Fight on for HRC?

Are Hillary Clinton and her supporters talking themselves into continuing their fight all the way to the convention? Or is the tough talk just posturing?

As Hillary huddles tonight in Chappaqua with her inner circle, I fear there's a real risk of an echo-chamber effect taking hold, and the Hillaryland brigades convincing themselves of the logic of continuing the campaign even after Obama surpasses the magic delegate threshold. She's being deliberately vague about staying in the race "until there's a nominee" -- what exactly does that mean, especially given that delegates can change their minds, and that the "magic number" itself is still in doubt? -- but we'll find out soon enough. If Obama clinches a delegate majority and Clinton doesn't drop out, then we'll know. If that happens, there'll be no preventing a party-crippling floor fight. Once the train leaves the station, it won't be stopped. It's either this week or the last week of August, methinks.

The question is, does anyone in Clinton's inner circle truly understand the depth of the backlash that would occur if she were to attempt such a thing? Do they realize it would be career suicide? Do they understand that these next couple of days represent her last chance to exit the race with some semblance of dignity, such that she and Bill might someday have a chance of rebuilding their image in the party? Or are they so myopic at this point that they'll fall under the spell of their own talking points?

Even if Hillary & co. don't truly believe their own rhetoric, they'd better be careful: their words may become increasingly difficult to back away from. When you've got supporters chanting "Denver! Denver!" (not to mention "McCain! McCain!") and fundraisers saying "August, and no earlier," how do you bow out gracefully -- even if you want to -- without leaving those folks feeling betrayed? Particularly when you've been casting your argument in terms of "upholding bedrock principles" and saving the country from certain doom? If she doesn't at least begin the process of standing down and backing off tomorrow night, the sheer force of momentum produced by her "fighting" rhetoric may carry her all the way to Denver, whether she means it to or not.

P.S. On a somewhat related note, it's incredibly frustrating to keep reading bogus reports -- from legitimate journalists in mainstream newspapers! -- about how the Obama campaign may "reach deeply into its well-stocked coffers" in order to repay Clinton's campaign debt. There's only one small problem: it'd be illegal for Obama to do anything of the sort, as noted here:

Obama is not allowed to take millions of dollars from his own campaign and give them to Clinton's campaign. The most his campaign could legally give would be $2,000. Any deal to help Clinton with her debt would have to be in the form of Obama helping to raise additional money on Clinton's behalf.

This is a very basic piece of essential information, yet it keeps getting utterly ignored by "reporters" when they "report" on this issue. Such inexcusably sloppy reporting is journalistic malpractice, plain and simple.

Comments

[Alasdair]

Brendan - "Such inexcusably sloppy reporting is journalistic malpractice, plain and simple." ...

The only problem is that such "sloppy reporting" doesn't represent "journalistic malpractice" - it Rather represents standard MSM journalistic practice for the past few years ...

Sad, isn't it ?

[Swarthington]

My reading of the tea leaves indicated HRC will likely drop out Tuesday night or Wednesday. She's not stupid and at this point must realize she has virtually no chance to steal the nomination from the winning candidate (he beat her by playing the delegate game better). The most she can do is salvage her reputation, cross her fingers and hope Obama loses to McCain so she can have another shot in 2012.

If she takes the fight to Denver, not only will she not win the nomination but she will destroy her reputation and standing in the party, effectively squandering her presidential aspirations for 2012 and 2016.

HRC is not stupid and while she is delusional, she is not THAT delusional.

[Joe Mama]

Alasdair, you're such a retard. You've once again proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the opposite of whatever it is you're trying to say. It's only sloppy reporting to crazy right-wing neocons like you when the reporting criticizes your demi-god Bush, who you and all the other partisans who share your rightwingworldview worship and think can do no wrong. Go away.

Sorry, I was channeling you-know-who for a minute there ;-)

[dcl]

new chant please: Hillary go Home... Hillary go Home... If she doesn't drop out tomorrow night do we get to start using naughty words adding one naughty word per day until she goes home?

[Mindsurfer]

"Such inexcusably sloppy reporting is journalistic malpractice, plain and simple."
More likely it's deliberate misinformation. The intended target are the HRC supporters who may then think more kindly of BHO for his kindness and generosity to a former opponent.

[gahrie]

Hillary has more delegates, and is closer to the frontrunner in both delegates and popular vote, than Ted Kennedy was he took his campaign for the Democratic nomination all the way to the Democratic Convention in 1980.

It did't seem to hurt either Kennedy's political career or the eventual Democratic nominee.

[Alasdair]

Gahrie - and we can hope for an equivalent result, too, can't we ? (grin)

[CORNHUSKERS 94 95 & 97]

I have donated 100.00 every two weeks to his, up to the limit of course, and would be hopping mad if he hands over my money to Hillary to pay down her debt....I am begining not to like this guy all that much as his lack of killer instinct is starting to bother the hell out of me.

[Brendan]

[I} would be hopping mad if he hands over my money to Hillary to pay down her debt

So would the FEC. Again: he cannot do this. It is against federal law. The "reporters" and "insiders" speculating that he will do this have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

Gahrie, you're quite right about Teddy, but the circumstances are different. There are a number of factors in the 2008 environment that make Hillary's potential action far more radioactive than Kennedy's in 1980, among them the simple fact that people's expectations of the primary process have changed in the last 28 years. In any event, you can make the case that Hillary shouldn't become a pariah for fighting on to the convention, but the reality is, she will.