The Fringes of History

I agree with Rachel Maddow. Any former Hillary Clinton supporter still supporting the McCain presidency is, as she eloquently put, “post-rational”. Barack Obama has the nomination. Hillary has said so since her concession speech in June. What are the arguments now? She received the popular vote. No, she didn’t, the only way they spun the numbers to show this was by excluding Michigan and every single caucus state (caucus states don’t release vote totals). Some people have argued about the unfair rules of the democratic primaries. This is a fallacy, they wouldn’t have had a problem with the rules if the Clinton camp had been able to win. Obama’s team understood and accepted the rules, played by them and had a clear-eyed, pragmatic vision as to how to achieve victory. To say that the rules were the reason that she lost is ignorant. The Clinton campaign had felt confident that the primary contest would be over by Super Tuesday. They felt no need to cover themselves in states following February 5th. Obama’s ground game in those states assured victory against a candidate who showed up a day late and much more than a dollar short. Some say she should have won because of her historic campaign, being the first woman to go so far in a presidential race. No question that it was historic and 2008 will be a year that shows a divergence and evolution in our collective history. But to have that as an argument, are we blocking out the current nominee for President?

Hillary’s speech at the DNC last night was exactly what it needed to be. She asked a very simple question; were her supporters only involved for her? Or were they involved with all the Americans that have become invisible in the last 8 years?

Needless to say, anyone still on the fringes of this baseless argument will be on the fringes of history. When their children ask about the election of 2008, they can weave a fantasy tale about how they were involved for the better, but they will still have to lay their own head on their pillows; in that quiet time when all you have for company are your thoughts and all they will be able to do is wish.