From the Iowa Caucus on January 3, 2008, to the last primaries in Montana and Dakota, which took place yesterday on June 3, the Democratic camp has given us a lively, but fatal campaign:
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who are competing for the nomination of this political clique, will slog on, each hoping to be crowned victor by the delegates at the Denver Convention at the end of August. Their duel has changed over the course of the primaries, due to attacks and verbal blunders.
The favorite from the beginning, the Senator from New York had thought that her fight for victory would be a walk in the park. This seemed logical, since she started with favorable points: as ex-First Lady, she had all the lobbies and everyone who mattered under the influence of her ex-President husband.
Until the super delegates denied her a majority of their tacit support. This almost amounted to an Obama victory in advance, because in the Democratic primary system, the fate of any candidate who has not obtained the required majority of delegates is in the hands of these super delegates.
This is the case today for the two candidates. Hillary’s optimism is explained by the fact that she won in almost all the states that are important for the Democrats: she brought home the bacon on the popular vote.
Problem: The Senator from Illinois is ahead in the number of delegates, a gap that Hillary had hoped until the last minute could be overcome. The issue was Michigan and Florida, which had advanced the dates of their primary and who were no longer counted in the vote.
Hillary demanded that these two states, in which Obama had virtually no campaign, be represented. The Democratic National Committee decided to divide the pear in two: the delegates in Michigan and Florida will be taken into account, but their votes will be divided in half.
Yesterday, June 3, was the Last Tuesday, and like the Super Tuesday on February 5, 2008, could not definitively decide between Hillary and Obama. “There are many super delegates who are waiting until after the last two elections, but I think they will decide quickly,” a confident Obama blurted out in Michigan, and to which his opponent replied in these terms:
“These last primaries mark the beginning of a new stage of the campaign.” These words have been interpreted by those close to her as a sign that she will still try to convince the super delegates that she is the best placed to beat McCain.
The intention of Bill Clinton’s wife is therefore clear: she will not abandon the fight. Or is this her last stand, since the ad hominem attacks (1) have declined and supporters are flagging?
For Americans, having followed the primary season for so long, this end to the fight between Hillary and Obama is unprecedented and happy, because the most important thing in this campaign is the White House. But, as we wrote in the Observer of 21 February 2008, this endless duel “opens the way for Vietnam veteran, Republican McCain, who, given his age (72 years), will be a transitional president” (2).
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are minority candidates. She is a woman in a male-dominated America, and it is not clear that the CIA, the military services and the lobbyists would be willing to entrust their destiny to a woman, even she is a recent First Lady.
As for him (Obama), given that some Americans view him not even African-American, but as downright African (his grandmother continues to smoke the Nyangogo pipe in Kenya), there is no question who will be the next tenant of the oval office.
Above all, it is also not clear that America-–considered Islamophobic since September 11th-–would accept a man characterized as Muslim (Obama has trimmed Hussein from his name) to lead the most important world power. And yet.
By tearing themselves apart, therefore, the Democrats have erected a stepping-stone to the presidency for John McCain. This is not a novelty in the USA as several examples of professional soldiers turned presidents exist–Washington, Jackson, Grant, Eisenhower. However, while they were all generals, John McCain has never been anything other than a fighter pilot.
Notes:
(1): Hillary Clinton often made allusions about Obama’s color via her spokespeople, and whether there is a detrimental and inelegant parallel between him and J. Kennedy
(2): in grid: Who will stop the UFO Obama?
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