Thursday, August 28, 2008

Bill & Hill's Mile-High Show

The Democratic National Convention winds down today in Denver, Colorado, culminating with tonight's acceptance speech by Barrack Obama.

In that speech, Senator Obama must go further than he has at any time in his campaign to this point. He must speak to those 'swing' voters, the true 'undecideds' who allege that they have yet to make up their minds.

So far his campaign has been only about two themes: ambiguous 'Change' and the typical liberal anti-Bush mantra.

What has been seriously lacking are specifics about what programs and policies that an Obama administration intends to implement in order to reach those goals. He cannot win over middle America with ambiguity and misdirection. For example, he cannot win with the kind of speech given the past two nights by the Clintons.

Former President Bill Clinton last night, and his wife (for now at least), New York Senator Hillary Clinton gave speeches that showed as much that they are positioning for another run in four years as they are supporting any specific Obama plans this time around.

Hillary Clinton has been clearly wounded by her blowing the '08 Democratic Party nomination. Just last Fall, even early this past Winter, she was the clear front-runner. That that point she was really the only candidate. She then went on a months-long crash-n-burn of a campaign, while Obama suddenly emerged, gained the affections of the all-important media, and took off on his own meteoric rise.

For the Clintonistas, especially their leader Hillary, this 11th-hour defeat was heart-wrenching, and there were weeks if not months of denial.

Even up to the opening of the DNC, all the rumblings coming from the back rooms were that the Clinton supporters and staff were still bitter. The Clintons knew they had little choice but to eventually support the nominee, but they still angled for terms and conditions.

The Obama camp, knowing how important the Clinton supporters would be to their efforts, caved in and gave the Bill & Hill show prime exposure, with Hillary headlining on Tuesday night and the President headlining on Wednesday evening.

In her speech, Senator Clinton used the word 'I' 18 times, the word 'my' 11 times, the word 'me' 13 times, and even the word 'mine' once. During her speech, she referred to herself 43 times. She mentioned the candidate as 'Barrack Obama' just nine times, two more simply as 'Barack', once as 'President Obama'. She mentioned his challenger John McCain a half dozen times.

For everyone but the already-on-board liberal crowd, it was obvious that Clinton's speech was a reminder to her supporters of her campaign and her dream. I heard it spoken this morning on Bill Bennett's radio program that the Clintons are already planning to run again in four years.

I believe that they would never challenge a sitting Democratic president, so that has to naturally mean that, despite tepid public pronouncements of support couched in her self-aggrandizement, the Clintons are hoping for an Obama loss in November.

For his part, the former President out-mentioned Obama 14-4 over his wife. Bill Clinton knows how these things should be done, how these things need be won, and he put the emphasis where it belongs, on the candidate. But he did take time to mention his wife enough (3 times) at the front of his speech to know where his true feelings lie.

Make no mistake about it, the Clintons and their zombie-like Clintonista followers pine for a do-over, and they want it to happen yesterday. The next shot they will get is in four years, and an Obama loss may ensure their front-runner status again.

Rest assured that next time around they will not blow it. Bill and Hillary Clinton put on a masterful show the past two nights in the Mile High City of Denver as the first phase in their recovery towards what they see as a new opportunity in 2012.

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