So, here’s the problem. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are stellar candidates, and the Democrats are lucky to have them. The protracted primary campaign season may not even be all that bad – after all, America is being saturated with pictures of individuals, one of whom we hope will win in November. And all publicity is good publicity, right?
Wrong. I’m all for a vibrant primary debate, but it strikes me that some of the partisans on either side of the Clinton/Obama divide are taking the struggle a little too personally, and losing sight of the eventual victory we hope to secure. In short, there’s a right and a wrong way to campaign: if we hope to win in November, neither Democratic candidate should be attacking the other on an issue that may hurt that person, if he or she wins the nomination, in November. We do not want to hand ammunition to John McCain.
Let’s examine some of the rhetoric. Recently, Barack Obama commented that McCain would be a better president than the most recent George W. Bush. Hillary quickly fired back, calling into account Obama’s liberal credentials, and holding him accountable for failing to hit upon what must be a Democratic mantra – that McCain is just an older Bush.
Good. Primaries ought to be about refining our image, and putting our differences with the Republicans on show. But, simultaneously, Hillary has been pounding Obama for his (notably numerous) verbal gaffes. Bad. Yes, this increases Hillary’s chances of victory, but it also increases McCain’s chances of victory if Obama gets the nomination.
Hillary needs to be looking far enough ahead to stay off topics that make Obama look unelectable. It ought to be a general rule of thumb that, in a closely contested, important election, candidates from the same party ought to stay away from subjects that wound their fellow Democrats viz. the Republicans. While this may narrow the field of attacks, it’s a matter of party discipline, one of the key components of national victory (as Karl Rove has taught us all).
So, to Mrs. Clinton (and her supporters) – your victory over Obama may be important to you, but is it important enough to jeopardize a Democratic victory in November? The answer ought to be a resounding “no.” Scorched earth primaries are bad for the Democrats, and consequentially, bad for America.
P.S. The picture is from a site a friend and I drew up, called “Pollcats,” which “lolcaptioned” pictures of political candidates. I’m still a fan.
Hillary needs to be looking far enough ahead to stay off topics that make Obama look unelectable. It ought to be a general rule of thumb that, in a closely contested, important election, candidates from the same party ought to stay away from subjects that wound their fellow Democrats viz. the Republicans.
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Scorched earth primaries are bad for the Democrats, and consequentially, bad for America.
WOW. I could not disagree more. Everything you mention is 100% partisanship. If the candidates were truly superior to McCain they wouldn’t be worried what happens in November. You say it is bad for America to have the Democrats throw each other anything other than softballs? Well then why even bother with debates or the primaries at all? The voters apparently don’t deserve to hear their candidates answer challenging questions?
One of the key pillars of progressivism, TRUE progressivism, is democratic reform. Debate is a good thing, not something to be feared, as you seem to indicate.
The only thing wrong with these primaries is that mcCain has no one challenging him. THAT is what democracy is all about, not the elitist suggestion that America would be better served by a Democrat coasting into office.
Posted by Progressive Conservative | April 23, 2008, 9:44 pmI think it’d be great if Hillary and Barack were nailing each other back and forth on the issues. But they’re not. Instead, the “hardballs” are mindless political gotchas.
Maybe I should make it clearer (thanks!), but issues of policy are one thing, and scoring points off of verbal gaffes is another. The latter is great, and definitely good for democracy, but the former is only hurting our chances in November, and the political process along the way.
Yay I have a reader :-)
Posted by Ames | April 23, 2008, 9:47 pmI think you can blame a lot of that on the media. They are stoking the flames on much of that and the campaigns are being tricked into playing along. The most recent debate was a good example of that.
As ugly as it might get, Hillary has earned her shot in the primaries all the way to the end. She’s fought against an establishment that annointed Obama months ago 9and i suspect are having second thoughts now).
It’s my opinion that it’s better to weather the storm now, because McCain is going to be coming hard with both barrels blazing and both Democratic contendors are going to think these primaries were the ‘good old days’.
Yay I have a reader
So return the favor (hint, hint). ; )
Posted by Progressive Conservative | April 23, 2008, 10:06 pmAmerica is facing huge problems. The massive damage and distrust created by Bush internationally, and the loss of faith in America that is also linked to the currency crash. A recession and possibly even depression. An ongoing mess of a war in Iraq, another in Afghanistan, and ongoing policing commitments in many other places, and a ‘war’ on drugs which continues to sap America’s resources to fight any ‘war’ on terror.
Whoever wins the presidency may wish the other had; and if Americans had any sense, they would enlist all these candidates– all our leaders– together to face these catastrophes. Obama for Vice President!!
Posted by matjew | April 24, 2008, 6:43 am