Clinton’s mistake
The Nation has an interesting article on Hillary Clinton’s floundering nomination campaign, arguing that the mistake she made was not a tactical or strategic one. It wasn’t that she picked the wrong states to focus on, or threw everything into her knock-out punch or fundraised poorly. It was a policy mistake:
The biggest factor that doomed Clinton, from day one, was Iraq. Her vote for the war and subsequent lack of apology cost her the support of a huge segment of the party that flocked to Obama (and, early on, Edwards) and tarnished her brand from the very beginning…
Obama was able to convincingly argue, “When I’m your nominee, my opponent won’t be able to say that I supported this war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran.
The rest of the world’s view of the US election is often skewed by the importance we place on foreign policy compared to Americans’ obvious emphasis on domestic policy. So it is fascinating to read that a principled stand against war could have played a key role in Obama’s seemly unassailable lead in the democratic primary.
I like to think it is an endorsement for politicians taking a stand based on firmly held principles, rather than triangulating their way towards the middle ground. At the time Obama became famous for opposing the war it was still a risky political position, but it was the right one. Others who took the same stand were squashed under the criticism. It will be interesting to see if the same momentum for peace continues when the election become a true presidential election rather than just a democratic primary.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
My brother in law is American immigrant and yesterday he said the same thing. Apparently airports and infrastructure are suffereing.
Do we need to devote a whole MP to the subject though?. Bush’s neocons have enough opposition in the US.
Swords to Plowshares anyone?
May 12th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
The whole election circus is a farce, that country is not democratic. They had their war mongerer puppet now for the last 8 years and now its time for a dove…yeah right
It was the same after Nixon…we had Ford for short spell and then Mr Peanut Carter the peace loving Christian. This time a black man is going to ‘repair’ the imperialistic aftermath…what a load of augen wischerei…
May 12th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
just thinking about it he could even pass for a Muslim in the streets of Kairo, they are going to love him to pieces(literally), after his predecessor bombed, killed, maimed nearly a million Iraqi’s…that countries elite is just a bunch of gangsters with big guns…I wish they would get into Tom Cruise’s space ship and stuff of for ever!
May 13th, 2008 at 1:33 am
Help I am loosing my mind or the poetry of Iraq:
Obama…..Osama…..Obama…..Osama…..Obasamaleikum…Osama…Obama…..Osama…Obam a….does he live in Guantanamo in the torturing chambers?….Osama…..Obama…Osama….Obama….
is he going to be the man who will decide over the fate of the world….Osama….Obama….Osama…Obama….tell that little girl with the arm and leg missing and half a face…..Osama…Obama…Osama…Obama….Hitler….Stalin…as long as you belief you will suffer……Osama….Obama…..Osama….Obama…are those names by chance so similar? I forgot!….Osama….Obama…..or was it Nero and Caesar….do not belief…do not belief….think of the child….think of the child….no face…no arms….no legs….no where to run…no where to hide…just die…die…die for money and greed…
May 13th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Osama bin Laden is in Ohama lying on a deck chair,
nobody in his right mind will bend his ear nor his hair
slurping Pino on the poolside not in a cave or tomb
counting money from the oil boooommmm
with his buddies from the administration…
May 13th, 2008 at 2:26 am
I’d suggest that Hillary’s lying about landing in Bosnia under fire, lying about being named after Sir Ed, lying about Iraq and her arrogant “i’m entitled to President” attitude, her pretending to be a gun enthusiast and spirits/beer drinker when she wants the rural vote, her spinning her policies to vary according to the audience, and persistent petulence have been her downfall.
She couldn’t even argue in favour of the war she robustly defended in the first place, and that makes her worse than either McCain or Obama, because they have both stood by their positions on principle.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:18 am
green n power: stick to the politics. A poet you ain’t!
May 13th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Hillary sure knows how to pander…I recall Obama saying he would ban all toy imports from China…good luck with that though, what was he thinking?!
May 13th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
@ Toad
It’s all a matter of taste, but point taken, you do not like it…but hey, who is saying politics can not be pondered in poetry? I would love to read some on the looming election…