Beacon Street Journal

In light of the daunting task of overcoming Obama’s pledged delegate lead, many are asking why Hillary continues to soldier on given the damage she is inflicting on the party and Obama’s chances of prevailing in the general election.  Some have raised the specter that Hillary, while consigned to defeat in 2008, is really laying the groundwork for a run again in 2012 should McCain win the general election. Of course this strategy is effective only if Obama loses against McCain.

I find this scenario highly implausible for a number of different reasons. First, there is the issue of black support for any putative run Hillary may want to make in 2012. Proponents of the “Hillary is running for the 2012 nomination” theory argue that a linchpin to her strategy is that she must be extremely careful with her attacks on her rival so as not to alienate the black constituency of the Democratic Party. The problem here is that the damage in her relationship with black voters has already been done. 

Representative James Clyburn, one of the most highly respected black leaders in Congress, told The Times that there is an almost unanimous belief among blacks that the Clintons were committed to damaging Senator Obama so badly that even if he wins the nomination he would never be able to win the general election.

Do you suppose that if Obama loses a general election contest against McCain, the African-American constituency of the Democratic Party will simply say all is forgiven and throw their support behind Hillary? Clearly, this is wishful thinking. And, without the solid support of blacks, no Democratic presidential candidate can ever win the White House. For this reason alone, any attempts by Hillary to reappear on the scene as the “presumptive favorite” of the party in 2012 are simply Quixotic.

Secondly, the media loathes Hillary. For them, she is yesterday’s news and they view her as the chief impediment to the coronation of the new object of their affections: Barack Obama. Her parsing, prevarications and bald-face lies, which they so eagerly overlooked in the past, they now find revolting. Husband Bill is viewed now not as a crowd-pleasing celebrity in the party, but rather as an aging rock star whose act has been upstaged by one who sings melodies of Hope and Change more to their liking. Should a wounded Obama suffer a defeat in the general election, the long knives of many journalists would be out for Hillary, as they would hold her primarily responsible for the party’s defeat. Any pre-Obama fawning over her “inevitability” would give rise to merciless and unrelenting attacks on her defective character, her expediency and her trustworthiness.

Thirdly, many of the Democratic Party’s elites are not terribly fond of the Clintons. As they have watched the tactics from the old Clinton Administration play out endlessly through the vehicle of Hillary’s candidacy, many Democrats, who out of party loyalty, were forced to bear witness to the moral fiber of their party being corroded, now, in exasperation, say never again. Obama has given the Democratic Party a chance to perform penance for their previous support, enabling and justification of the terrible mendacity of the Clintons. It is highly dubious that the Clintons’ will be afforded a third opportunity to represent their party in 2012.

In short, the only reason Hillary is running a scorched-earth campaign is that she knows it is now or never…