Beginning of the end for Hillary

I’m writing this after a long, glorious night of watching Sen. Barak Obama put the hurt on the formerly “inevitable” candidacy of Sen. Hillary Clinton. No amount of spin from the Clinton camp can obscure the fact that Barak Obama is on his way and Hillary could well be on her way out of the presidential sweepstakes. Adding insult to injury, Hillary came in third and behind the odious, class warfare candidate John Edwards. His ego will keep him in the race for a while but he’s sayonara. This is now a two person race for Democrats. It’s also likely that when Edwards drops out, the majority of his folks will break for Obama.
Obama comes out of Iowa having proven a number of things. Obviously he showed he could beat the Clintons and their slime machine. While the Clintons and their surrogates were attacking Obama for everything from a kindergarten essay to alleged cocaine dealing, the Senator from Illinois floated above the fray making Clinton look desperate and himself presidential.
Obama also put to rest any qualms about America being ready to vote for a person of color for president. As one commentator noted, the only place on earth whiter than Iowa is the North Pole. For blacks Obama’s win is more than symbolic. Blacks now know white Americans will elect an African-American and are now more likely to get behind Obama. That doesn’t bode well for Hillary or her “first black president” husband.
There’s also the generational thing happening. Obama not only swamped Clinton with younger voters, he brought their passion and idealism to the electoral process. Clinton’s supporters tended to be the social security set and so-called “women with needs.” I kept waiting for Betty White and Bea Arthur to become Hillary’s Chuck Norris.
As I watched Obama’s victory speech, I felt like it was 1960 again with a young, exciting Senator John F. Kennedy challenging the old guard and igniting the hopes and dreams of a new generation. There’s a feeling out there that the baby boomers have had their chances and it’s time we handed the baton to someone with fresh legs. Obama fits that bill.
For Sen. Clinton, all is not lost. She still has lots of money and support but neither will be there long if she continues to lose. The biggest hurdle she faces after Iowa is changing anybody’s mind. I’m willing to bet Hillary would have gotten 29% of the Iowa vote if she had never set foot in the state. She is a well known brand and no amount of salesmanship is ever going to change the anti-Hillary vote. Remember, 47% of the electorate have said from day one they would never vote for Hillary Clinton.
Similarly, no amount of campaign appearances by Bill Clinton will change a single vote. It’s not like anyone’s going to say “Wow, I didn’t know she was married to Bill Clinton. I think I’ll vote for her.” Her numbers are baked in at this point. Now the Clinton’s are notorious for playing dirty pool when threatened but barring the proverbial getting caught with a live boy or a dead girl, nothing will stick to Sen. Obama.
At this point, the nomination might well be Obama’s to lose. He has the momentum and the star power to pull it off and I really believe America is ready to turn the page on the Clintons. And if I’m right, I can tear up that plane ticket to France.