SEND TO A FRIEND

|

PRINT ARTICLE

|

Clinton Should Run Positive Campaign to the End

The May 6 primary energized Indiana in ways no one had seen in years. The Democratic presidential contest was the number one topic of conversation among ordinary Hoosiers, young and old, black and white, rich, poor, and middle class. It filled pages of our local newspapers and hours of local talk radio and TV news airtime for weeks.

Thousands of new voters were registered, and Indiana had the highest primary turnout in 20 years--over 39 percent, nearly double the state's norm for presidential primaries. Twenty-two per cent of Hoosier Democrats going to the polls on May 6 were first-time voters. Sixty per cent of them supported Obama, according to exit polls.

The excitement generated by the 2008 race and the fact that, this year, Indiana mattered, spurred many college students to register to vote and even become active in the Obama, Clinton, and also the McCain campaigns. The primary made for great "teaching moments." The seemingly endless Obama anti-NAFTA mailings (and the far more rare Clinton direct mail pieces) provided great fodder for discussion in my International Political Economy class this semester. There was a buzz in my Intro to American Politics course, with students paying close attention to the campaigns and talking politics in the classroom.

Had Hillary Clinton bowed out before getting to Indiana and North Carolina--as some pundits and hand-wringing Democrats had advocated--Hoosiers would have missed out on one of the most exciting moments in our state's recent history, and the democratic process would have been the worse for it.

The blowout by Obama in North Carolina and Clinton's squeaker of a victory in Indiana (where she won by less than 15,000 votes out of a total of more than 1.27 million cast) killed whatever momentum Hillary had after the Pennsylvania victory. Given the small number of electable delegates remaining, the chances of Hillary winning the nomination legitimately are virtually nil. Clinton's only hope is for the superdelegates to ignore the majority of voters who have supported Obama and instead cast their lot with her. But doing so could have devastating consequences for the Democratic Party, as most superdelegates no doubt realize.

The pressure for Hillary to withdraw from the race is increasing by the hour. It's time to get on with the contest against John McCain, the argument goes, and these hard-fought primaries are only weakening the presumptive Democratic nominee.

While this line of reasoning has merit, I suggest an alternative course of action. Hillary should carry on with the campaign until the last primary votes are cast next month, and then bow out gracefully. West Virginia, Kentucky, Montana, South Dakota, Oregon and the other states all deserve to experience the political energy generated by the rallies, media attention, and voter registration drives that Indiana and North Carolina enjoyed.

But Hillary should change her campaign style and strategy if she does stay in. To continue campaigning as if she really has a chance of winning will be counter-productive. Carrying on with her attack ads and her not-so-subtle class and race-based, scorched earth tactics will only undermine her party's chances in November, as well as her own political future.

Hillary, acting magnanimously, should instead turn what's left of the primary calendar into a more easygoing, friendly competition with Obama, perhaps akin to Mike Huckabee's final contests with John McCain. Rather than a bitter, take-no-prisoners struggle, the remaining weeks could even become a traveling road show and party unity tour, one aimed at generating rosters of new voters, convincing "Hillary Democrats" to support Obama, and energizing Democrats, independents, and even some Republicans disillusioned by the Bush years.

This new campaign strategy would require Hillary (and Bill) to accept the inevitability of Obama's nomination. It would also require adequate financing for her to continue, either from donors or the Clintons' own bank accounts. The senator from New York has an opportunity, with a switch in strategy, to enhance her credentials as a major voice in her party and perhaps lay the groundwork for a future presidential campaign. It might even land her a spot on the 2008 ticket.

I write this as a voter who genuinely respects the candidacy of John McCain but also as someone who "crossed over" on May 6 to cast a vote for the Democrat I thought would be best for the country (rather than to help carry out Rush Limbaugh's subversive Operation Chaos). As a political scientist, I would like our two-party system to become more vibrant and maximize the number of voters registered and active in politics. The more people who feel they have a real stake in the system and vote in November (for either party), the better off our country will be.

Senator Clinton has devoted years of her life to the Democratic Party. If she truly places the good of her party above her own personal ambition, then she should stop running as if to win, and work to unify the party behind its likely nominee, Barack Obama.

---

Facebook

|

Email

|

Print

|

---

Related Topics:

Sponsored Links