Were Hillary Clinton to make a timely departure from the Democratic race — say after a Pennsylvania win and in a posture of duty to party and country above self —many would rejoice.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright might even call it a miracle.
But Barack Obama would not be among the delighted throngs, because as Clinton goes deeper and deeper into the political heart of darkness, he can continue to elicit sympathy and support from the millions of Americans turned off by his opponent’s phony common touch and long, splotchy history in public life.
Obama wasn’t kidding when he said Clinton was doing him a favor by taking ostentatious umbrage for his suggestion that bitter hillbillies cling to their deer rifles and Bibles. The more she scolds him for saying something she almost certainly agrees with, the sillier the issue looks and the better inoculated Obama is when the Republicans take it up.
Meanwhile, those who hope that Hillary Clinton discovers the better part of valor sometime before Independence Day have varied interests but are united by the common desire to see her finally admit defeat.
Some of the most interested parties are:
1. Bill Clinton: Even though he would certainly relish the chance to return to “Big He” status, even somewhat diminished as a kind of Ozark prince consort, the former president must be praying daily that his wife will relent.
If she leaves soon, Bill can claim, semiplausibly, that it wasn’t his fault. As he goes salmon fishing in Abelour with Ron Burkle and the boys, Bill would still be able to say his wife didn’t listen soon enough and then quit too soon.
Having diminished her chances with his role as her “rural hit man,” Bill dare not advise her to drop out. He is, after all, still holding on to the argument that he always knew the only way to win was to win ugly. But if she reaches the decision to retreat herself, that would be just fine.
2. John McCain: The deflating of Obama’s hope balloon has begun, but there’s a lot of excited gas in there to be let out. When Clinton squawks about Obama being out of touch with regular Americans, she comes off as a $109 million faker.
Plus, Clinton can’t make policy points on Obama because their views on social issues are identical. Her argument, astonishingly, amounts to her being better at pandering to voters who she will later betray.
Most importantly, the longer Clinton remains viable, the more impressive Obama’s victory will seem. If she quits the race and lets the Obama coronation begin now, voters will tire of him sooner than if he is vindicated in Denver.
3. Howard Dean: His worry is most about the Clintons surviving all of these depredations and swiping the election in a cloud of racial disharmony from the party’s most promising prospect since the wreck of PT 109.
If Clinton succeeds in damaging brand-Obama enough to get the remaining superdelegates to throw the election her way, the Democratic Party would be making a public admission that its leaders believe American voters are too bigoted to elect a black man.
That will not only disgust black voters, but also suburbanites eager to tell their black friends from college that they voted for Obama. Without enthusiastic support from those groups, the Democrats might as well be the Whigs.
4. Rep. Jim Clyburn: Many black voters would now savor the chance to finally throttle a candidacy that many see as imbued with theworst kind of paternalistic racism. But Clyburn, South Carolina’s dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, and most black Democrats would surely rather have the moment finally come when the party bows to the reality that it has subsisted on near-monolithic black support for 75 years.
5. Jane Fonda: Women whose views of the world are animated primarily by gender are reliable Democratic voters and will continue to be this fall no matter who wins the party’s nomination.
But outside of a claque of bitter-enders, most would probably be relieved to be absolved of sisterly obligations and freely cast their votes for Obama.
Although more modern feminists recognize that Clinton is more Evita Peron than Margaret Thatcher and scoff appropriately, those in Clinton’s own generation would probably like to be let off the hook.
Chris Stirewalt is the political editor of The Washington Examiner.He can be reached at cstirewalt@dcexaminer
