LET HER UP EASY

I'm perhaps overfond of quoting and paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln's injunction of how to treat the people in the defeated South: "Let them up easy." I guess I overuse it because it works in so many contexts including the endgame of the battle for the Democratic nomination. Obama had an excellent day Tuesday and looks like the inevitable nominee BUT it's been a closely fought battle and the Obamaites need to let Senator Clinton to exit with her dignity intact. So, no victory laps or spiking the ball.

The signs are that the candidate himself understands the delicacy of the situation. I saw his interview with Brian Williams and his comments about Clinton were complimentary. For her part, she seems to be dialing back the scorched earth rhetoric about Obama. The question now is not *if* she concedes the nomination but when and how. I think it's in Obama's interest for Senator Clinton to stay in the race through the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries. If she were to quit tomorrow, she'd still go on to beat Obama in both states, which would be awkward for him.

The outlines of a deal are presented at Salon.com in an excellent article by Dan Conley. Conley describes delicate exit negotiations in Virginia in 1994 between then Senator Chuck Robb and former Governor Doug Wilder. Wilder and Robb were longtime enemies who were able to bury the hatchet and Robb went on to win in a terrible political climate for Democrats. 2008, of course, should be the best year for Democrats since 1964 or 1974 so Conley's description of the Robb-Wilder dance should show the pessimists that there's light at the end of this particular tunnel. The issue of race was also at the forefront of that intra-party dispute so if everyone will take a deep breath, the nation can be spared a third Bush term in the person of Senator Walnuts.

This year's nomination contest has been a family fight of the highest and nastiest order. When candidates largely agree on the issues, things usually get personal; it's the way of the real world. But family fights can end if the combatants have the will to cut out the petty bullshit. Hillary Clinton is a pragmatst and I somehow doubt that she wants to be remembered as the spoiler who helped defeat the first African-American nominee of her party. Likewise, Barack Obama needs her support and the votes of her supporters in the general election. It's time for them to act like adults and kiss and make up.

Okay, that's all the unsolicited advice I have to offer Obama and Clinton. I'm sure that there will be more in the future; it's what bloggers do, after all.

tags: politics  2008  election  obama  clinton  democrats  

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