The Chris Matthews Show
David Brooks, on The Chris Matthews Show, floated the idea that Senator Clinton's next job would be Governor of New York. This is not the first time in which the rumor has made its rounds. It also seems reasonable if you believe that she cannot win the primary or the presidency and would no doubt win a NY special election-- if one were to magically occur, somehow arranged, etc--, and her political style of partisanship works in the state of NY and current Gov. David Patterson may not be working out, especially with his "admissions" once in office and the failure of recent legislation.
The interesting question would be would the Clintons desire Senator Clinton becomming Governor Clinton? Currently, Senator Clinton and former President Clinton believe that only they can save the democrats from the "disaster in waiting" this fall as "naive democrats" don't see it and the media won't tell it.
Further, if the Democratic primary is about the legacy of the Clintons, then this may not be desirable choice. If the argument is that Senator Obama wins the presidency then he will diminish the legacy of President Clinton, wouldn't this also mean that Senator Clinton would diminish the legacy of the former President. On one hand, If Senator Clinton wins the primary and the presidency, then the family enhances its legacy. On the other, if she wins, she may diminish the legacy of former President Bill Clinton, especially if Senator Clinton becomes a better President than Bill, which would not be too hard as the bar if very low.
Meet The Press: w/ Carville, Matalin, Murphy, and Shrum
The first fifteen minutes of Meet the Press is quite hostile over Senator Obama's "bitter" remarks and other famous "gaffes" in the campaign: Obama and "cling;" McCain, the economy, and the Sunni/ Shi'ite distinction, Senator Clinton on Bosnia, former President Clinton on Hillary's Bosnia experience. James Carville was put in an interesting position as he attacked Obama for his comments, then attacked McCain about his comments on not knowing the economy, the Sunni/ Shi'ite mishap, which will be thrown against McCain, and then attempted to defend the comments by the Clintons over Bosnia, laughing while doing so as he knew he no longer possessed the legitimacy to attack Obama and knew the Clintons were in trouble. Carville could only offer his love for former President Bill Clinton, "I love the man."
Senator Obama's gaffe is just one of many by the candidates and may not prove to be the "representative anecdote" that hurts him in the long run, though he will suffer before Pennsylvania. If he had a chance to win the primary, he may not now, though he still may keep it close. Of course, the larger strategy of these comments may be to show how neither Clinton or McCain will improve the lives of those in the Keystone state and as the economy gets worse over the summer with the rise in the cost of gas and food, Senator Obama will look courageous for speaking about the realities in small towns back in April.
There is another interesting element occurring on MTP: the game of the elites, as all of the people on the show are, which makes them look just as foolish to determine the psychological and sociological characteristics of the voters in Pennsylvania (and I understand the irony, as all speculation about the minds of the voters seem foolish). Mary Matalin attacks Obama for his comments, forcing Carville to attack McCain's knowledge on the economy and the Sunni/Shi'ite divide. Yet, despite the ideological differences between Matalin and Carville they do not have any problems reconciling their differences. Where do we reify the ideological differences and why are the elites outside of these manifestations?
Oh, and all of the panelists threw Mark Penn under the bus and attacked the way in which her strategists ran Senator Clinton's campaign, diminishing her ethos as a "manager." After ten minutes of bashing Clinton, they opened the door to bashing Obama again, especially from Mary Matalin, who would like the Democratic Super Delegates to select Senator Clinton. But I cannot understand why?
Finally, a McCain/ Powell ticket and not McCain Romney? Did Carville read the news?
Any news on how Ralph Nader's campaign is developing?
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