An Open Letter

[gfish]

Dear Senators Clinton and Obama,

Please end this now. It's been fun, but it's only going to get more ugly, dumb and embarrassing from here on out. The last week has been bad enough, but Pennsylvania is seven weeks away. You can both do immeasurable damage to the party in that time. Time and money spent fighting each other is fundamentally wasted. It doesn't make us stronger, it just makes the divides between us all that much deeper.

It is now obvious that even Pennsylvania probably won't decide the issue if neither of you is willing to back down. We can't afford to wait until August to name the nominee. That simply doesn't work in 2008, not in a campaign that started two years ago. Anyone telling you this would make the Democratic party looking anything other than weak, divided and ridiculous is either incompetent or a dangerous flatterer. The historical precedent is completely irrelevant to perception.

No matter which of you finally carves out an unsatisfactory victory, backed by superdelegates and obscures procedural votes at the convention, half the party is left feeling disenfranchised. No matter who wins, it wastes the enthusiasm we've seen so far. It turns an entire generation of Democratic voters bitter and cynical. This is not just a single election on the line, but potentially the next three or four.

We need a joint ticket. One of you needs to suck it up and be VP. I really don't care which.

Make a hard decision and impress us all. Be leaders.

Cordially,
Fish

Comments

[zaratyst.livejournal.com]

As Jon Stewart would say "Stop hurting America". I didn't used to mind which, but this crap in the last couple of weeks has made me like Obama more, and Clinton a whole lot less.

[niac.livejournal.com]

At this point, I agree w/ you 100%

[eleventoes.livejournal.com]

"It turns an entire generation of Democratic voters bitter and cynical."

Zod, I can only hope. The shame is that the ascendancy of John "enemy of humankind" McCain isn't doing the same for the red staters.

I keep hoping for the future time when the government has an election and nobody shows up.

[maida-mac.livejournal.com]

A-freaking-men.

[neuro42.livejournal.com]

You don't think it's be better to pick someone who's, say, concievably electable as VP? At least then people can pray for an assassination attempt.

[bakeme.livejournal.com]

WORD.

[novalis.livejournal.com]

Months of news coverage focussed on the messages of the two Democratic candidates just doesn't seem that bad to me.

[tfabris.livejournal.com]

Hey. You hush. Go watch your hockey games and obey your mounties and play with your loonies and toonies, and worry about your own Prime Ministers and Houses of Commonses. We'll be appallingly apathetic about our own presidential tickets, thank you very much.

Aboot.

[spiritdancer]

Hear! Hear!

[ashley-y.livejournal.com]

So there are these two prisoners, see...

[ilmarinen.livejournal.com]

Eh, that's all fine and good, but I really have trouble seeing that politically work at this point--Obama has the lead in delegates, and there is a good chance he can carry that to the end. Clinton is unlikely to be willing to be VP, and she's acts like she's doing her best to burn any potential bridges between her and Obama.

Sure, minus the personalities, the politically logical thing would be for Clinton to bow out of the race now and to become Obama's VP running mate--don't see it happening given the personalities though. Last I time I heard them answer the question, Clinton categorical refused to consider Obama as a running mate, while Obama politely hedged.

Strategically, I don't think Clinton is electable in the general election. I also don't think having her as VP is going to make Obama more electable. I don't have a problem with Clinton continuing the primary races, she theoretically *could* overtake Obama, if unlikely, but she needs to clean-up her tactics or you are right, it will damage the general election prospects for whatever the final democratic ticket is. It would have been nice if yesterday's elections had finally cinched Obama's lead, and Clinton would have had an appropriate cue to bow out.

Obama is young, and doesn't have a lot of experience I don't really think that matters much myself. However, I think it matters to the political insiders in the Democratic party, who perhaps feel he hasn't paid his dues. It could also weaken him in the General Election. If the Dems were strategic about it all, they'd have maneuvered Obama to be paired with a more senior politician. But frankly, even if they'd arranged it ahead of time, I don't think Clinton would have been the right one. The Republicans want Clinton to get the nomination because they are confident they can beat her.

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

1) You're absolutely right.
2) I wouldn't bet a nickel on their doing the right thing. They've worked too hard for all the marbles to stop now.

My preference for Veep? Hilary.

[tmfkan64.livejournal.com]

President McCain. Hell, I've seen worse. At least he thinks torture is a bad thing, for the most part.

I have to agree though... this is *not* looking good. I know that I'm half-ready to sit this one out if there isn't an ending that agrees with the primary/caucus results.

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

So send it already.

[caroltlp.livejournal.com]

What finally convinced me to vote for Clinton was an Obama supporter saying that Clinton could ask Obama to be her VP, which would unite the party, but that Obama wouldn't dare, because people would thing that her husband would REALLY be running the show. So, a vote for Clinton is a vote for party unification and a vote for Obama is a vote for party disintegration.

Yes, the primaries are too spread out. Heard today that a couple of states are considering re-doing their primaries. I'm not sure if that has ever been done before.