Clinton should fight to finish

First off, I’ve never been a fan of Hillary Clinton, or her husband for that matter, but I have to admit she’s gotten a raw deal from all the people who are in love with her opponent, Barack Obama.

While I was at my house clinging to my guns and religion waiting for gas to hit $4 a gallon last week, I listened to the endless meandering of the Democratic elite suggesting Clinton move aside for the Obama Express after their splitting of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. For months Obama has requested Clinton leave the race because of his scant lead in delegates, a request that has now turned into a shout by many Democrats who are afraid of a big fight on the convention floor seeing no one will have enough delegates to win the race outright.

This constant call for Clinton’s leaving the race has amazed me seeing she has never trailed by that much in either delegates or popular vote. Yet, for some reason, the Democratic elite has anointed the young Illinois senator as their choice.

Actually, Clinton leaving the race before July would be like the Giants quitting in the fourth quarter when the Patriots pulled ahead in the Super Bowl. Sure, the Giants were behind and looked done, but they came back to end the Pats’ undefeated season and become world champions.

Frankly, it will all come down to who the delegates think can beat the ‘Comeback Kid’ John McCain in November. Right now they believe it is Obama who has the best chance. However, it seems Obama has been inserting his foot in his mouth on a near weekly basis lately, offending large groups of people with his sometimes ill-conceived, off-the-cuff statements. If I were him, I’d stick to the prepared statements seeing he usually messes up when he goes off-script.

It is the foot-in-mouth disease which I think should keep Clinton in the race as Obama is just one Howard Dean moment from leaving the audience standing with jaws dropped and the crickets chirping in the background. We all remember the Dean yell which dropped him from Democratic front-runner to lunatic in a single night. Now look at him. Where is he now? Oh wait, he’s head of the Democratic National Committee.

Regardless, public perception of him was that he was an idiot once he did that silly yell on live television, thus ending his presidential aspirations for life. Obama is flirting with this same thing as the more he goes off-script, the more likely he is to open the door to Clinton.

Clinton doesn’t really have to spend one more cent. All she has to do is hang around while Obama continues bragging he’s been to 57 states, except for Alaska and Hawaii. What?

In short, it’s no longer Clinton’s to win, it’s Obama’s to lose, and given his recent issues, he could just do that. He’s a Dean moment from a mass departure of super delegates.

However, to me it is little comfort as we have the lamest choice of candidates since reconstruction. Any other year, I’d be licking my chops waiting for the other shoe to drop, but this year we are choosing from three liberals.

The presidential race this year is kind of like nuclear war. No one wins. But, as for entertainment, it’s still fun to watch Obama try to tank his campaign in the closing days of the race. Let’s remember there was another Clinton a few years ago who was running third, trailing even Ross Perot, before making a late run which earned him two terms in office.

Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].