Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
And while I think Hillary should continue on, for now, I would really appreciate it if someone would ask Hillary point blank, right now, what states count:
After weeks of finding reasons to discount every Obama victory, the Clinton campaign seems to be laying the groundwork to argue that Texas — the state that they have been pointing to as more meaningful and representative than other states — doesn’t count, either. Why would they be discounting Texas? Oh, I don’t know, this might have something to do with it.
Sheesh.
Consider this an open thread.
While I do not think Hillary is going to win the nomination, articles like this sort of irk me:
If Hillary Clinton wanted a graceful exit, she’d drop out now—before the March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries—and endorse Barack Obama. This would be terrible for people like me who have been dreaming of a brokered convention for decades. For selfish reasons, I want the story to stay compelling for as long as possible, which means I’m hoping for a battle into June for every last delegate and a bloody floor fight in late August in Denver. But to withdraw this week would be the best thing imaginable for Hillary’s political career. She won’t, of course, and for reasons that help explain why she’s in so much trouble in the first place.
Why should she get out now? She has spent years preparing for this run, has millions of supporters who want her to continue, she still has a shot (albeit a small one, I think) at winning, and I think she owes it to herself and those who have sacrificed so much to get her this close to continue on. Should she lose the next few states and really start to trail badly in delegates, I think she should probably get out, but it should be on her own terms. Trying to pressure her out right now doesn’t sit right with me, though. What is so bad about letting the voters have their say?
Captain Ed joins the crew at Hot Air:
Today brings exciting news and an end to a time in my life that has proven far more successful than I ever dreamed. Beginning on March 1, I will begin working for Michelle Malkin, a friend, mentor, and writer I have long admired. She has offered me a position as writer at Hot Air, and my blogging will appear exclusively there.
Personally, I think this is great news. The more we can consolidate these folks, the better. Hopefully Red State, the Weekly Standard, and some other fruity right-wing bloggers will also join the staff at Hot Air. Then, come January 2009, the Hitlery/Hussein Obama administration can use their newfound executive powers to quickly round up these pockets of dissidents and we can all move forward into a glorious period of liberal fascism, where the abortions are fast and plentiful and government mandated and so are the womyn.
In other blog news, the Carpetbagger is five. Happy Anniversary, Steve.
Bill Kristol burps up another column on the most pressing issue of the day, Obama’s lapel pins (or lack thereof):
But Obama chose to present his flag-pin removal as a principled gesture. “You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we’re talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security, I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest.”
Leave aside the claim that “speaking out on issues” constitutes true patriotism. What’s striking is that Obama couldn’t resist a grandiose explanation. Obama’s unnecessary and imprudent statement impugns the sincerity or intelligence of those vulgar sorts who still choose to wear a flag pin. But moral vanity prevailed. He wanted to explain that he was too good — too patriotic! — to wear a flag pin on his chest.
This may turn out to be the dumbest election of my lifetime. They have no issues to talk about, so all we are going to do is to debate Obama’s patriotism.
BTW- check out the comments to this Politico piece about CNN’s patriotism poll. It is almost universal condemnation, and I do not consider the Politico to be a left-wing site. This shit is not going to fly this year.