REALITY CHECK: Hillary has no reason to bow out this week

Full disclosure: I'm an Obama supporter, who has had some problems with HRC over time, but on the whole I think I'd be perfectly happy voting for her in the general.

I thought I'd never, ever, ever write a candidate diary, I hate them. This is as close to a candidate diary as I plan to get. I'd rather have several teeth pulled than read most of what's written about the candidates here.

More beneath the fold...

Just my views.

I'm not impressed with the Clinton campaign, especially it's reported shortsightedness regarding her waltzing to the nomination after Super Tuesday. It has been reported that Bill Clinton allegedly called it right: she'd have huge problems in the primary, though he believed she'd do much better in the general. And I have no problems envisioning her doing well in the general. in a head to head, I think she can eat 10 McCains for breakfast and still have room for a stack of pancakes. Hillary's strengths are her grasp of the issues and, let's face it, her White House experience. One thing she said, ridiculed by Obama supporters later, was the history of regimes abroad testing new presidents. The Soviets always tried to pull something. She knows whereof she speaks in this regard.

It seems to me that the machine politics of her campaign work fine in state and local races, but any presidential election is different by orders of magnitude. Nevermind the issues, it touches me, at least, as an American (more of which later) which is a much more amorphorous, ill-defined, yet powerful and real force in my decision making in this primary. (I don't imagine that I'm much different than the majority of voters. I'm aware of it, and try not to let it lead me around by the nose. Obama has successfully tapped into this.)

The Obama campaign remains invisible to me. Not too many process stories; the real theme in the reporting about Obama is about his charisma (though I still see his delivery as frequently awkward). I have to admit, Obama has surprised me favorably several times. The first time being his victory speech after Iowa. Wow.

Here are my thoughts on the current situation:

• The primaries tomorrow won't change the real race much at all: the one for delegates.
• Both candidates are worthy of our support.
• Both candidates would very likely, given the same circumstances, be about as effective as president and commander-in-chief.
• The issues either candidate faces are hugely complex. In a surprising civil discussion of trade which amazingly enough took place here on dKos, little but questions were raised. It seems to me that the nation is served best by a full, frank, and civil dicussion of the issues. And so far, I'm with Obama on this, which means Republicans will come to the table.
• Democratic voters seem to be evenly split and unable to choose a candidate.

As far as all this goes so far, we win with either candidate. Going forward, I think Hillary can lead just as well as Obama, just in a different manner.

My support for Obama stems from what I see as his downticket effect. If I had to have either Barack or Hillary stumping for me in my district, it's no contest, I'm calling Obama's agent and booking him for rallies. To quote Chris Dodd (whom I'm inordinately proud of), "In my view," it's the Congressional races that are going to make the real difference. and I can heartily recommend plf515's diary on the congressional district races.

Machine politics work ok in local elections, but the "presidential effect" demands more. We've such a rich, inspiring history. These days, I've a mental non-partisan PSA which runs something like this:

:: A Cambodian immigrant enters his polling place...

VOICEOVER: "Before coming to the United States from Cambodia, this man hid in some bushes as he watched his boyhood friends slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge. Now, he's an American citizen. And he's voting for President of the United States."

:: A single mother, baby in her arms, stops to help an elderly woman up the courthouse stairs to vote...

VOICEOVER: "She works fulltime. She's also a university student trying to better herself. Nobody is taking care of her while she struggles to take care of her child."

:: Aerial camera zooms out to show the extreme length of the line of people waiting to get into their polling place...

VOICEOVER: "200 years ago, the dream of a proud, free people determining their own destiny was born in America. The dream lives. This year, more than 100 million Americans will pledge their support for their candidate for President of the United States. Join us. And give us your best."

BTW, those 2 people I mention are real, and their (highly abridged) stories are real. I worked with that Cambodian man, who came into work over-the-top-excited as he passed around his certificate of naturalization and couldn't wait to vote. I've also tutored several single, working moms trying to get through college and their daily lives are nothing but struggle.

Life is all too real and often it isn't pretty. Especially if you're black or a single mom.

I'm an white, male, atheist, liberal, Massachusetts Democrat. And proud of it! If I've any religion, it's in democracy, and it's highest sacrament is the Presidential election; the only time everyone comes together to express our hopes, our anger, and our wisdom (such as that is). I fully understand the enthusiasms of Obama supporters on dKos, as well as the hurt done here to Clinton supporters. We all care, and I believe everyone's intentions here are honorable, if sometimes expressed badly.

So here we are, with so many calling for Hillary to bow out of the race if she can't whup Obama tomorrow. Yet the polls are tight and his lead is slim. Reality as I see it is that Americans are unable to choose one over the other, and I don't see the overall vote counts or delegate race changing substantially after tomorrow. A brokered convention? Oh well, it seems the electorate is split and needs the choice made for them and I can live with that if I have to. For the past 2 weeks, Obama has had the momentum, but this can change in a heartbeat. As I see it, the best case scenario is for her to stay in, and both candidates run a clean, optimistic, issues-based campaign. I think we all win this way.

In my mind, it's almost as if the candidate who first stops trying to win just might wind up taking the whole thing.

UPDATE: The comments have gotten a little heated, that's ok, but we're all (I hope) in this together. Please, I beg you all, try and remember this.

UPDATE 2: Bill Richardson:

we need a clean campaign after Tuesday

I couldn't agree more.

UPDATE 3: It seems this Canadian thing reveals a weakness in the Obama campaign. Now it's not so invisible as it once was. I hope Obama and his campaign learn something from this.