Ickes Talking to Superdelegates about Wright
02 April 2008 8:00 am by Taylor Marsh
Why is anyone surprised about this?
“Nobody thinks that Barack Obama harbors those thoughts. But that’s
not the issue. The issue is what Republicans [will do with them]…I think
they’re going to give him a very tough time.” – Harold Ickes
Clinton’s camp better be talking about the Wright effect, because the Republicans
won’t let up on it during the general election.
The other reality is that the superdelegates are starting to come forward, so Clinton’s camp simply has to be more aggressive. But religion (coupled with anti-American screeds) is only one part of this picture. The other cultural bookend, abortion, was mentioned today by Michael Gerson, only in the most positive manner. That won’t happen come the general election.
… .. But Obama’s record on abortion is extreme. He opposed the ban on partial-birth abortion — a practice a fellow Democrat, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once called “too close to infanticide.” Obama strongly criticized the Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth ban. In the Illinois state Senate, he opposed a bill similar to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which prevents the killing of infants mistakenly left alive by abortion. And now Obama has oddly claimed that he would not want his daughters to be “punished with a baby” because of a crisis pregnancy — hardly a welcoming attitude toward new life.
Religion mixed with anti-Americanism, with Obama’s record on abortion in Illinois “too close to infanticide” on the other side. Both of these issues are cultural nightmares for Democrats in the general election, because we always lose when we fight on this ground.
But Lee
Hamilton has endorsed Obama. This is in keeping with party elite who want
to start movement towards closure, come July 1st. As much as I support Clinton’s fight and want her to stay in it until one of them have the requisite
delegates, a convention fight was a risky double-edged threat. Democratic elders do not want that and will do whatever they can to keep it from happening.
One thing can stop it, which Clinton knows all too well.
However, what is clear is that Obama and his team intend on stiffing Michigan and
Florida until after the nominee is chosen, which was said again yesterday on “Hardball.” Clinton wants
primaries, likely in June, because she needs the popular vote totals.
I’m going to say this again, if Michigan and Florida are not part of the equation
on deciding the nominee the winner is not going to be legitimate with
many Democratic voters. Obama and his team have to deal with this reality. He simply
does not have a leg to stand on when it comes to Michigan and Florida, and neither
do others suggesting we can just ignore these states.
The sooner Obama and Clinton figure out a way to count Michigan and Florida the faster we can turn our fire on John McCain. It’s in Obama’s court, where it’s been for weeks.
