Now comes news that George McGovern has called for Hillary Clinton to withdraw from the Democrat’s primary race. Pardon me for my raised eyebrow but how much of a fool would someone have to be to take campaign advice from the man who got slaughtered by Richard Nixon? Losing an election by a landslide really shouldn’t qualify someone to dispense political advice unless it’s how to deliver a concession speech without looking bitter.
The facts, as they present, make it abundantly clear to anyone not blinded by political emotionalism, anyone not hoodwinked by the bumper-sticker gotcha games of this election cycle, that the Democrat’s primary race is simply too close to call. Those backing Barack Obama, who insist that Hillary Clinton can’t win, are factually in error. With the existence of “superdelegates” and two disenfranchised state electorates the wildcards are in place. In fact, there are several scenarios that could play out that would see Hillary Clinton as the Democrats’ nominee. Whether any of them will play out remains to be seen but stranger things have happened.
The larger point here is this. To insist that a candidate – any candidate from any party – remove themselves from political contention when the contest is too close to decidedly understand the winner, when neither candidate can amass an insurmountable number of committed elected delegates, is to usurp the election process. Unless the Democrats want to go down in the history books as having been a dictatorially elitist political regime in the 2008 election cycle they must allow the convention and the convention process play out, a scenario that the DNC leadership is scurrying to avoid at all costs.
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Frank Salvato also serves as the managing editor for The New Media Journal. His writing has been recognized by the US House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention.
