The people are speaking. Is our party listening?
Early in the primaries, Barack Obama promised that he would win more people over the longer he campaigned. He said that every state becomes an "Obama state" once he goes there. But an interesting thing happened as winter turned to spring, and the people kept voting in record numbers. Hillary Clinton stole the momentum. Her popularity soared; her appeal broadened; and she steadfastly became the darling of the masses, even as Barack was crowned darling of the mass media.
It started back in New Hampshire, when Hillary "found her voice," but what really happened is that the American people have found Hillary. And there's nothing like raw data to illustrate the point:
*The Electoral Vote "Poll Watcher" shows Hillary gaining steam against McCain, now leading 310 to 228, with Hillary winning key states like Florida, North Carolina, and West Virginia. (Obama trails McCain by over 30 EV's.)
*Over the last three months, Hillary has won more contests, gained more votes, and earned more delegates. Since March 4th, she has gained nearly 500,000 more popular votes than Barack Obama as voters in crucial battleground states have made their voices known.
*More Americans have voted for Hillary than any other presidential candidate this cycle. In fact, more people have voted for Hillary than any other primary candidate in history - nearly 18 million so far.
*Just yesterday, Hillary won 150,000 more votes than Obama in Kentucky and Oregon, even though delegate counts will be split fairly evenly.
*Hillary has now won nearly 64,000 more votes than Obama in total, when all caucuses and primaries are included.
Hillary Clinton just keeps winning. She is the candidate who closes the deal with voters. Despite being out-spent by margins of up to 4-to-1; despite anxious efforts by Obama, his surrogates, and an obedient press corps to convince people that the race is over. They keep voting for her anyway. Thankfully there's a stubborn gene in the American people, a natural resistance to authority, and maybe that's why the people love Hillary. They see her get up with the roosters every day, work herself to exhaustion in pursuit of a dream, and never give up or give in to the nay-sayers. Hillary, in spite of all the odds, has become a genuine Made in the USA hero, a leader for the people and no longer just "Bill's wife," the other Clinton.
My candidate for President, Hillary Clinton, said in her Kentucky victory speech last night:
It is not just Kentucky bluegrass that is music to my ears. It is the sound of your overwhelming vote of confidence even in the face of some pretty tough odds. Some have said your votes didn't matter, that this campaign was over, that allowing everyone to vote and every vote to count would somehow be a mistake. But that didn't stop you. You've never given up on me because you know I'll never give up on you.
Funny thing...that pesky notion of one-person-one-vote-rules in a democracy, such an irritant to the power-brokers who want Hillary Clinton to pad dutifully back to her seat in the Senate, and forget about the 18 million people who want her to be President, including 2.3 million in Florida and Michigan who knew exactly what they were doing.
Power to the people, that's the lesson from November, 2000. It's not too late to take it to heart. Hillary Clinton can close this deal for the Democrats in November.
Note: popular vote statistics from Real Clear Politics
Cross posted at texasdarlin
TexasDarlin, all rights reserved
Not affiliated with the Hillary Clinton campaign
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