The 2008 Democratic Nominee

I have been meaning to write something about Obama's improbable victory, but there are so many storylines running around, I don't even know where to start. Thankfully, my undergrad academic advisor - Dr. William Cunion - has written a perfect summary to the conclusion of the democratic primary season. I'm going to copy it in its entirety since 1)he does not create direct links to individual articles, 2) Google's block quote formatting sucks and 3) it is that good.

Enjoy-

We've all seen it coming since the first week of January, when a first-term senator - only three years removed from the Illinois State Legislature - and the only African American in the entire United States Senate - somehow defeated the "invincible" Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses. Some setbacks here and there - some at the polls, some in the news - did little to derail what was becoming obvious to everyone. (Well, to everyone other than Hillary Clinton, who still seems unable to see it - see below.)
Whether you agree with his politics, whether you believe that the media has given him a free pass, whether you like him or not, Barack Obama has run the single most amazing political campaign in modern American history. (I'm tempted to say that it is the most astonishing political campaign ever, but let's hold back something until November. There is still, you know, the little matter of an election to be had.) I don't believe there is anything fundamentally different about Obama - he is a politician, and he can never be all things to all people as a result - but he has demonstrated more than just a powerful gift of rhetoric. He has shown remarkable executive leadership in the campaign itself, fully in command of the process while somehow remaining above the fray. Republicans will regret it if they underestimate his strength as a candidate. If the election were held today, he would be the 44th president of the United States.
So much is being said today about the historic event of nominating an African American candidate, and even many on the right are observing it with pride in a country moving beyond its shameful past. John McCain would have been wise yesterday simply to acknowledge the moment and to congratulate Senator Obama...and leave the debate for another day. And there will be debates - some thoughtful exchanges of ideas about the direction of the country - and some lowbrow smear campaigns that have always been part of the undercurrent of American politics. To be sure, while both candidates are men of honor and decency, they do have significant differences of opinion about some crucial issues, and we all must exercise our critical faculties in deciding which one of them will be a better leader for this country.
But that is for another day. For today, all Americans can set all of that aside and say together, yes we can. Such is the audacity of hope in the United States of America.

Time to Go Home, Hillary.
Yesterday afternoon, a local radio station called to ask for my reaction to the news that Hillary Clinton would be conceding defeat last night. I responded that we should probably wait to hear what she actually says. Sure enough, right on cue, Senator Clinton completes her metamorphosis from the historic presidential candidate who would shatter the final glass ceiling to the last girl at the party who has had way too much to drink but refuses to go home. You know the one - attractive and witty at 9pm, ugly and embarrassing at midnight, belligerent and hostile at 3am...and maybe passed out on the living room couch at 6am. Well, the sun is up in the United States of America, and it is time for you to go home, Senator Clinton. Her speech last night was disgraceful and incoherent (for what was she congratulating Senator Obama, if she was not conceding defeat?), but most of all, it was completely without class - a fitting end to her shameful candidacy.
There is so much commentary around the Web this morning that I couldn't possibly do it justice. But just a few of my favorite lines:
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Whoever said that after denial comes acceptance hadn’t met the Clintons. If Hillary could not have an acceptance speech, she wasn’t going to have acceptance."
The Jed Report: "If I had any respect for Hillary Clinton going into tonight, after watching her speech, it is now gone....completely self absorbed."
Brendan Loy: "Hillary Clinton had one last chance, tonight, to exit the stage with dignity. She missed it."
Noam Scheiber of The New Republic: "What a disaster."
James Fallows of The Atlantic: "You HAVE LOST the nomination. There are NO MORE primaries....This is a new low."
I do wonder what her immediate plan is in terms of the actual campaigning. After all, Fallows is correct that there are no more primaries. Where will her events be? Who will be her audience? Why would anyone send her money at this point? This is bizarre.
Maybe I'm being too kind with the party analogy above. This isn't just like having a little too much to drink; it's pathological - maybe even sinister. I'm not the only one now thinking of Hillary Clinton like a character from a horror movie. Like Freddy Kruger or Jason, she just keeps coming back for more. Like the last scene from Carrie, you expect her to reach up through the dirt covering her grave for one last kill...only she refuses even to be buried. I expect the party to unify around Senator Obama this summer, but I do not think she will exit gracefully - perhaps it's too late for that, anyway. Nor do I expect her to be offered the VP slot; surely Obama has more self respect than that (I'm tempted to return to the party girl analogy, but I better let it go).
I don't know whether the radio station used my soundbite warning that she may refuse to exit stage left, but I sure hope so. Still, it's not all that insightful, and no one should be surprised. What a sad end to a sad story. Only it's not quite the end, is it?