There were rumors this morning that Barack Obama would after tomorrow's primaries declare victory in the 2008 Democratic Presidential nominating process. It appears now that Obama will not be delivering such a speech. I think that is a wise move strategically.
At this point only the most ardent Clinton supporters deny that Obama has all but clinched the nomination. The press has largely moved on beyond the Obama/Clinton drama and has begun to focus on the general election. Clinton herself has ceased fire and is campaigning without attacking Obama and now there are just 3 primaries remaining.
In short, Obama is already being treated as the Party's nominee. He stands to gain nothing by declaring victory at this point and risks offending Clinton's supporters and handing the media a new narrative. If there was a time to declare victory it was at some point in March right after his twelfth straight victory and at the point when he had realistically (if not mathematically) clinched the nomination. At that point declaring victory might well have saved the Party several weeks of continue in-fighting. At this point though the intra-party sniping has mostly subsided and there's just over 2 weeks remaining. Let the people of South Dakota, Montana and Puerto Rico vote and then declare victory.
2 comments:
I'm one of those "ardent" Clinton supporters...
Let's just put it this way... "it's not over until the fat lady sings". I'm holding my breath for the next 2 weeks... but let's give everyone a say, including Puerto Rico.
You must be a Cubs fan too.
;) kidding, kidding!
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