Why Hillary Should Be Nominee

Obama: More White People Needed

"Get me more white people!" -- Said by an Obama campaign coordinator looking for Caucasians to put behind Michelle Obama at a rally at Carnegie Mellon Univeristy (CMU) in Pittsburgh (as reported by CNN).

"America in 2008 is a mean country." (Michelle Obama, a Princeton and Harvard Law graduate who makes $300,000-plus annually working in "community outreach" at a Chicago hospital)

"A typical white person." (Obama in Dreams From My Father talking about his white grandmother)Note:

Although she remains a long-shot, Hillary Clinton should be the Democratic nominee. Yes, we've all heard that she's behind in pledged delegates, popular votes, and number of states won, but those facts hide some important realities. In fact, she can make a very plausible case that she is the stronger candidate.

For example, so far she's won 15 states (including Pennsylvania) with with 46%-plus of the nation's population. True, Obama has won 27 states, but they have only 34% of population.

If you include Florida and Michigan, both of which she won handily, her population total rises to 56%. The fact that Obama has won a lot of small states (Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and others) with low population numbers (and few electoral votes) shouldn't be used against Senator Clinton.

She has a habit of winning battleground states, ones that Democrats absolutely must win in November if they're to take the presidency. Among those states are: Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. There's little doubt she'd be stronger than Obama against McCain in those four critical states. Most polls show Mrs. Clinton winning Ohio and Pennsylvania against McCain, while Obama loses not only Florida, but also Ohio and Pennsylvania. (Note: The Illinois Senator also loses most of the small states he won in the primary, including Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah.)

In terms of so-called superdelegates, the national media often tells us that they shouldn't go against the wishes (i.e., the votes) of their constituents. But somehow that does apply to Obama superdelegates. For example, Senator Clinton won Massachusetts by double-digits, but that hasn't stopped Senators Kerry and Kennedy, as well as Gov. Duval Patrick, all of them superdelegates from backing Obama. By doing so, they're thumbing their noses at Massachusetts voters.

Yes, Mrs. Clinton has some much discussed flaws, including "high negatives," but she has a strong argument that she deserves to be the nominee. The Democrats' bizarre primary rules (including the disqualification of Florida and Michigan) have hurt her badly. Hillary supporters who believe the first serious female candidate for President is getting shafted are correct.

Do I support John McCain? Absolutely. But I also support at least basic fairness and common sense in the country's politics. Hillary should be the Democrats' nominee -- but probably won't be.

Note: Tomorrow (Friday) I'll have a column (mildly) critical of John McCain for asking North Carolina Republicans to withdraw a commercial critical of the Obama/Wright connection and the pro-Obama Democratic gubernatorial candidates in NC. I know John McCain is a thoroughly decent and honorable man, but sometimes I wonder if he fully grasps the kind of opposition he's up against. Also, I don't believe he's in position to tell a state party how to conduct its campaigns -- any more than they are to give him instructions. I hope you'll visit. (The column will appear on my national blogs: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com and http://stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com)