Don’t know why, always wind up watching CNN when it’s politics. Wolf Blitzer and CNN - like everyone else - annointing Obama as the Democratic nominee.
“This historic moment,” Blitzer intoned - and it’s true. That the United States - 160 years after slavery and civil war, 50 years after the inception of the Civil Rights Movement - might have a legitimate African-American contender for the presidency means a lot of things. Mostly, it means that the United States of America means what it says when it comes to race and opportunity.
But it also means that someone beat the Clintons - something, actually, the Republicans have been unable to do.
Politics is a strange game, and the things that have made the Clintons successful - the ruthlessness; the ability to stand and trade punches with Karl Rove-style politics - were exactly the reason voters rejected her this spring. One of several.
The ’90s, now, are officially over.
But “rejection” is certainly the wrong term, for - as she might point out - her candidacy garnered the votes of almost half of the Democrats in this big, wide country. People have liked her for a lot of reasons - a lot of legitimate reasons. If the Clinton era is over, their years will certainly be marked by controversy - but also of competent governance, something that looks a long way off right about now.
I’m stunned, too, at the role the media has played in this whole process. This is the first primary I’ve watched so up close and personal and in this campaign which has dragged on and on; the daily machinations, the massaging of the message and its spin around the blogs - and talk radio and all the other usual outlets as well - has just fascinated me. Everything was amplified - and given the ubiquity of the media, perhaps more so than ever before.
Going to be an interesting summer/fall. The historic moment continues.
Update 9:34: Hillary speaking; generous/conciliatory, not officially “condeding” but talking like it. I still wouldn’t mind the idea of a “fusion” ticket, I think it would probably be unbeatable. But if it’s time to say goodbye to all that, should she really be on the ticket?
