For the Democrats, Signs of a Possible Changing of the Guard

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Political Memo
For the Democrats, Signs of a Possible Changing of the Guard
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: May 8, 2008

After 16 years, the Clinton era may be coming to an end, presenting Democrats with a historic but potentially wrenching transition and a challenge to Senator Barack Obama as he seeks to reconcile a deeply divided party.

Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been at the heart of the Democratic Party since Mr. Clinton steered it back to the White House in 1992, with a campaign that combined a moderate appeal with the hard-edged political tactics that had once been the province of Republicans. Mrs. Clinton seemed poised last year to lead Democrats into the general election campaign if not beyond. And while the relationship between the party establishment and the Clintons has always been uneasy at best, an entire generation of Democrats has known no other figures as dominant as the two of them.

Mrs. Clinton said Wednesday that she would remain in the race despite her double-digit loss in North Carolina and winning only narrowly in Indiana. But across the party, Democrats — including some of her own supporters — were confronting an increasing likelihood that their tangle of ties to and feelings about the Clintons would be swept aside for now as the party prepares for a new era with a leader, in Mr. Obama, who comes from a different generation and promises a very different style of politics....

***

...Mr. Obama’s move to the brink of the nomination was fraught with symbolism and evidence of a party in transition. A first-time presidential candidate, he has so far outmaneuvered the vaunted Clinton political machine. He positioned his candidacy as a repudiation of the kind of politics the Clintons practiced and a generational break. And he drew thousands of new voters and donors into his fold, giving the party a fresh face and new energy....

Still, this is uncharted territory for the party and the attempt to mesh the old with the new — ideas, leaders and voters — could prove wrenching. Many in the party, if weary with the Clintons, remain appreciative of the extent to which Mr. Clinton helped rescue the party after 12 years out of the White House. The Clintons are in many ways a security blanket for many in the party; they may not be easy to quit.

All of this poses a challenge to Mr. Obama as he seeks to move the Clinton wing of the party beyond with the Clinton era without offending Mrs. Clinton’s considerable base of supporters. Exit polls in Indiana and North Carolina once again suggested just how cleaved the party is between young and old, white and black, lower-income and upper income....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/us/politics/08dems.html?ref=todayspaper

[DJ13]

1. I wish the Clintons wouldnt take it personal

Back in 2006, as the Democrats won a surprise majority in both houses of Congress it should have been obvious that the voters were tiring of being (mis)led by politicians too closely aligned with corporate interests at the expense of the rest of us.

If the Clintons and their high priced advisors were as good at politics as the pundits like to claim they should have seen that the voters were still pissed at what has become traditional politics over the last 20 years (GOP/DLC), and anyone with half a brain should have known 2008 had the potential to be a bad year for their message.

Hillary really only had one sure fire way to win the Presidency, but she passed up running in 2004 when the traditional Clinton GOP light message might have played well against an unpopular President running for reelection.

Timing is everything and they were late, a large enough block of voters (from both parties) have had enough of trickle down, more for the rich traditional politics.

[Frustratedlady]

2. I believe the Clintons forget how the Dems stood behind them for years.

They were lucky that their reign lasted this long after the Monica scene.

[Cheap_Trick]

3. the old order changeth

It's the way of things.