When to Say “When”
It’s all over but the post mortems for the Clinton campaign. Votes in the last two Presidential primaries are being cast as I write this post and, barring some upheaval, Barack Obama will end this evening with enough delegates (including superdelegates) to claim the Democratic nomination. The only suspense that remains seems to be over whether Hillary will publicly acknowledge her defeat.
There are certainly grounds for doubt. Last weekend Clinton strategist Harold Ickes announced that Hillary “reserved her right” to challenge the ruling of the the Democratic committee that issued a compromise decision on the previously disallowed Michigan and Florida primaries. Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe issued a stern denial today when the AP reported that Clinton would acknowledge her defeat tonight.
Knowing when to say “when,” and how to say it, is one of Hillary’s toughest challenges. Obama has been generous and diplomatic in his public references to her, but she has not reciprocated. She seems stuck in her own world of counting the “popular vote” and claiming to be in the lead. Similarly her husband seems stuck on blaming her defeat on national media bias against her, just as she once blamed her husband’s misfortunes on a “vast, right-wing conspiracy.”
It is time for closure — blaming the media or your opponent may feel good at this point, but is bad behavior and hurts reputations. It is hard to imagine that it goes along with being invited to join Obama’s ticket.