Now let's just hope she stays this way as we go to Denver.

This has been Hillary's message since long before the first vote was cast in Iowa.

"The differences among us are minor," she said. "The differences between us and the Republicans are major."

All the talk about 2012, all the tinfoil speculation about how she might run as an independent or be on a ticket with McCain in November or whatever, all it does is turn me off from working to get Obama elected if he's the nominee.  Don't call my candidate a traitor and then expect me to help out your candidate in the name of unity.

I don't have to try to find the info for my diary now.

(grumbles under his breath about getting a diary up earlier but not having info)

If this is the new HRC, then it makes a change.

KUDOS to HRC!!

WE WILL KUMBAYA in JULY!!!

That's very classy of her.

Yes, the differences that divide us are nothing compared to those we have with the Republican Party and its standard bearer.

done.

Good job and well said, Senator Clinton.

I take issue with your prior post .

You make an argument that she was following a kitchen sink strategy , however you provide no evidence of it.

I know the propaganda has been coming from the Obama campaign and obviously aided by the media glitterati who would run the dog out of the barn if Obama says jump.

You obviously have also fallen for the line as well.

If you are going to call out hillary Clinton for a non existent kitchen sink strategy maybe it would be great to call out Obama's camp as well whenever they start using poll tested words like " she doesn't tell the truth " , " she would do anything to win " to attack her viciously .

Only halperine seems to have some snese of reality in these situation.

http://thepage.time.com/halperins-take-i f-obama-has-the-nomination-wrapped-up-wh y-is-his-campaign-going-after-clinton-so -hard/

It's a shame it has to be said, but better to say it then not.

Let's have more of this in this contest, please, on all sides.  At the end of the day, we're all Democrats.

Let's hope that with the violence in Iraq spiking up, people might be reminded of why we have to put a Democrat in the White House.
People should go view the Charlie Rose interview of a Iraqi professor and an Iraqi journalist about what the Americans have done to Iraq.
As one of them puts it, "America is like a virus to Iraq, everything they do is bad for us."

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2 008/03/26/iraq_debate/index.html

good move Senator Clinton.

when she said "I'm honored to be here with Barack Obama", and how highly I thought of her, and how quickly what seems like real anger can be turned around.

People won't forget the times she and Bill praised McCain at the expense of Obama, but still, what is now a negative feeling about her can become a net positive.

This is a welcome change from her. I was beginning to doubt her loyalty to the party, after...

- she said the GOP was the "party of ideas".

• she said that the problems with Washington are that Democrats and Republicans fight too much, not because the Republican platform is as far out as Pluto.
  
• she mentioned appointing Republican senators Hagel and Lugar to the Cabinet.
  
• she praised Ronald Reagan as having brought clarity, dynamism, and entrepreneurship back to our country.
  
• she publicly stated that her voters might not vote for Obama in the general election.
  
• she talked about how the government had grown and grown without accountability during the excesses of the 1960's and 1970's.
  
• her spouse wavered on whether he would vote for Obama in the general election.

I'm glad she's backtracked and is now firmly behind the eventual Democratic nominee.

This is how the campaign goes - so long as BOTH Clinton and Obama continue to make this clear their more hyper-partisan supporters - I actually HOPE Clinton stays in the race until June.

Hell... let's let John McBush take a nap for a few months.   In the meantime, we'll let Obama and Clinton barnstorm the remaining states.

Perhaps we can snag some seats in PA.  Democratic energy is a good thing.

Perhaps we can put the terminally in danger Elizabeth Dole in REAL trouble... at least, move the seat into Leans or Likely from "Safe".

We've got a SUBSTANTIAL pickup opportunity in OR.

We've got some vulnerable freshmen in Indiana - and I STILL think Mitch Daniels is beatable.

The only thing I ask - and yeah, I'm an Obama supporter - is that BOTH candidates just always make clear, at the end of the day:

Either:

CLinton>Obama>>>>McCain
or
Obama>Clinton>>>>McCain

No matter how tough it gets - just ALWAYS make that clear...

Then, hell -- let go all the way to Puerto Rico.  Let's schedule FL and MI votes for July.

We'll campaign all summer and we'll watch our two excellent candidates lead the nightly news, while George "Can I go home yet?" Bush slides into the 20% approval depths, and we spend the summer talking about John McBush.

   I applaud Hillary.  Good.

  Independents are so fickle that I never believe a word they say until election day.  

The gop will do it for you:

"It's bad enough that Barack Obama's church took sick joy in 9/11 for "racist white America" supporting "Zionists." Now we learn it also is a mouthpiece for anti-Israeli terrorists."

http://www.investors.com/editorial/edito rialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=ar ticle&id=291335140632942

Now another step towards party unity would be for Mr. Obama to WORK to earn those that support Hillary, should he get the nomination.

I've taken it very personally when he stated that we Hillary supporters would naturally gravitate to him, meanwhile his supporters, not so much to Hillary if reversed.

That is a damaging statement.  Lead your followers to party unity, should you not get the nomination, sir.

Has never said anything like this about the issue.

If he has I have missed it and now is the time for an Obama supporter to prove me wrong.

But we know that he is too indebted to his support from Independents, people I'm told who are ready to say they were wrong about Bush, but still aren't ready to say they were wrong about Clinton.

Is Obama going to urge them to think about that choice?

God No!

And that's why this is one of the few things that Sen. Clinton and I disagree on.

And another thing.  To anyone saying this is a new HRC.

That's BS.

She made a similiar speech after S. Carolina.

But it got lost because everyone was too busy calling the Clintons racist.

If women as a group deserted the party, their political clout would drop to zero point zero.

and unite the party for what should be a 60 percent landslide this november, and the front page of the NYT should say on the morning of November 5, 2008 "__ swept the country with a whopping 60 percent of the vote and at least 500 electoral votes, with __ still too close to call. John McCain called the ____ campaign to congratulate (him/her) on (his/her) landslide election."

Good to hear.  Thanks for publicizing this Todd.

Contrary to what many of us may like, the primary will not be over for another few months. We can spend this time tearing each other apart, or focusing on the real enemy. Clue: it isn't Obama or Clinton.  

This isn't about them. It is about the future of our country. While their respective campaigns fight, McCain is building a lead. Judging by each of their speeches today, the candidates appear to be starting to get it. Now if their surrogates would do the same, we might actually win in November.

Everyone's on message today.

From CBS News:

Smith: Several people have written that even in the best-case scenario, Hillary Clinton's chances of getting the nomination for the Democratic Party are about 5 percent. When is it time for her to leave?

Obama: Oh, I think that is something that she's gotta make a decision about. And, you know, I have always said that I'm prepared to, you know go and and contest every single state-

Smith: If you are the presumptive candidate here, isn't it time that you say with some severity that we can't go on like this?

Obama: Well, no.

Smith: at the cost of losing the general election?

Obama: I don't think so. I think that what's gonna happen is that as soon as the nominee is determined, whether that is two weeks from now or in early June, that there'll be some bruised feelings. People are going to have to patch things together. And we Democrats have to get our act together and win this election.

He has run the most repugnant excuse of a campaign I've seen in my lifetime.  It smells to hell.

You are going to tell decent people who have been spit at for months to join forces with a pack of dirty tricks?

Kudos.  The right statement.  

I hope Obama gets a similar question and gives a similar answer.

is not on the ticket (top or bottom of the ticket, it does not matter to her) she will not vote in November.

She feels very strongly about having Senator Clinton on the ticket. She is 68 years old and worked 25 years in Department of Treasury. Although she had a Ph.D in economics (one of the first women to have a Ph.D in economics in the nation in 1966) she was always passed over for promotions and for a long time she was paid less than the guys who had only a BA or MBA and less experience then her. Thus, she kind of relates her experience to Senator Clinton's during this campaign. I tried to convince her, but she said "no, not this time. The democrats have to do without the women this time."

I feel that there are several women who have the same feelings as my mother. If the dems lose the gender gap (which kept the dems afloat all this time and allowed them to stay in office), it is going to be problematic for Senator Obama. How big of a problem? No one knows really since there hasn't been any polling done so far on this topic.

No need for Kudos.  Its common sense to support your party.  What so frustrating about the entire blog entry is that we've become use to the sniping by both sides so when someone says something that makes logical sense, it becomes breaking news.  I

Her supporters are going to be heartbroken when she doesn't win just as Edwards' supporters were when he dropped out.  It helps when the candidate says it's okay to feel bad but we have to think of the country and the party first.

Well not everyone's on message.

From MSNBC:
And, in a move that's becoming more and more common, [Bill Clinton] favorably aligned his wife with the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

"We now have a bipartisan majority in the U.S. Senate, bipartisan, to do something about global warming and do more buildings like this," Clinton said, "because she and John McCain took reluctant Republicans all over the world and showed them how the planet was changing. She will work with anybody, go anywhere, do anything to move America forward."

Can a Clinton supporter explain to me what's with the constant praising of McCain. I honestly do not get the strategy.

(Please don't reply by impugning the source unless you have good reason to believe the quote was made up).

of McCain and other republican being president I will vote for the democratic nomineee.  But as someone who still believes Hillary is the better choice, Obama will get my vote but not my money or energy for his campaign.  That's how I feel right now, it could change but convincing is necessary.  But why should you Obama supporters care as you lots of money to donate, time to campaign and a guarantee of my vote.

Thinman the fact that McCain holds a few views that are favorable by Dems is not the end of the world.  Clinton know Hillary can beat McCain so it works to her favor to bring him up.  This doesn't mean he's SLAMMING OBAMA.

Too little, too late... like everything that has been associated with the Clinton campaign.

"Please think through this decision," Clinton said, laughing and emphasizing the word "please."

Is Clinton really begging?

There is nothing that she can do to make Obama supporters happy, other than a concession. Even if she conceded they would find a way to insult her and demean her.

Nothing she can say that is seen as sincere. Nothing.

You Obama people are like the right-wingers that you used to criticize. You are the new Kool-Aid drinkers. The cult of personality.

Your Hillary hatred is disgusting to me. It demeans you candidate. It is sickening.

It looks like a recognition of the media narrative being formed and an attempt to head it off; Hillary knows perfectly well that a 50% + 1 margin might get her the primary, but would do the party severe enough harm to potentially lose her the general. It's a smart move and it's the thing that a lot of people needed to hear. I went into Super Tuesday undecided and finally went with Obama, but it was a narrow thing. I've been disappointed with Hillary's tactics the last few weeks, and I'm glad to see she's acknowledging the importance of party unity now. It wasn't going to keep me home, much less make me vote for McCain, but I'll be much more motivated if the eventual nominee has been actively working to advance the party rather than solely h{er|im}self.

Classy and long overdue.

I voted for Obama out here in San Fran. Classy move by HRC. There was a point I would have voted for McCain over her (I was pissed off) but after hearing the "Maverick" pander to the wingnuts and some reflecting, HRC would make a good president. I actually like her when she is herself (which I think is smart and funny) instead of this canned, pre-polled politician speak.

I voted for Obama out here in San Fran. Classy move by HRC. There was a point I would have voted for McCain over her (I was pissed off) but after hearing the "Maverick" pander to the wingnuts and some reflecting, HRC would make a good president. I actually like her when she is herself (which I think is smart and funny) instead of the usual canned, pre-polled politician speak.

I've voted straight-party Democratic ticket for 46 years May 6 will probably be my last. Trust is a issue for me Obama is not one I would want to see in the WH. I will vote for the person I can trust.I won't vote for any ticket that has Obama on it. Call me whatever at my age I've seen and heard it all.

to my 10 year old. (Feel free to swap Clinton and Obama below if it makes you happy.)

Clinton is fresh baked bread.
Obama is stale, hard bread.
McCain is cat poop.

Now even though our dog recommends cat poop as the most palatable kind of poop amond those that eat poop, we do not recognize cat poop as food at all. While we might work harder to have fresh bread, we would never pick cat poop over stale bread, period.

I know, intellectually, that if Obama lost the nomination at this point I would still vote for Clinton in the fall. I would probably donate to her campaign. It is just hard to imagine that now, because I am very invested in the race and in my candidate, and I can imagine all too clearly how much it would hurt if he lost.

But people are very bad at projecting their feelings into the future. I imagine now that my pain at that loss would be just as sharp in November as it would be tomorrow, but that just isn't true. That isn't the way grieving works, and as hard as it is for me to convince myself of it now, I would come around to Clinton. Without question. Hell, I'd probably be enthusiastic. Because the alternative is too much worse.

For once, my cynicism leads me to optimism.

People are easily distracted and have very short memories.  Sooner than we all realize it, this "devastating" primary campaign will seem like it was so long ago that it's ancient history.

"Reverend Wright?  Who's that again?  Was that the guy who got caught in the bathroom with the hooker?  No, wait, that was the Governor of Rhode Island."

We will have months of Obama fighting with McCain to look forward to, capped off by a devasting Democratic landslide in November.

This media narrative about a "crippling primary fight" will vanish in a puff of smoke amid more endless yammering about today's latest scandal.

And it was ever thus.  

And I don't buy AT ALL the empty threats of these 28% of Clinton supporters and 19% of Obama supporters who said they will vote for McCain if their preferred Democrat is not the nominee.  What a crock!  This is that same "I'm moving to Canada if Bush wins" mock-outrage mouthed by some on the Left during the last two election cycles that adds up to more hot air than any politician has EVER spewed.  How many people do you think made good on that threat?  Six?  Three?  I thought so.  By the same token, those people are not all voting for McCain.  Maybe 5, or 10 percent of them will.  That poll number is waaaaay overblown.

So, cheer up, all.  My cynical view of the human race may just save the Democratic party this election.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's not going to be a Dem landslide, no matter which one is the nominee.  Every vote is going to count. That's why we need to cut out the mudslinging.  

After all, the candidate you insult now could be the Nom (or the Veep) you're voting for in Nov.

Given her track record of saying exactly the opposite of what she thinks, I'm wondering whether her statement isn't actually meant to be understood as an implicit threat.

And meanwhile...on the other side of the US...a Clinton surrogate said this:

"We now have a bipartisan majority in the U.S. Senate, bipartisan, to do something about global warming and do more buildings like this," Clinton said, "because she and John McCain took reluctant Republicans all over the world and showed them how the planet was changing. She will work with anybody, go anywhere, do anything to move America forward."

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/

Wow...the Clinton campaign continues to baffle me. Can we just stay on message for day or two.

Looks like HRCs words...were...well...just words.

"I intend to do everything I can to make sure we have a unified Democratic party," she said. "When this contest is over and we have a nominee, we're going to close ranks, we're going to be united."

Don't get lost in the wilderness, your fearless leader has the right idea, at least once in a while.

Even SHE called those of us who wouldn't vote for Obama infantile.  What a gasbag.

STFU Hillary, it's not about you or your "DEMOCRATIC" party that won't let people vote if they aren't voting for Obama (MI/FL).