Hillary's still in this Race

[BootinUp]

http://action.credomobile.com/commentary/2007/12/hillarys_still_in_this_race.html

December 19, 2007 2:48 PM
Hillary's Still In This Race
Joe Conason

Not so long ago, the conventional wisdom of Washington proclaimed that Hillary Rodham Clinton could not be stopped from winning the Democratic presidential nomination. Today, the same wise men and women hint that she has forfeited the prize.

But she has never been unstoppable--and she has certainly not yet been stopped.

snip

Yet it is also true that the events of recent days have exposed weaknesses in the Clinton campaign. There may be no sense of panic in her headquarters, and there is almost certainly no nefarious strategy of demonizing Mr. Obama, her leading rival, but the clumsiness of her surrogates and staffers has made her campaign look panicky and scheming at once. At the very least, their blunders have provided ample ammunition for cheap shots.

snip

Surprisingly, the disputes that have lately monopolized so much news coverage and commentary have not dented her national appeal significantly. Indeed, although Mrs. Clinton faces difficulties in Iowa and New Hampshire, the latest USA Today/Gallup Poll shows that she has started to recover the commanding lead that began to diminish in late November, after her poor debate performance.

snip

Consistent with those numbers are other polls indicating that Mrs. Clinton's troubles in Iowa and New Hampshire have not surfaced so far in the big states, whose primaries will determine the ultimate winner. She has been slowed but not stopped.

[Raven]

1. I'm surprised to see this post. I thought Hillary was...

inevitable.

[elocs]

2. Well, duh! This subject actually needed a thread of its own? n/t

[BootinUp]

3. such kindness

you outdo yourself.

I only snipped small parts, there is more at the link.

[TwilightZone]

4. I suspect that all of the celebratory stuff being posted about her "faltering" campaign...

is going to prove to be a tad premature.

When the polls are averaged, she's tied in Iowa and ahead in NH. Anything can happen at this point, and if she does manage to win one or the other, this place will probably implode.

Even if she doesn't, there are more than two states involved in the selection of our nominee. A win by Obama or Edwards in Iowa doesn't guarantee success anywhere else - just ask President Tom Harkin or President Dick Gephardt.

[joeybee12]

5. Blame the media...I certainly do...

...their storyline is that she's faltering so anything they can fit into that storyline gets play...they're immature and also very sheep-like in their adherence to what other "journalists" are doing. They also go overboard and show absolutely no restraint, so when people see Hillary up close and like what they see, they wonder how the "non-sexist" media can portray her as shrill and cackling.

[JackORoses]

6. oh, how the mighty expectations have fallen