What does Hillary want?

Page 1 (Doug Wilder's campaign):
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/05/08/deal/


http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/05/08/deal/index1.html


What does Hillary want?
What would it take for Clinton to concede defeat? An insider remembers -- and draws lessons from -- the backroom deals that ended another brutal, racially charged Democratic slugfest.

By Dan Conley

snip//

So if she does concede defeat, the question "What does Hillary want?" should have some fairly obvious answers.

Debt Relief. Here's an irony: Hillary can keep lending money to her campaign, at least in the short term, without much risk because it's very likely that Obama will agree to pay it in exchange for peace. There are limits to Obama's generosity, of course. Money used for negative attacks from here on out would put her debt repayment at risk. So too would any funds to stretch the campaign beyond the primary end date. And as for Mark Penn's debts? Take a lesson from Wilder: Your staff should consider your good company compensation enough.

A Major Platform Win. Namely, healthcare. Hillary needs to be able to make the case that her campaign had a substantive impact on the race. The best way to do that is to get to write the party's healthcare plank in the platform. If Obama folds on the mandate issue, Hillary walks away with a policy win. Plus, this would please John and Elizabeth Edwards. Choosing Elizabeth to write the healthcare plank of the platform could appease both camps.

VP Right of First Refusal. Here the Clintons have the power to tie Obama's hands. Harold Ford on MSBNC Tuesday made a strong case that Clinton and Obama together should hammer out a team, whether it ends up Obama-Clinton or not. In 1960, John F. Kennedy felt obliged to offer the vice presidential slot to Lyndon Johnson and was stunned when he accepted. Negotiations will probably force Obama into a similar situation. In the end, Hillary Clinton may not want the vice president's job ... but she would be wise to negotiate some form of veto power over Obama's choice. That way she can tactfully say no to another woman making it onto the ticket to steal her spotlight. She could ensure that none of the potential 2012 candidates get positioned for a run in case Obama should fail in November. And she can get in one last twist of the knife on Bill Richardson. NBC's Lawrence O'Donnell's speculated last month that Wesley Clark could be the compromise choice. That theory looks plausible. Clinton loyalists like Evan Bayh and Ted Strickland could be acceptable choices too. If the VP choice is a Hillary loyalist who validates her claim that Obama needs help with blue-collar voters, she will have done what Wilder did with the Chuck Robb-Bill Clinton-Mark Warner "unity" photo -- maintain a grip on the future of the party.

Without question, Barack Obama is entering a very uncomfortable stage of his campaign. Comparisons to Mike Dukakis in 1988 are inevitable -- and if the negotiations drag out, there will be questions about who is really in charge. The sooner he gets it over with, the better for him.

And if he needs a confidence boost that everything will turn out right, he can just ask Doug Wilder. After his endorsement, Wilder hit the campaign trail for Chuck Robb, cut radio advertisements, and did everything else possible to get out his supporters to vote for the incumbent senator. He repaired the damage not in five months, but five weeks. In 1994 -- one of the worst years for Democrats in the 20th century -- the supposedly divided and hopeless Virginia Democratic Party pulled off the most surprising win of the year. Wilder announced he was leaving the race in September, and his photo-op reconciliation with Chuck Robb took place Oct. 21. Less than three weeks later, Robb beat Ollie North by 3 points, largely because of a strong turnout from black voters.

So stay calm. This is what Democrats do ... from bitter fights often come the most surprising and useful political alliances. But first, everyone has to talk.

It used to be a Democratic principle. Not any more.

proof how much she wants to 'share'.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=108&topic_id=130645&mesg_id=130645

Clinton Rejects Latest Michigan Delegate Compromise

By Marie Horrigan, CQ Staff

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday rejected a compromise plan to seat Michigan’s delegates to the national convention that would give 69 delegates to Clinton and 59 to Barack Obama .

“This proposal does not honor the 600,000 votes that were cast in Michigan’s January primary. Those votes must be counted,” Clinton spokesman Isaac Baker said.

The Michigan Democratic Party had approved the plan and intended to submit it to the Democratic National Committee meeting on May 31. Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer said in a statement that the plan was a “good step toward a solution that unites Democrats and ensures that our state will not face a McCain presidency.”

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) had stripped Michigan of its delegation to the Democratic National Convention because the state party scheduled its Jan. 15 primary in violation of national party rules. Several plans have been proposed to find a way to seat Michigan’s delegation.

more...

because she was the winner. If Obama or any of the other candidates at the time had won those states, Hillary would not be so concerned. It's all about HER, HER, HER, as it's always been.

He has resisted any attempts at compromise in Michigan or Florida. It is all about HIM, HIM, HIM, as it's always been.

And it was Hillary that was in the position that Obama is in now, with a majority of delegates, popular votes, etc., do you really think that she would be saying "count" all the votes from Michigan and Florida? I don't.

She got herself in this mess, and it is not up to Obama to bail her out. Let her be honest with her supporters and tell then the truth, that she can't win, and she is only trying to get enough money to pay off the loan she made to herself! What she should do is stop spending more money, and pay off the people she already owes, starting with the schools, and small business's that she owes, and then if she still has any money pay off Penn and herself! Let her supporters decide if they want to donate so she can get out of debt, but at least be honest and stop wasting more money!

would take a dim view of their money going to Clinton instead.

It was today in the news. Obama has repeatedly said he does not mind.

No matter the cost. I don't envy the super delegates having to tell her it's not going to happen. I hope she doesn't pull a Lieberman...At this point I see a lot of Joe Lieberman in her. I hope I am wrong.

she isn't as far down the road, but , at the moment, she seems on that same road

But I see her refusing to accept the reality that Democrats prefer someone else. Joe won with right-wing money, but I am not sure the repubs can fund two presidential candidates at this point.

I really wish the Clintons had been satisfied with their role of party elders. I always respected the Clintons and felt Bill's presidency had been successful. If not for the nepotism shown by the disaster of the Bush 2 presidency, I probably would have been willing to vote for her. There is no way I can bring myself to vote for another #2 for president.

I hope she accepts what has happened and realizes it had more to do with Bush 2 than her. I hope she continues her job as senator and is able to get back her mojo as a party elder. Right now I think both Clintons are in danger of losing their legacy in the Democratic party.

You can tell by picture that I wasn't on the Obama bandwagon originally.