Over the past few days we have heard a chorus of reporters, pundits, and Obama campaign spokespeople essentially say “Fine, her names in nomination! Are you happy now? Will you shut up now?”
The miss the point… big time.
Bonnie Erbe in USWR gets at least part of it…. while she is still focused on the ends and misses out on the problems that PUMAs have with the process, at least she isn’t dismissive about the concerns we have of Obama as a candidate….
No one can report on how all 18 million Clinton voters reacted to the decision [to put Clinton's name in nomination.] Clearly, overall they must have been at least somewhat pleased with the decision. But to ask, “Are you happy now?” carries with it an implication that Clinton supporters are a complaining bunch who won’t be happy no matter what the DNC or the Obama campaign does to try to please them. I am in close touch with the PUMA folks and other Democratic anti-Obama bloggers as I will be covering their activities in Denver next week. To ask the question, “Are you happy now?” is to dismiss the seriousness of their concerns.
From where many of them sit, the Democratic Party blew a perfectly good opportunity to nominate a moderate (instead of liberal), seasoned (instead of inexperienced) party leader (instead of Senate newcomer) with a long track record in international relations. Clinton’s “3 a.m. call” commercial is still resounding in blogs and media reports because when Russia invaded Georgia, Obama at first issued an appeasement statement, then the next day did a 180-degree turn, pressuring Russia to withdraw quickly. Such flip-flops on war policy are unacceptable but typical of what the party should have expected from a newbie. They also help explain why Obama is now tied with McCain in daily presidential tracking polls, rather than winning by double digits.
As far as the ends go and the PUMA unhappiness with Obama as a candidate goes, she hits the nail on the head… dead on. She also gives the respect that is due to the concerns of millions of voters, rather than minimizing them like the party has done.
This minimization from the party is some thing I don’t understand. Simply from looking at the polls we know that millions and millions of Democrats are very unhappy with Obama. I don’t get why they would insult us, call us Republicans, lunatics, racists, fringe radicals and more…
Regardless, the concerns are beginning to bubble up to the surface…
Filed under: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton | Tagged: anti-obama, Barack, blogger, candidate, Clinton, happy, Hillary, Nomination, Obama, PUMA | 2 Comments »
