From Inevitable to Irrelevant
I said several weeks ago that politics is nonsense.
Damn, I’m good.
Bill Clinton has lost his mojo. He can’t even keep college undergrads still for more than 30 minutes. A group of Dartmouth students watched him at work in Hanover–and ditched the event after peppering him with questions about the “dynastification of American politics” and deciding they’re going with Barack Obama.
…
Quoth one of the students: “I’m from New York. I think Hillary has done a good job as a senator, but it was just her stepping stone. And, for some reason, for whatever reason, I just don’t like her.”
How did the “inevitable” candidate turn into the “irrelevant” one?
Why is she this cycle’s Howard Dean, both of whose campaigns ended in screams and tears?
And why does this crashing and burning happen only to Democrats?
Being a sports fan prepares me better than some of the rest of you for the vicissitudes of politics. No matter how favored one team may be, no matter the point spread, YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE GAME. It’s easy now to see Hillary’s weaknesses—for pete’s sake, we conservatives have been telling you all along. She didn’t collapse, she eroded—which often precedes a collapse.
By the same logic, she may not be done yet. Will her loss in New Hampshire be by less than is predicted? Can she spin it as a victory? Her prospects in South Carolina are not good, but will she pick up steam later? Not likely enough for me to put any money on it, but not impossible.
Meanwhile, we have a new Mr. Inevitable. For now.
UPDATE
The Clintons aren’t taking this lying down. Good for them. Seriously. Let the people vote.
Jonn Lilyea said,
January 8, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
My own worthless opinion is that Democrats are more concerned with nominating a candidate for whom they think Republicans will vote rather than the candidate that best represents their own party (probably Lyndon LaRouche best fits that billing, though). Lucky for the Democrats, the Republicans are suffering from the same problem.
Bloodthirsty Liberal said,
January 8, 2008 @ 2:07 pm
Oddly enough, I’d vote for Hillary over Barack on the basis of the issue most important to me: national security and Islamofascism. Yet I’d vote for Barack over Hillary on the basis of character (probably because he hasn’t been around long enough to demonstrate lack thereof).
Which is why this registered Democrat will vote Republican again this year.