WHY HILLARY NEEDS TO STAY IN THE RACE: It's For HER Own Good, The Good of the Party, And The Obama Campaign
Posted On Monday, March 31, 2008 at at 2:50 PM by TWIST-TheBloggerDespite Senator Obama's statements to the contrary, many supporters and surrogates are calling for Senator Clinton to leave the campaign. I cannot align myself with that position. Furthermore, in my estimation...
There will never be an appropriate time for Senator Clinton to abandon her campaign.
There's a road ahead that she has to travel and SHE--Most Urgently--needs Senator Obama's help to complete that journey.
Polling and statements from party leaders indicate many of her recent actions have served to tear the Democratic Party asunder. In attempting to eviscerate Senator Obama--not just his campaign, but the man himself, she lent legitimacy and credence to Senator McCain's campaign (The Republican Party) at Senator Obama's expense. She cannot return to the Senate--WE cannot allow her to return to the Senate--with that bleak pall cast around either her or the Democratic Party.
It has always been my belief and it is now my contention, that each losing candidate needs to return from whence they came, Whole and Complete, if not better than when they set forth in their campaigns. The Clinton campaign has set Senator Clinton at a disadvantage in that regard.
However...
Senator Obama can restore to Senator Clinton what she has lost.
Senator Obama is in a position to aid both Senator Clinton and the Democratic Party and heal this division in very substantive ways. That was a measure of humanity and compassion that was lacking in some of the Clinton attacks. Senator Obama can provide her with opportunities to retract and repair some of her statements. He can provide her with forums to unify party members--people with a vested interest in ending that which is now less a presidential administration and more regime. However...
There needs to be time for this process to develop, evolve and bring people back together.
Senator Clinton needs to start--and I think she has indeed started!--cultivating a vision and a path toward Senator Obama. One her supporters find not merely palatable; or one to which, as Democrats, they are simply resigned; but a path they can feel passionate about. One that inspires them.
On the issues, she needs the ability to lead and create alliance for/between all of us. In implementing policy and initiatives, a President Obama needs to feel he can rely on Senator Clinton to work with him, not to contend against him, and/or spawn adversarial/counter proposals. Examine her convictions toward her healthcare proposal. Would she only support her plan, be open to compromise, or willing to side with Republicans in opposition to President Obama's plan? These are questions that I have no interest in posing beyond the hypothetical. January 20th, 2009 should be a date to affirm solidarity not doubt. So now, right now, is the time for coalition building, a time of healing.
Senator Clinton's departure at this point could represent a breeding ground of distrust, opposition and diminished influence for our party.
"Yes, we can!" is a statement of inclusion.
Not exclusion.
We're past these particular drills and exercises...
So we cannot simply 'practice' what we preach...
We must embody it.
I would love for the first commercial of the general election campaign to be President and Senator Clinton, sincerely and earnestly endorsing...
Barack Obama for President.
