Hillary Clinton Can Win

A winning streak for Obama. Campaign staff crash. A new round of insults. Superdelegates saying they are "wavering." Poll plunges. It looks bad for Hillary Clinton, but is it?

Ten days ago both candidates were waging a PR war to be perceived as the "underdog". Hillary most definitely won that battle today, as Barack Obama truly pulled ahead of her: he now has an uncontested lead in delegates, albeit a very narrow lead. But, don't think Obama didn't enjoy the underdog status while he had it -- in fact, it may be the cause of his current lead. But now that he is in the lead, can he keep his momentum?

A huge push was required to pass Clinton in the race. Multiple little state wins, huge hype, excellent oratory skills, and a massive fundraising drive got him over the top. But can that level of campaigning be maintained? The Clinton campaign projected these wins for Obama, and took a moment to take a breath. In the last week we've seen more strategy and realignment than campaigning from Clinton. Hillary Clinton is expecting big wins soon in Texas and Ohio that could easily propel her back to the lead.

What is required though? Every day I see a brokered convention coming closer, as each candidate edges closer to a two-way shut out. Obama is leading in pledged delegates, but Clinton is still trouncing him on the superdelegate side. People are saying the superdelegates are "undemocratic," although I doubt that argument will last long enough to change how they are governed. Just try telling one of them that they are not free to vote their conscience.

Endorsements? Doubt it. A major endorsement would be nice for either candidate, but don't hold your breath for one. The two people the media are begging for an opinion from are still closed mouthed: John Edwards and Al Gore. Edwards has already met with Clinton and Gore is holding himself aloof, as he should -- he is one of those greatly coveted superdelegates. But we might see him weigh in before too long -- Gore knows better than anyone what a long, drawn out, hotly contested race can mean. The President That Wasn't still carries a lot of clout in the Democratic party. John Edwards is losing his chance to be a decider in the race, however. The longer he stays mute, and the greater the delegate totals pile up, the less his influence matters.

An interesting "reverse endorsement" comes from the GOP, who are rooting for Obama, in spite of his perceived greater strength against McCain. Why? I'll say it again: Obama cannot carry his current wave of popularity to the General Election. The polls are calling him "more electable" based on comparisons to Hillary Clinton, but if he were to get the nomination, he would be going up against McCain, not Clinton. And McCain is Bush With A Brain.

Make no mistake. John McCain is the real competition. He is also dangerous, and very smart. He is connected at levels of government that Barack Obama doesn't even have a glimpse of, let alone any influence. And, for all of Obama's efforts to keep race out of the race, let's be real: McCain is not going to. He is also not going to leave Obama in the untarnished state he is in now -- pristine and unblemished by mud slinging. Also, McCain is going to pull every stop he can to draw as many Independents, and even some Democrats, to his side. Let's not forget, John Kerry offered him the VP spot in 2004. Once more, make no mistake -- for all the chirping of the DNC right now about how unified the Democratic party will be come November, John McCain can and will get support from that corner. McCain is a war hero who can boast a track record for "liberal sympathies" and he is seen as better than Bush. Here's a question: if Obama is going to get the nomination, why is the McCain camp looking at Condoleeza Rice as the Republican VP? It certainly isn't because they're worried about Obama.

As of this afternoon, the Obama campaign is claiming that Clinton "can't catch up" in the delegate race. How is this possible? One thing Hillary has shown is that she is very capable of coming back. She started in 3rd place out of the gate in Iowa and still held the longest stretch in the campaign yet as the front runner. While her poll numbers have plunged to an all time low right now, don't think for a second that it's over. There's still plenty of room for her to make up. In fairness to Obama, he is sweeping the vote at the moment. His oratory skills and his ability to inspire emotional reactions from people surpass Clinton by far. Regardless of this, there are critical wins coming for Hillary -- they are calling them "must wins" and they are. But, she can do it. Her agreement to debate with Obama, in spite of personal insults to herself and to Chelsea, are good. Her performance in the California debate is what swung the vote in her favor, no doubt. And, even though I personally dislike it when a candidate goes negative in their ads, I would argue it's about time for Hillary, who has held herself back on attacking Obama in the wake of Bill Clinton's over-the-top attacks in January that backfired so badly.

One thing is certain: Barack Obama is not a saint, he has flaws, and his campaign is more based in vision than action -- it's time to call that into light. His response to Clinton's recent criticisms has been to actually produce some specifics about what he will do as president, but if his position is compared line by line to Clinton, she is far more prepared. She has a vision, too and she has been very clear about it, where Obama has hedged every time he has been pressed for specifics.

Lastly, I believe it should be said: How shocking. The man is beating the woman. The reason John Edwards did so poorly was because, in part, how could the Democratic party support a white man when the other two are a woman and a black man? And still, we are seeing it again.

I'll say it again, we need to look at November and the real competition. Regardless of the bickering and infighting inside the GOP right now, McCain is going to wrap it up. House Republicans are already flocking to him in droves, the current Secretary of State is being entertained as his VP, he's a war hero who can brag 25+ years of experience in government, he's already splashing his economic and environmental "liberalism" all over the news, and he's collecting endorsements from every corner. McCain is gaining so fast that even Bush is jumping on the bandwagon, abandoning a 10+ year animosity between the two. Do not be fooled by GOP divisiveness -- they are terrified of the prospect of losing the White House, and they will be at least as unified in November as the Democrats, more at this pace. Barack Obama cannot beat John McCain, no matter what his popularity at the moment indicates. Clinton is taking heat at the moment at the idea that she may use her high-level connections to secure the Democratic nomination -- but that is exactly what John McCain is going to do in order to secure the General Election. A Democrat who can stand up to him has to be picked. So, unless you want to see another 8 years of GOP atrocities, war mongering, attacks on personal liberty, and continual erosion of the United States core values, you should get behind Hillary Clinton, soon and strongly.