Sunday, June 8, 2008

THE CONCESSION SPEECH OBAMA MADE


My first reaction to Clinton's speech was that Chelsea Clinton was tied to a chair bound and gagged in an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Washington and as soon as the speech was over she was set free by Bill Richardson and Nancy Pelosi.

That speech was nothing less than the best endorsement either candidate received from anyone through the entire process.

But the more I listened the more I started to realize that it wasn't Clinton's concession I was listening to. It was Obama's.

Naturally Clinton would have preferred to be the candidate and so did the majority of the party who voted for her -- that same majority who Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and super delegates thumbed their noses at last week and which may cost them the election.

But a few days ago, unlike James Clyburn who likes to send out subliminal race baiting messages, Clinton sent a message that was anything but subliminal. It was a message that she sent loud and clear.And right out in the open.And she sent it right to Obama and his campaign.

She said it over and over again just to make sure they got it. "what does Hillary want? What does she want?" then just to make sure they understood she said it again, two more times. "What does Hillary want"?

You know that Obama and the Axelrod of evil got the message because the next day Obama was on a plane to Washington. Obama and Clinton met privately. At her home.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but McCain didn't go see Huckabee and he didn't go see Romney. And the VP candidates that McCain is considering also went to see him, he didn't go see them.Obama went to see Clinton because he understood that he couldnt win without her and that she wanted something and that if he wanted her support there was something he was going to have give.

And so he went, and they met privately, and based on her speech, she got what she wanted.

I don't know if Obama left that meeting with Clinton's footprints all over his back but the more I listened to the speech the more I realized that whatever she wanted he agreed to. Her speech on Saturday was Clinton holding up her end of the bargain.

What that price was, I have no idea. Whether wanted the VP slot or whether it something else. Clinton doesnt need the VP slot. She has a lot of options including keeping them all open. But listening to that speech she certainly sounded like a VP candidate stumping for the top of the ticket and doing it better than Edwards ever did it for Kerry or Lieberman ever did it for Gore or either of them could ever do for Obama.

Clinton made a speech that was so praiseworthy of Obama it was better than anything Obama's own mother could have given. It was better than Oprah. In fact it was better than any speech Obama ever gave about himself. She said everything the Democratic Party leadership ( if that isn't an oxymoron I don't know what is) wanted her to say. And did all she could have in that speech to promote the idea of unity.

But with a large percentage of Clinton voters sure to defect because they wont vote for Obama for any number of valid, substantive reasons and others because they are so disgusted with the Democratic Party and the way they subverted and trashed the entire process they want to teach the party a lesson, the question will be, even with Clinton's endorsement, even if she is on the ticket as VP will it be enough to win?
Obama is hoping it will. He made his concession speech the other night. In private. To one person. But that was the only person who mattered. Whatever Lola wanted, Lola got.

NOTE: If Clinton does not release her delegates, technically she is still a candidate;. If polls next week start to show that Obama will have an uphill climb against McCain now that people are going to focus on him as the candidate, then, showing that she has been a team player and doing all that she could have done in that speech to support him, will make it a lot easier for super delegates to change their minds once again before making it official at the convention. And if by August it should start to look like McCain has a huge lead instead of it being a competitive race, changing their minds is exactly what some super delegates might do.

NOTE #2.: Donna Brazille said on CNN back in February when Clinton had a substantial lead in declared super delegates that " if super delegates decide this nomination Im resigning from the Democratic Party". We're still waiting.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Marc

As usual a very insightful article. I always enjoyed your guest posts at TM but have left TM and was linked over to you from a new blog...just had to have you input from a very sad day...

I am on the the millions of Hillary supporters that will never vote for the presumptive nominee if the convention is still stupid enough to nominate him. I hope that by August the UnDemocratic Party will come to their senses. If not, I will be an Independent voting for John McCain.

My new motto beginning yesterday is COUNTRY OVER PARTY.

Anonymous said...

I posted this over on hillaryclintonforum.net

I wrote to Donna Brazile and asked her when she would be resigning and here is her answer.... as of June 6, 2008 at 7:06am. I wish she wouldn't have called me 'friend'. I thought that was a bit presumptious.

Quote:
Good morning:

Busy day for me and sorry I don't have more time.

Please go back and read my entire statement and not use snippets being
generated on certain websites that promote intolerance . On Feb 6th, I said
there is no reasons for the supers to end this race prematurely before all
the votes have been cast.

I said it again and again because I wanted the pledged or earned delegates
to have a role. They did.

The supers are part of the process that elected the Clintons in the 1990s.
And yes, they too will play a role this year. But, it comes at the end and
not the middle of the game. Senator Clinton led in supers until most
recently.

That my friend is what supers are supposed to do.

As for me, I remain undeclared because my vote is also for unity. Not
division. And not disharmony. I spent Tuesday night watching supers jump,
but I remained comfortably on the proverbial fence.

Thanks for your time and please use my response to educate others.

Donna

Anonymous said...

just had to have you input from a very sad day...


I will have more to say about the process and the way it was short circuited soon. And the alternatives.

Anonymous said...

I’m starting a grass roots movement. I am going to start doing ACTION MEMOS. THIS IS MY PLEDGE:
First, I will do the ACTION
THEN, I WILL get FIVE other PEOPLE to do it
THEN I will post that same information to FIVE WEBSITES of HILLARY SUPPORTERS asking them for the same commitment
THIS IS MY FIRST ACTION MEMO:
please JOIN Me
ACTION MEMO 1:
Brazile: I’ll Quit DNC Position over Super Delegates
Here’s an important link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18882087
It will show you exactly what Donna Brazile said back a few months ago. You can also listen. She said she would quit the DNC IF super delegates wound up choosing the nominee for the general election. Well, Miss Donna, it has happened. Super Delegates HAVE selected the nominee. He was not elected, he was selected. Now is the time for you to resign.
Let’s all write Donna and remind her of her pledge. After all, I’m down here in Louisiana too, and my mama said you’re only as a good as your word. I’m sure Donna’s mama taught her that too.
Donna Brazile or Brazile and Associates
info@brazileassociates.com
or P.O. Box 15369, Washington, DC 20003.
Let the GRASS ROOTS GAMES BEGIN …
http://dakiniland.wordpress.com/2008/06/07/action-memo-remind-brazil-its-time-to-quit-the-dnc/

Marc, great post ...I quit Taylor Marsh, but I'm still reading you !

Anonymous said...

I think Obama offered Hillary something related to health care reform - that has always been the central aspect of her campaign and was a major part of her speech on Saturday. Just my guess.

If Hillary's smart, and she sure as heck is - she shouldn't accept the VP (not that he would even offer it to her - too smug and arrogant). Tying herself to Obama is not good, especially when you know for sure he cannot win in the general and might possibly endure the biggest loss in presidential history ever - and this is before the tape is released. Not to mention, they will always blame the woman for everything - even when it was HE who divided, HE who race-baited, HE who bullied and stole, and on and on. It's still gonna be blamed on Hillary. Misogyny at its best.

Hillary should get her top wealthy supporters to track that Michelle "whitey" tape and the Obama overseas tape down and get it released right before the convention, but with just enough time for its consequences to truly be felt and for polls to reflect it. That will be a game-changer. Our country and the economy can't survive another 4 more years of this decline. Please, good Patriots - if you have the tape or have the means to secure it, please step up for your country now and get it released! America comes first, not blind devotion to a party that just threw you under the bus.

not a dem anymore said...

PUMA has a new forum.
PUMA = Party Unity My Ass

http://www.pumaparty.com/forum/index.php

Bud White said...

Brazile must resign! Great post.

Anonymous said...

I felt much better after reading this. Hillary tried her best to fight to the end for us. The party has betrayed and ran her over which gave her with no choice on Saturday. Crying for the injustice. This country went backwards. BO knows that he is looser who needs help.

Thanks, Marc.
Vivien

Dragonfly2810 said...

please go to blog.pumapac.org for a site that is committed to taking action about what has happened to our party. Thank you for this wonderful article. Hillary Clinton is my nominee. I will not vote for Senator Obama as president. I will not vote for him regardless of any concession he may have given. The primary process devolved into a misogynistic farce, and I will not be voting Democrat unless HRC is the nominee for President.

Anonymous said...

There is no releasing of the tape now. The delegates all know about Obama and it would be a waste to release now.
It is the ace in the hole and will be used at the last minute if he should be the nominee. The way Obama 'explains away' everything and minimizes his problems, it is not the right time to release the tape. It won't affect the delegates one way or another so it is being held for better times. Think.