who could cause depressed, fractious Republicans to bind their wounds, downplay their divisions, renew their purpose, and join hands in blissful unity at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Republican Convention.
“And that figure is Hillary Clinton.”
The other scenario we have to imagine is putting Clinton on the ticket in November, rallying reactionary conservatives to stream to the polls (while giving progressives little reason to bother), thereby electing not only whatever Republican stays on the top of the heap this spring, but also pushing the Capitol back to a conservative Congressional majority.
Democrats of conscience are now faced with an interesting choice: the candidate who can most realistically win in November is also the candidate whose campaign reflects our most idealistic progressive values. Which leaves me wondering what Clinton has left to offer.
Clinton seems to be running on a single platform these days: ruthlessness. She seems to be saying, “Come on, Democrats! Haven’t you hated watching the Republicans stoop to any level to stay in power and advance their evil cause? Well, wouldn’t you like it if one of your team did the same back at them? We know the Republicans will do anything to get elected, but so will I (and goodie-two-shoes Obama won’t). I’ll sink to any level they’ll sink to, so vote for me!”
And some of this may be correct. Republicans ARE nasty campaigners. They would stoop to most any level to beat an opponent (perhaps even digging into her husband’s illicit history of extra-marital sexual liaisons). We need to be tough and stand our ground in fighting back.
But we also need to retain some substance worth standing ground for. Winning will only matter if the person we elect is the person we want to elect.
And call me an idealist, but I really would like to see a politics that transcends the lowest common denominator, that involves candidates discussing issues instead of each other’s private lives, that inspires young people and old people and new voters to come to the polls and to get involved in civic life outside the voting booth, too. Obama offers that idealistic vision of a better politics, a more moral and more intelligent USA, which is why he is more realistically electable. With Obama, we have nothing to lose but our cynicism.
