The Iron Law
Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal pronounces Hillary Clinton's campaign over. Primarily the defeat can be blamed on two things: what Henninger calls the "iron law of Democratic primary politics" and filthy lucre. What is the "iron law", you ask? Simple:
No centrist can secure the party's nomination in a primary system dominated by left-liberal activists. The iron law produces candidacies such as McGovern (1972), Mondale ('84), Dukakis ('88), Gore ('00) or Kerry ('04), who pay so many left-liberal obeisances to win in the primaries that they cannot attract sufficient moderates at the margins to win the general election.
But what is the other big reason, then? Why it is money. Cold hard cash and lots of it.
Money. Barack Obama's mystical pull on people is nice, but nice in modern politics comes after money. Once Barack proved conclusively that he could raise big-time cash, the Clintons' strongest tie to their machine began to unravel. Today he's got $42 million banked. She's got a few million north of nothing.
That is why Hillary will never sit in the big chair in the Oval Office. More so than even the iron law. But said law may well be enough to end the chances of Barack Obama ever sitting in that chair, either. Despite the money, he has run well left of where the majority of the country is comfortable. The protracted fight with Clinton has made him stay far to the left even as he should have been trying more for the center as people begin paying attention to the elections.
By Rich Horton, Friday, 25 April , 2008 @ 8:27 am
It’s amazing to see that the Demcorats have devised a system that actively works against centrist candidates. Its mind bogglingly stupid.
By Mockinbird, Friday, 25 April , 2008 @ 2:33 pm
Hillary. Gator pond. Check.
By martian, Saturday, 26 April , 2008 @ 12:09 pm
"The protracted fight with Clinton has made him stay far to the left even as he should have been trying more for the center"
For the Obamessiah the problem is that it’s very difficult to try for something you don’t understand. I truly don’t think he knows where the center is. He has spent his entire political life (maybe his whole life in general) so far to the left that anything else is anathema to him. He may not be capable of moving toward the center.