Republicans Can Thank Clinton

Will her attacks turn off the millions of new voters that have materialized as a result of Senator Obama’s message of change and hope and will this clear the way for John McCain who has said that the U.S. may remain in Iraq for another 100 years, to win the White House?

[Black Star News Editorial]

Senator Hillary Clinton is American politics Queen of Mean.

Unable to match Barack Obama on substance, she unleashed a fear-mongering commercial in Texas a week ago.

The television commercial showed children asleep when the phone starts ringing; the announcer poses the question–whom would you want to be answering the phone when a call comes into the White House at 3 AM with a national emergency?

This over-the-board commercial came shortly after the Clinton campaign had sent a photograph of Senator Barack Obama wearing traditional Somali attire to The Drudge Report; this according to Matt Drudge himself. The picture was taken when the senator visited Kenya in 2006 and met with Somali elders. Clinton wanted to stoke anti-Islamic fears and prejudices by falsely portraying Obama as a closeted Muslim.

She may have succeeded in her ugly enterprise.

Clinton had suffered electoral losses in 11 states in a row. She had debated Obama, and she had campaigned aggressively, as had Obama. The voters were rejecting Clinton.

So what to do?

Smear-and-fear: the weapon of desperados who want to win at all cost. Even, in this case, if it destroys chances for both candidates of prevailing in the fall.

Clinton decided to turn the campaign, from a presidential contest for voters to decide on whom they want to represent the Democratic Party against the Republican’s nominee, into a smear-and-fear assault against her opponent. Hoepfully, the good senator will soon hit her right back. Some people don’t respect you when you turn the other cheek.

Even Karl Rove, the grand master of sleaze and character assasination, must have been impressed with Clinton’s recent conduct; unless of course Rove had something to do with it. It’s no secret that the Republicans would prefer to run against Clinton, who would help them mobilize their base.

What’s surprising is how the so-called “major” media companies have allowed Clinton to get away with her nasty tactics, from the get-go and, even aided and abetted her enterprise. Several weeks ago, The New York Times wrote an editorial condemning the Clinton campaigns race-baiting tactics. Then the newspaper promptly endorsed her a few days later. We await to see the day when the newspaper attacks a candidate for anti-semitism and then endorse that candidate.

In recent days there have been prominently placed articles in the Times intended to undermine Obama’s momentum, including one article that dealt with Obama’s relationship with the Jewish community; as if there was a problem in the relationship, when there was non and when in fact several prominent Jewish leaders had endorsed Obama. It was a non-story story meant to sow seeds of doubt.

Also, readers did not fail to notice that last Sunday’s Times had a photo of Obama on the front page with half his face cut off while a complete picture of Clinton appeared right underneath.

Good to have such mighty media mogul friends.

Clinton’s recent smear-and-fear strategy may have worked to earn her the narrow margin of victory in Texas’s primary, in addition to her victories in Ohio and on Rhode Island.

Obama still leads in the total delegates count, and due to proportionate allocation of delegates and as yet to be determined tally of the Texas caucuses –Texas held both primary elections as well as caucuses– Obama could conceivably gain more net delegates than Clinton, to add to the lead he already enjoys.

Moreover, Obama’s lead in pledged delegates –the ones that are earned through the elections– are insurmountable. Clinton would have to win all the remaining contests by more than 40% which is impossible. That’s why Clinton now wants the rules to be changed so that the Michigan and Florida contests can be redone in order to give her the math. Obama has a total of 1,451 delegates while Clinton has 1,365. A new pitch Clinton is now making is that she and John McCain, the Republican nominee, have more experience on military matters given their longevity in Washington, D.C.; if that’s the criteria, why not just hand the keys to the White House to McCain?

The only questions that remain are these: How much more damage will Senator Clinton do to the Democratic Party’s prospects to regain the White House with her ugly smear-and-fear attacks against another Democrat?

Will her attacks turn off the millions of new voters that have materialized as a result of Senator Obama’s message of change and hope and will this clear the way for John McCain who has said that the U.S. may remain in Iraq for another 100 years, to win the White House?

Will the leadership of the Democratic Party standby and just watch? Is there not a single brave Democrat out there willing to tell the Clintons “enough is enough”?

Only Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party leaders can answer these questions.

Clinton’s victories were as ugly as the campaign she’s conducted.

Unless something changes, and prominent Democrats speak out, Republicans can start uncorking the champagne.

 

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