The Clinton Way

Hillary Clinton had some moving moments during her eloquent concession speech on June 7th. The call to her followers and all women of her candidacy causing “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling,” – the invisible sexist barrier in American politics – could not hide the bitterness of failure due to a campaign organized in spite of common sense and the anti-establishment aspirations of a new generation of democrat.

However, although it was too late, Hillary knew enough to reinvent (or reveal) herself, switching from the role of Queen Elizabeth to that of Norma Ray, protagonist of the self-titled film who was an ardent supporter of worker’s rights. If Hillary’s defeat signifies that of a whole generation of politicians and – with husband Bill at fault – a political dynasty accused of defiling and ruining Democratic Party ideals during the 90s, then the Clinton electoral method is still en vogue.

We remember the magical motto pasted to the walls of the 1992 campaign headquarters of a young Arkansas governor, “The Economy, Stupid.”

Barack Obama’s true debut into the presidential campaign launched directly with Clintonian economic populism at a time when gas prices hit never-before-seen and debilitating heights for rural voters. He embarked in the last four days on a courageous marathon on Republican soil, visiting North Carolina (which has not voted for a democrat in 32 years), Virginia (right-wing since 1964), and Missouri (the only state in the region that Clinton was able to win in 1996),

Seen as an elitist until this leg of his campaign, Obama does not hesitate to portray John McCain in the same caliber as Bush: attached to the oil plutocracy and a disciple of a globalization that is ruinous for the American job market. The Republican candidate had the poor judgment of criticizing agricultural subsidies and, by Obama’s faith, he may soon regret it. The change in tone is stupefying. With hymns of hope the Illinois champion enters into combat on the clay court. And if it works?