Clinton Fatigue

Perhaps it is because it is early Monday morning and unlike many, I do not have the day off in observance of Presidents Day – the bastardized holiday that no longer takes place on either Washington or Lincoln’s real birth dates. Or maybe I am just in a cranky mood. Whatever the case, I think I am suffering from Clinton fatigue. First I turn on MSNBC in time to see that Hillary attack dog Bill Clinton has had a couple of dust ups with members in the audience where he spoke on behalf of Hillary over the weekend (and his sycophants defend him by alleging that the individuals in the audience were Obama plants). Next, I see in the Washington Post where Hillary’s campaign apparently has just now figured out that the bizarre delegate rules in Texas may make that state less of the “firewall” that she expected. Duhhhh, the rules have been in place for roughly 20 years – as in BEFORE Bill ran for president.. Her campaign just figured this out? For a candidate who claims she will be the most competent and ready to govern from day one, her campaign staff seems to be made up of imbeciles. Here are some highlights from the Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/17/AR2008021702461_pf.html):

Supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are worried that convoluted delegate rules in Texas could water down the impact of strong support for her among Hispanic voters there, creating a new obstacle for her in the must-win presidential primary contest. Several top Clinton strategists and fundraisers became alarmed after learning of the state's unusual provisions during a closed-door strategy meeting this month, according to one person who attended.

The disparity in delegate distribution is just one of the unusual aspects of Texas's complex system for apportioning delegates. The scheme has been in use for two decades but is coming under increased scrutiny because the March 4 presidential contest is the first in years that gives the state a potentially decisive voice in choosing the party's nominee.

This telling comment on the blog, Obsidian Wings pretty much says it all (http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/02/theyre-not-a-ma.html?cid=102728392#comment-102728392):

While they were busy “discovering” the rules, however, the Obama campaign had people on the ground in Texas explaining the system, organizing precincts, and making Powerpoints. I know because I went to one of these meetings a week ago. I should have invited Mark Penn I suppose. (ed. Maybe foresight is an obsolete macrotrend.) In this respect, Texas is simply a microcosm of the larger campaign dynamics. In fact, if the Clinton campaign were a corporation, the shareholders would have pretty good grounds for a derivative suit for Texas alone.