June 4, 2008

"He thought a little thing like winning would stop her?"

"Oh, Bambi."

Maureen Dowd is in fine form this morning — with nearly every line a one-liner.
[E]ven though Democrats were no longer listening, Hillary’s camp radiated the message that Obama was a sucker who had played by the rules on Florida and Michigan, and then reached an appeasing compromise, and that such a weak sister could never handle Putin or I’m-A-Dinner-Jacket.
I’m-A-Dinner-Jacket. Ha ha. I'd never heard that before, but it's been said.

Dowd loathes the idea of Hillary as the running mate:
For months, Hillary has been trying to emasculate Obama with the sort of words and themes she has chosen, stirring up feminist anger by promoting the idea that the men were unfairly taking it away from the women, and covering up her own campaign mistakes with cries of sexism. Even his ability to finally clinch the historic nomination did not stop her in that pursuit. She did not bat her eyelashes at him and proclaim him Rhett Butler instead of Ashley Wilkes.
Hey, strange! I was just looking up "Gone With the Wind" quotes and visualizing Hillary as Scarlett when I wrote in that last post: "If you don't pick her... what will she do? What will she say?" made me think of "Rhett, Rhett... Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?" Only the shall/will awkwardness kept the quote out of my post. What is it about Hillary these days that's so Scarletty.

Back to Dowd:
She just urged her supporters to keep the dream alive, and talked privately about what she would settle for. She has told some Democrats recently that she wanted Obama to agree to allow a roll call vote, like days of yore, so that the delegates of states she won would cast the first ballot for her at the convention. She said she wanted that for her daughter.
Crazy!
Obama supporters are worried that it’s a trick and she’ll somehow snatch away the nomination.
They should worry.
Just as Hillary supporters have hardened toward him, many of Obama’s donors and fans have hardened against the Clintons, saying it would be disillusioning to see them on a ticket that’s supposed to be about fresh politics.

“It would be,” said one influential Democrat, “like finding out there’s no tooth fairy.”
I understand that attitude coming from Obama supporters, but Obama's not the tooth fairy or any sort of superhero and politics are not going to turn into magic. He's bedazzled the voters that are susceptible to bedazzling, but he's going to need a lot more to win. If he picks her, besotted Obamatons will trot along after their guy.

25 comments:

Simon said...

"Obama's not the tooth fairy or any sort of superhero and politics are not going to turn into magic."

The "hope" that he is and they will seems to be the central plank of his campaign.

Meade said...

"What is it about Hillary these days that's so Scarletty."

You mean besides being a self-serving schemer?

I don't know.

Maybe Hillary is about to discover that she can deliver a baby in a city under seige, escape from a burning capital, pick cotton, chase off carpetbaggers, and manage a saw mill.

KCFleming said...

like finding out there’s no tooth fairy

Screw the tooth fairy, there is a Santa Claus, but he merely takes your money and pays someone to spend it for everything Santa ever wanted.

Icepick said...

“It would be,” said one influential Democrat, “like finding out there’s no tooth fairy.”

Please, please tell me that influential Democrats don't believe in the tooth fairy. That's too depressing for words. On the other hand, and reference to the tooth fairy is a good reason for a Christopher Walken link. I just wish I could find a clip with the original video.

John Clemens said...

"If he picks her, besotted Obamatons will trot along after their guy."

Most likely, but it will change Obama from being the candidate that they want to the candidate that now sucks less than the alternatives.

Ron said...

Good gravy if he can't stand the Heat of Hillary, don't enter the kitchen that is the Oval Office!

Beth said...

The sooner they find out there's no tooth fairy, the better. What a stupid thing to say. Who puts these people in charge of things?

Titusitsrainingmen said...

"Whoever said that after denial comes acceptance hadn’t met the Clintons".

A great line. She can write.

former law student said...

If Obama picks Hillary, all fears that he's an appeaser will be justified, and I will cheerfully vote for McCain instead.

From Inwood said...

Gee, does Chris Matthews have the answer?

Vinnie said...

No, I'm afraid, I will not vote for Obama if he puts Hillary on the ticket. I think John McCain would be fine, though I prefer Obama. No president is everything one wishes for. But I think the Clinton's are pretty close to being sociopaths, and It's so beyond time for them to be gone.

Vinnie said...

No, I'm afraid, I will not vote for Obama if he puts Hillary on the ticket. I think John McCain would be fine, though I prefer Obama. No president is everything one wishes for. But I think the Clinton's are pretty close to being sociopaths, and It's so beyond time for them to be gone.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

They 'should' go to a floor vote. Not only would it be entertaining (buying Orville Redenbacher in anticipation) there are probably some delegates who were assigned to Obama in the early primaries that might have buyer's remorse at this time. She might just pull it off.

Simon said...

lavinia said...
"I prefer Obama. No president is everything one wishes for. But I think the Clinton's are pretty close to being sociopaths...."

And Michelle Obama isn't? She who thinks and admits in public that Americans are "uninvolved, uninformed" people with broken souls that are in need of fixing by her husband? People who want to fix you are often sincere and usually utterly deluded. People who want the government to fix you are dangerous people to put near the levers of power.

Unknown said...

"I’m-A-Dinner-Jacket." Good one. I also like A-Jad.

Now that Hillary is, for rhetorical purposes, been designated a Republican, I'm enjoying Dowd again.

Obama is the tooth fairy. The American people will have to decide if that's enough.

a psychiatrist who learned from veterans said...

Frankly, my dear, I do give a damn! I think that triumvirate, adding Michelle would give it kind of a Chipmunks, and they do go with the tooth fairy, leitmoitf, would be best for the country, the candidacy of McCain-Bloomberg excepted. In my view, Obama most successful period was as Harvard Law Review editor and this would mimic it.

Joe said...

Let's go to the obvious; Hillary is banking on Obama imploding before the convention. The fact is that the media largely gave Obama a pass and if they turn on him, as they are want to do, he's toast.

Sprezzatura said...

This comment seems not to be supported by reality:

"He's bedazzled the voters that are susceptible to bedazzling"

Part of my objection could be that I've previously opposed the label of Kool-Aid cult member. So, this new bedazzled version seems familiarly wrong, and stale too.

This bedazzled analysis misses the fact that polling indicates that BHO does better than his competition with the so called higher education folks who have the time and inclination to learn details about the candidates' records. In fact these folks (on average) have the luxury of more information and less reliance on so called bedazzlement.

This bedazzled analysis seems to rely on the silliness of wingnuts who pin down low information BHO supporters by asking them to name specific accomplishments. Of course any similar efforts aimed at low information HRC voters will often result in regurgitated slogans (doer, solutionser, resultser, experienceder, fighter) with no actual examples of her own legislative or leadership success. Likewise, McCain's low information voters aren't likely to point to specific legislative or leadership accomplishments relevant to managing the US government.

In other words, all candidates have large numbers of supporters guided by their feelings and gut rather than political calculus. It's an error to unquestioningly let wingnuts identify this as a phenomenon unique to BHO.

If anything, BHO is disadvantaged by anti-bedazzlement, i.e. a visceral unease with that which is different and unfamiliar. His challenge is to communicate the true story of his life and accomplishments in order to combat the fear mongering and false narrative promoted by Hannity et. al..

In short; more bedazzlement, not less.

Titusastarisborn said...

She's great when she goes on on Democrats.

When she goes off on republicans and George Bush we hate her and don't need to highlight anything she ever says.

Anonymous said...

I'm a dinner jacket is weak.

The correct term would be "Armani Dinner Jacket."

vbspurs said...

I don't read Dowd that much, so I'm not sure today's prose was typical.

But is she always this...silly?

It's almost as if she sat down to read the top 10 blogs, from Malkin to HuffPo, and composed her Op-Ed.

O'Bambi.

I’m-A-Dinner-Jacket (Ahmadinejad).

I'm surprised she didn't use Hildabeast.

Are you kidding me? There is nothing original in any of her conclusions or thoughts on Hillary-Obama in that piece. It's regurgitated bullet points, which any half-way decent blogger could've written.

Yuck, Dowdy is as Dowdy does.

TJ said...

I agree, Victoria. Her pop-psych profiles of "Rummy" and "Junior" and "Obambi," et al, are pretty weak sauce these days. Even more embarrassing is when she goes on a talking heads show and all she can do is repeat the jokes that pass for analysis that she tells in her columns. Dowd's over.

TJ said...

Oh, and you know who else is over?

Hillary.

vbspurs said...

Trev, there is one thing I've learnt in the past decade-and-a-half in America: never count the Clintons out.

One may dislike them, but they are so very hard to figure out and therefore annihilate. Ditto for the Bushes.

You watch George P. Bush, a half-Mexican Southern guy that he is, run for office in 12 years.

blake said...

1jpb (jelly & peanut butter?) shows his prejudice:

"This bedazzled analysis misses the fact that polling indicates that BHO does better than his competition with the so called higher education folks who have the time and inclination to learn details about the candidates' records."

Rather, it means they've spent more time in the re-education camps that pass for schools and universities. Obama sounds like their teachers and friends from that era.

Likewise, McCain's low information voters aren't likely to point to specific legislative or leadership accomplishments relevant to managing the US government.

Therefore BHO must be the best candidate because the best people vote for him! QED!