Eric Alterman: Hillary rolls along
Is the Democratic nomination already Hillary's? Could be. In some ways, it's a pretty simple calculation. She began with the support of the Democratic establishment, at least a third of primary voters, a big advantage with women, who make up the majority of these voters, and by far the most experienced campaign organization. Though she's been - rather amazingly - out-fundraised a bit by Barack Obama's campaign, she's got all the dough she needs.
Last March a friend who's actually supporting Obama and has run many campaigns marveled at the Clinton's campaign staffers' ability "to swim in their own lanes." It takes enormous self-discipline for Democrats to do that because it is a congenital condition of Democrats (like reporters) to think they know politics better than anyone.
But here is one of the almost countless advantages Hillary enjoys by virtue of her marriage. Nobody seriously thinks he understands American politics better than Bill Clinton does. Having the only Democrat who happened to win two full terms as president since FDR as your top adviser ends a lot of arguments before they begin.
What's more, for a front-runner to lose a nomination - something that is admittedly far more common among Democrats than Republicans - something big has to happen to upset the proverbial apple cart. But not only has Hillary's organization worked enormously effectively, the candidate's performance itself has been almost flawless.
She has shined in the debates, demonstrating poise, knowledge and even warmth in equal measure. No less important, she has defanged her most significant nemesis: her Iraq vote and her relationship to the party's furiously antiwar base.
Roughly 20 years ago, when top Clinton adviser Ann Lewis was running the liberal political organization Americans for Democratic Action, I remember her telling me that while the liberal end of the party would never win over the likes of former Georgia senator Sam Nunn and his Southern conservative supporters, they could at least do a better job of signaling their respect for their values and cultural norms, something liberals had been loath to do in the post-Vietnam period.
This is just what Hillary has done with the netroots, MoveOn.org and the like. She has not issued an apology for her (deeply misguided, in this opinion) vote to give George Bush the right to start this horrific war; the calculation may be that a woman running for president has to appear twice as "tough" and "resolute" and therefore unwilling to admit a mistake as a man....
Read entire article at Guardian
Last March a friend who's actually supporting Obama and has run many campaigns marveled at the Clinton's campaign staffers' ability "to swim in their own lanes." It takes enormous self-discipline for Democrats to do that because it is a congenital condition of Democrats (like reporters) to think they know politics better than anyone.
But here is one of the almost countless advantages Hillary enjoys by virtue of her marriage. Nobody seriously thinks he understands American politics better than Bill Clinton does. Having the only Democrat who happened to win two full terms as president since FDR as your top adviser ends a lot of arguments before they begin.
What's more, for a front-runner to lose a nomination - something that is admittedly far more common among Democrats than Republicans - something big has to happen to upset the proverbial apple cart. But not only has Hillary's organization worked enormously effectively, the candidate's performance itself has been almost flawless.
She has shined in the debates, demonstrating poise, knowledge and even warmth in equal measure. No less important, she has defanged her most significant nemesis: her Iraq vote and her relationship to the party's furiously antiwar base.
Roughly 20 years ago, when top Clinton adviser Ann Lewis was running the liberal political organization Americans for Democratic Action, I remember her telling me that while the liberal end of the party would never win over the likes of former Georgia senator Sam Nunn and his Southern conservative supporters, they could at least do a better job of signaling their respect for their values and cultural norms, something liberals had been loath to do in the post-Vietnam period.
This is just what Hillary has done with the netroots, MoveOn.org and the like. She has not issued an apology for her (deeply misguided, in this opinion) vote to give George Bush the right to start this horrific war; the calculation may be that a woman running for president has to appear twice as "tough" and "resolute" and therefore unwilling to admit a mistake as a man....