Tuesday, February 12, 2008


The Titanic Hits Another Iceberg


Did they really think they were inevitable? Or was it just something they said, to keep the donors and the wobblers in line? There has always been, on the unhappy side of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s character, the hard edge of entitlement. This belongs to me. Somewhere along the line, this was internalized by Sen. Clinton’s remarkably insular inner circle. This belongs to us.

I suspect that they really truly believed that Sen. Clinton’s nomination was inevitable. It wasn’t a ploy or pose. Tonight’s Potomac primary must have been one disenchanting evening. Watching it all come asunder, as Sen. McCain skated along, not breaking a sweat. As Sen. Obama soared, smooth and graceful as a wide receiver running practice routes in pre-game.

Sen. Clinton’s staff, by embracing restoration and insisting upon her inevitability, has left her hanging out there with no rationale. They didn’t think it through. And now they have no idea what to say, other than witless attempts to “reframe” the media babble. Tonight’s offering from Team Clinton can basically be reduced as follows: the voters of Virginia and Maryland don’t matter. It only matters what the voters in Texas and Ohio and Pennsylvania think.

Do you think anyone noticed in Wisconsin? I guarantee you this: Sen. Obama won’t say that the voters in Wisconsin are meaningless. I bet he gives the cheeseheads his biggest smile and says: “I can hardly wait to see you.” They’ll be happy to see him too. Everyone loves a happy warrior.