Hillary's Final Stand

Posted by Campbell at Sunday, May 25, 2008

Hillary Clinton's editorial in today's New York Daily News just reeks of the criticism that she desperately tries to deflect. Every time Hillary attempts to justify her reasoning for remaining in the race, we're all offered a glimpse into this woman's true self. Make no mistake, as much as Hillary beats us down with, "this is about the people", when you collect her explanations and justifications, it's quite clear that Hillary Clinton remains in this race out of selfishness alone.

I should make it clear that I am not a Barack Obama fanboy. I don't want Hillary to step aside due to my adoration for Obama. If I look back to 2000, Senator Obama would probably be my third favorite democratic nominee. I admire Obama and get chills when considering a half-black man reaching the highest office in our country, but I still have questions about Obama, questions that I've had since he entered the race. That said, one thing is not debatable: Barack Obama is a man of integrity. Hillary Clinton abandoned this word soon after Iowa. And this is the overriding reason why I've supported Obama's run for the nomination.

More unnerving than any of her absurd claims has been her call for Michigan and Florida to be counted. Remember folks, prior to the first caucus, the democratic party agreed that Michigan and Florida had broken party rules, and thus would not be counted. Like Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed to this. There was no debate. The issue was settled. But then Hillary needed these votes. Without Michigan and Florida, her campaign was essentially over. Suddenly Hillary was reminding us of disenfranchised blacks in the 1960s, Zimbabwe, and other egregious cases of voter fraud and corruption. When I heard these outrageous tactics, I couldn't believe that Karl Rove wasn't on the Clinton payroll.

In 2000, Al Gore made me proud to be a democrat. In 2004, John Kerry elicited the same feeling. In 2008, I feel uplifted by the Senator from Illinois, yet I cringe at the mention of the junior Senator from New York. Hillary Clinton is certainly not representative of my beliefs, and I find her laughable presidential run to be far outside the ideals of the democratic party as a whole. I want that pride back. Unfortunately, she's not the one to deliver that emotion.