Harold Ickes Catches Clinton-itis: Changes His Tune…

Harold Ickes (former Deputy White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton) had this to say at the end of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting today, after the decision was made to seat all of Florida and Michigan’s delegates but allow them only a half vote each: “I am stunned that we have the gall and the chutzpah to substitute our judgment for 600,000 voters.”

Interesting words from Mr. Ickes, particularly given he voted in favour of stripping both Michigan and Florida of all their delegates back in August 2007. In fact, Mr. Ickes voted in favour of going beyond the 50% delegate penalty specified in the party’s rules. Of course, that was before Hillary Clinton (who, not coincidentally, Mr. Ickes supports as the Presidential nominee) desperately needed the delegates from both Florida and Michigan. Back in August, Mrs. Clinton was widely assumed to be the eventual Democratic nominee.

Mrs. Clinton, for her part, signed the Four State Pledge Letter in late August. Here’s a copy:

Four State Pledge Letter 2008
Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina
August 31, 2007

WHEREAS, Over a year ago, the Democratic National Committee established a
2008 nominating calendar;
WHEREAS, this calendar honors the racial, ethnic, economic and geographic
diversity of our party and our country;
WHEREAS, the DNC also honored the traditional role of retail politics early in the
nominating process, to insure that money alone will not determine our
presidential nominee;
WHEREAS, it is the desire of Presidential campaigns, the DNC, the states and
the American people to bring finality, predictability and common sense to the
nominating calendar.
THEREFORE, I _______________, Democratic Candidate for President, pledge
I shall not campaign or participate in any state which schedules a presidential
election primary or caucus before Feb. 5, 2008, except for the states of Iowa,
Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina, as “campaigning” is defined by
rules and regulations of the DNC.

Mrs. Clinton’s camp released this statement at the time:

“We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process. And we believe the DNC’s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role. Thus, we will be signing the pledge to adhere to the DNC approved nominating calendar.”

In October, Mrs. Clinton had this to say:

“It’s clear, this election [Michigan is] having is not going to count for anything.”

What a difference a few months make…

5,000,000 Reasons Hillary Won’t Quit…

The View from the North

***UPDATE***

Make that 11,400,000 reasons Hillary won’t quit – she’s since “lent” her campaign another $6.4 million…

*****

Behind in delegates to Mr. Obama (by 7.8%: 1724 – 1589), losing the popular vote (by 3.5%: 14.418 vs. 13.917 million), well back in fund-raising (by 18.9%: $240.2 vs. $194.8 million) ¹ ² and deeply in debt, one wonders what good reason Mrs. Hillary Clinton has for remaining in a race which, by virtually every measure, she has no reasonable expectation of winning.

Perhaps it’s not a single reason, but rather five million reasons Mrs. Clinton won’t pull the plug on her seemingly ill-fated campaign to be the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States.

In late January, Mrs. Clinton personally loaned her campaign $5 million. As of April 1, 2008, the Hillary Clinton for President committee was $10 million in debt (not counting the $5 million personal loan)³, and that was before some very heavy spending in the run up to the Pennsylvania primary. You can see a list of creditors here. Mrs. Clinton’s only hope of seeing any of the $5 million of her personal fortune she lent herself is not only to keep the money flowing into her campaign coffers, but to accelerate the pace at which it’s flowing. Hence her direct appeal for cash in the early lines of her victory speech following her triumph in Pennsylvania Tuesday night.

That speech seems to have, if not solved her dilemma, at least significantly eased it: in the twenty-four hours following the plea for money, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign claims it raised a record $10 million 4. That ought to at least pay some of the growing list of creditors (including UC Davis, which is owed $6,350 from an event back in January (the campus is contemplating sending the debt to a collection agency 5), and $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign workers 6) and may even give the New York Senator a chance of recovering her investment in her ambitions.

Various Democrats have been publicly pleading for Mrs. Clinton to end her campaign. One proposal which may have a realistic chance of meeting success would perhaps be an offer from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean that would see the DNC pick up any debts of Mrs. Clinton’s failed campaign (including her $5 million loan) if she drops out of the race by a fixed date (the sooner, the better, as far as the Democrats’ aspirations for the White House are concerned). No such proposal appears to have been put forward yet, however such a proposal might, at last, put an end to an increasingly bitter race for the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States, which lately seems to be benefiting one candidate exclusively: Senator John McCain.

Is Bosnia Hillary’s “Swiftboat”?

The View from the North

On occasion, the battle to become the President of the United States features a negative characterization of one of the candidates that just won’t go away, and which sticks with people well after the new President has been sworn in.

In the 1980 Presidential election, it was Reagan’s line in an October debate: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”. Carter, with an approval rating in the twenties, nonetheless was in a neck-and-neck race with Reagan until that point. The comment solidified perception of Carter as a weak and faltering president, a perception popular to this day. Reagan won in a landslide a few weeks later. (Close second? Reagan: “A recession is when your neighbour loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. A recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job”.).

Hillary Clinton = The Joker?

Judge for yourself:

Is Hillary Clinton a Sociopath? We Go Through the Checklist…

The View from the North

Is Hillary Clinton a sociopath (current term: Antisocial Personality Disorder)? We parsed the checklist (courtesy of Wikipedia) and added our comments…

Three or more of the following are required: