Peggy Noonan asks the question because that’s where it looks like this is headed:
Mrs. Clinton is losing this thing. It’s not one big primary, it’s a rolling loss, a daily one, an inch-by-inch deflation. The trends and indices are not in her favor. She is having trouble raising big money, she’s funding her campaign with her own wealth, her moral standing within her own party and among her own followers has been dragged down, and the legacy of Clintonism tarnished by what Bill Clinton did in South Carolina. Unfavorable primaries lie ahead. She doesn’t have the excitement, the great whoosh of feeling that accompanies a winning campaign. The guy from Chicago who was unknown a year ago continues to gain purchase, to move forward. For a soft little innocent, he’s played a tough and knowing inside/outside game.
More importantly, Noonan wonders if Hillary is asking herself the questions she needs to ask:
Does her sense of toughness mean that every battle in which she engages must be fought tooth and claw, door to door? Can she recognize the line between burly combat and destructive, never-say-die warfare? I wonder if she is thinking: What will it mean if I win ugly? What if I lose ugly? What will be the implications for my future, the party’s future? What will black America, having seen what we did in South Carolina, think forever of me and the party if I do low things to stop this guy on the way to victory? Can I stop, see the lay of the land, imitate grace, withdraw, wait, come back with a roar down the road? Life is long. I am not old. Or is that a reverie she could never have? What does it mean if she could never have it?
It’s an interesting question because the Clinton’s haven’t lost an election since Bill lost a Congressional race way back in 1974. I wonder if they even realize what it feels like.
February 8th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
The Clinton’s haven’t lost an election since Bill lost a Congressional race way back in 1974.
Actually, Bill Clinton also lost a re-election race for Arkansas governor in 1980 to Republican Frank White. He came back, however, to win again in 1982.
A two-year governor’s term? What’s up with that?
Your point (and Peggy Noonan’s point), nevertheless, is a good one. Does Hillary Clinton know how to lose with grace? I sure hope so.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
How about we stop listening to the republican pundits as they try to “manage” (manipulate) the democratic primary season? And, how about we not count Hillary out before that season has come to a conclusion?
As to whether she can handle things with grace? One only has to look at her entire career to know that she does that in situations when the toughest people I know would be home crying in their bedrooms.
Instead of asking this question, perhaps reporter/pundits like Peggy Noona should be asking Senator Barack Obama some of the questions that have gone largely unanswered during this campaign. When Senator Obama says that he will get rid of the Washington lobbyists, reporters have consistently failed to ask how. When Senator Obama says that he will create change, reporters have consistently failed to ask in what way? When Senator Obama refused Senator Clinton’s requests for more debates, reporters did not ask why.
So, perhaps we should begin with getting those questions answered rather than focusing on the end game when the citizens of several States have yet to vote.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Way Over the Top…
No matter where you are politically, having Hillary Clinton as the Commander in Chief of the United States has got to cause you to think about the ramifications of such a possibility. A few days ago, Peggy Noonan summed it why she thought Hillary h…