Rebuilding Hope

There's a lot of stuff going on that doesn't seem to make the wire services, that require digging through lots of sources and some tracking down.

Among them is the fact that Hillary's speech in the bunker of Baruch the other day--where Blackberries don't work--seemed to give
her a reason to ignore what happened in the real world when Obama crossed the delegate threshold.

Hillary, in her back and forth--changing her mind as the mood fits--never bothered to acknowledge Obama's win.

Definitely bad form and intentionally rude beyond words..

More offensive was the fact that she chose not to concede as she had indicated she would do when Obama reached the magic numbers.

What was not revealed?

This did not go over well--especially among her peers.

Eight of them were called by those closest to Hillary and advised to do something about Hillary's inability to leave the podium or recognize the reality that the primaries were over! .

They were asked to call her and tell her to concede.

They did.

Another group of twenty three Congressmen called her and told her to concede or else.

And Nancy Pelosi and Reed also informed her that she had til Friday to finish the theatrics and concede to the winner.

This barrage by her peers must have caused her to see the hand-writing on the wall.

She had no options. She had to concede. Even if she was pressured to do so.


If she were hoping to nail the VP spot, she had a funny way of going about it.

She had ticked off everyone in the process, including the one person that those tactics would not work on, Obama, himself.

Moreover, in utter disregard for tradition or good manners, she was making demands on the “winners.” Does this woman have no couth?


All in all, while this was supposed to be Obama's night, to many--myself included--it seemed like everyone was kissing Hillary's ring.

It was consummate bad taste but very much in keeping with the low class, gutter politics that characterized the primary--especially since
Hillary's loss in South Carolina.

I couldn’t believe how bad the entire enterprise was getting. Therefore, over the weekend, I made it a point to get Ed Klein's book on Hillary in which he wrote about the real Hillary long before the Primary.

Everything he said was in keeping with the Hillary we were to discover during the campaign: A tone deafness, a willingness to take the low road for advantage and a need to win at any cost.

I'm sorry I hadn't read it before..

I never would have voted for her.

But now, the Party elders had come together and ended this long swan song that seems to have gone on forever.

And Hillary has agreed to play by the rules.

I know a lot of the MSNBC commentators and panelists indulged in a long sigh of relief last night.

For haven't they been blamed for everything that went wrong in Hillary's campaign.

In none of this, it is interesting to note, has Hillary or her fans taken responsibility or said they are sorry for their own behavior or actions.

It's one thing not to see the truth because it is convenient to do so, it is quite another to believe that swill.

In any event, most of us are happy it is over.

We may not have liked what emerged, but it was finally over.

We are happy that Congress and the Party has asserted itself; and that the leaders of the Party have done what is necessary to end the Primary now before the Convention.

The hard part for both sides of the Hillary argument is to find a way to come together in the best interests of the country and to show a united front against Bush III.

Realistically, I believe we will vote together but not come together. The hurt for many is too deep; too divisive.

The facts are, however, that we have five months before the Election. And we must find a way to make things work. We must change the government and this is our only chance.

Those Hillary fans who said that they would vote for McCain must realize that that would be a case of cutting your nose to spite your face.

The polls are already showing a change.

And as Obama said, once the people realize where each candidate stands on the issues, the democrats will win.

The big question: Will it ever devolve to that point? Will the republicans and others be able to get over the fact that Obama didn't wear a flag pin, that he had a wayward preacher, that his wife said something they interpreted as unAmerican, or that Obama himself has a funny name and may not even be Christian? Whatever that means.

More often than not, those are the real hurdles; otherwise, democrats would have never left office.

After eight years of the Bush cabal, I think most of us need some kind of healing and/or therapy.

The hope is that we will come together and sweep this cancer on the body politic off the screen so that we may return to all that America has stood for these last two hundred years.

I know that I for one do not take this election for granted and realize that we will have to work to overcome all of the obstacles that lie ahead.

In spite of all of what we face, we certainly live in remarkable times and I am hopeful that Obama will live up to his promise and that we will enjoy transformative times and see the restoration of hope in our lifetime.

Les Aaron.