For whatever reason, I’m not much into political observations of late. But when Sen. Hillary Clinton “gave up” on her presidential bid last Saturday, I, along with many others, took a close look at what she actually said.Amid tears from her loyalists, she said this (regarding Sen. Barack Obama): "I endorse him and throw my full support behind him." Sounds pretty straightforward, right?
Well, maybe. Here’s also what she said: "Today as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run.” The key word here is “suspend”.
Political pundits point out that by “suspending” her campaign, instead of “ending” it and releasing her pledged delegates, she keeps open a raft of options. The significant one is that she keeps “control” over the 1600+ delegate votes she won in the primaries.
Why would she do this?
Dick Morris, former Clinton insider and presidential advisor now impassioned to keep any Clinton out of the White House, said today that Hillary is still a factor in the presidential race:
“…the former First Lady will be slowly circling overhead during June, July, and August waiting for Obama to make a mistake or stumble. Throughout the next three months, there will always be the possibility that he errs so badly that Hillary gets back into the race. Should another pastor rear his head or if one of the mythical tapes that are said to be about to emerge does, in fact, exist, Obama cannot rest secure in the nomination as long as Hillary is overhead, waiting.”
Kinda reminds me of the Shakespearean (MIS-)quotation, “Heavy hangs over the head that wears a crown.” (ACTUAL quote is, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," but who’s checking?) In any case, Senator Obama is apparently not yet free of Clinton maneuverings – not by a long shot.
The next five-plus months of campaign rhetoric (and eventualities) could be quite interesting. If only I really cared a bit more.
No comments:
Post a Comment