Ok, so I'm driving my bus today.

[FlyingSquirrel]

It's the route that meets up with the ferry. I'm running way behind. Knowing the route as I do, I'm thinking that the mathematical possibility of catching the ferry is very low. Maybe 10%, maybe even lower.

I've got a busload of commuters who REALLY want to catch this ferry. That's a fairly strong incentive, but I also have a hidden motive. I've never missed the ferry. I take a bit of pride in this fact, and I enjoy the bragging rights. Gives me a bit of an ego boost.

So guess what. I'm not giving up on this yet. My brain kicks into high gear. Every little ounce of mental energy is focused on making that ferry - without, of course, doing anything so illegal as to make the passengers too uncomfortable, or anything so unsafe as to truly jeapordize anyone's safety. Or so I rationalize to myself.

The passengers are on my side. They see me making the effort and they appreciate it. Because my success is their success. Sure, they recognize that a few rules of the road are going by the wayside - that light turned red a half-second before we crossed the intersection. But they're willing to forgive this because they're pretty wrapped up in the situation. There's very little chance that they're gonna make any complaint at all. And if you were to point out to them that part of the reason their driver was trying to make that ferry was for his own selfish reasons, they'd probably shrug and say, "Works for me!"

I'm not excusing anything Hillary's campaign has done, or her supporters' willingness in some cases to ignore certain things. I'm just pointing out human nature. You could say any number of things about how I should not have been doing what I was doing, and probably be right. HOWEVER, if you'd been a passenger on my bus who very badly didn't want to wait for the next ferry you might have had a slightly different opinion.

"But FS! There was no other bus trying to make the ferry that you were keeping back!" True enough. But there's some difference of opinion regarding whether Hillary is hurting or helping Obama (or whether it's a wash) by continuing her pursuit of her goal.
(I listed ten possible reasons she could be either helping him or at least not hurting him here).

The point is, if tables were turned and Obama was the one who was behind, but not mathematically eliminated, you'd be just as keen to see him stay in the race and just as willing to ignore, rationalize, and/or forgive certain things he might do in hopes that he might catch Hillary. You'd be in "ends justify the means" mode big-time.

Once again this is not meant to justify or excuse anything. It's only meant to answer the question so often posed, "How can Hillary supporters possibly justify their support in light of ___________?" and other less generous questions asked about Hillary herself.

Remember the old Native American saying (and I paraphrase): 'Do not judge a person until you have walked a mile in her moccasins.' Just try and be a bit more understanding and give your fellow DU'ers a little less grief. Human nature is what it is. Next time around it might be you in the minority.

[gateley]

1. Did you make the ferry? nt

[FlyingSquirrel]

2. ......

:rofl: You better believe it!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. Is The Moral Of Your Story That It Depends On Whose Ox Is Being Gored?

~

[SwampG8r]

19. or

as we say down south
when you toss a rock into a dogpen the one who screams is the one you hit

[gateley]

8. Being from Seattle,

I've been run ragged by my friends getting them to their ferries on time. I KNOW your riders are VERY appreciative! :headbang:

[DJ13]

3. if tables were turned and Obama was the one who was behind................

........every major Democrat and every news outlet in the country would have forced him out weeks ago.

Hillary is getting a pass no other candidate (on either side) would get or has gotten (Edwards, Romney, Huckabee) only because her name is Clinton.

Theres no defense for her remaining in the race if you remove her last name from the equation.

[FlyingSquirrel]

5. Not the point.

Point is BE NICE!

[emilyg]

6. News outlets don't force people out.

I'm glad she's staying in.

[DesertRat]

18. Nor do polls

I've seen some pundits on tv saying that Hillary should drop out because she's behind in the polls...
I'm glad that she's staying in as well. If nothing else, she owes it to her supporters in the upcoming primary states.

[JayFredMuggs]

7. Exactly TRUE!

I have never been able to under-estimate the basic intelligence and political savvy of the Hillary supporters.

They think EVERY candidate can get away with LYING about Bosnia, EVERY candidate can get away with NOT PAYING THEIR BILLS, EVERY candidate can complain that they are being picked upon by an unfair biased media.

RIGHT!

Obama would be back working in the Senate if he were doing so poorly against Hillary as Hillary is doing against Obama.


Analogy NOT accepted... racing a bus to meet a ferry is NOT the same as not being able to make it to the ferry without breaking all the laws of physics and the rules of the road to get there on time.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. Ted Kennedy Stayed Into The Convention

Ted Kennedy stayed in to the convention and he was trailing by 1,000 delegates and he was trailing by 14% and almost 3,000,000 popular votes...

[DJ13]

11. Ted Kennedy Stayed Into The Convention

............and he lost the nomination, and Carter went on to lose reelection.

Are you sure thats an example you want to use in justifying Clinton's remaining in the race?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. I Am Just Saying It Is Not Without Precedent

And it's ironic that Ted Kennedy is Senator Obama's most prominent supporter...

[sandnsea]

17. Hell Obama is ahead

and the media still treats him like he's behind. Half of his supporters don't even understand how badly he has trounced her at every turn.

[high density]

10. Was your bus was trying to force another bus to ferry from the same bus company off the road?

Also, did you happen to encounter a bus (operated by another bus company) that says "Straight Talk Express" on it and then announce over the PA system, "If my bus breaks down, you can take that bus because I know the guy that drives that bus and he's a nice man." (Then later on you tell them to take the bus that you tried to earlier force off the road.)

I'm being facetious of course, but that forcing the other bus off the road is the problem.

[Lucky 13]

21. She's not running stop signs anymore, she's crashing through a farmers market.

[Cha]

13. Pretty much know I would not lie about being

under sniper fire in Bosnia without walking in those boots of hilary's.

<snip>

Why Is Hillary Clinton Lying?
by Robert Parry
March 26, 2008—Two weeks ago, I wrote a story that observed a disturbing trend in Hillary Clinton’s campaign – her growing tendency to stretch the truth, twist what her chief rival was saying and then rely on her supporters to go on the offensive against you if you spoke up.

These tendencies were troubling, in part, because they mirrored what had become so common during George W. Bush’s years: to declare that a fantasy is the truth and then to attack the patriotism or sanity of anyone who thinks otherwise. I wrote:

“Throughout history, it’s been common for politicians to shade the truth when caught in a tight spot. But sometimes politicians push the limits, crossing the line into an Orwellian world where up is down, where bullies are victims, where people objecting to the lies are shouted down.”

The article cited a number of examples of Clinton turning reality inside out and repeating false attack lines against Barack Obama, such as claiming that he wanted to "bomb Pakistan" when he really advocated attacking al-Qaeda targets inside Pakistan if the government there refused to act.

A week later, I cited a report in the Boston Globe about Clinton exaggerating her behind-the-scenes support for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program – which was fashioned and passed by a bipartisan congressional effort led by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. I noted that Clinton had transformed her peripheral role into a central theme of her campaign."

<more>
http://baltimorechronicle.com/2008/032608Parry.shtml

[Jersey Devil]

14. Maybe you should get a bus that floats

[Historic NY]

15. Hummm if there was a bridge you wouldn't need a ferry....

:hide: I'm just saying.

[Kittycat]

16. If Obama had to win every race by nearly 70% - I'd say it was mathematically eliminated.

The only way to win at that point, is to override the will of the people and win dirty - A la Bush.

[ecstatic]

20. If Obama was behind, we would have never seen Clinton's ugly side

and I would not be pushing for Obama to continue in a mathematically impossible situation.

And I think racing a bus full of people through red lights is dangerous, so that analogy isn't really working for me.

[ooga booga]

22. good post - I can't decide about this myself.

I'd prefer Obama, but it also seems kind of unreasonable to ask Hillary to bow out when she's as close as she is. Yeah, I know that she probably can't catch him without a massive swing of superdelegates her way which would look like the party is throwing out the accumulated popular vote. As Ashleigh Brilliant once said, "I don't have a solution, but I certainly appreciate the problem."

Hillary can't see quitting, and I probably wouldn't either if I was in her position. Barak can't see himself quitting either because he's got the stronger hand and he can't see himself demanding her to quit. He's playing it the way I think I would.

As I see it, we'll just have to play this out as best we can and hope that John McCain is as much of a lame three-legged dog in this race as I think he is. In other words, I believe that the Democrat will prevail in November anyway.

[JayFredMuggs]

23. As close as she is?

You don't get credited with a touchdown for being on the one yard-line in the final seconds of the game.

She's about on the 45 yard-line with less than a minute to go, and no reserve players, no time-outs, no strategy to reach the goal line other than have her cheerleaders run the ball across.


If she were playing baseball, it's the last of the eighth inning and she's behind 8-7, and her big hitters are starting to join the other team. Her fielders are spitting at the crowd in the stands and at the guy at bat, and everyone is noticing she's pitching underhanded balls and getting called for them, and she's about to throw a few more balls directly at the hitter and get him walked to first base with the bases loaded. Her pitches are underhanded, her throw is off base, and her fans are leaving the stadium.

[ooga booga]

25. OK -- let's look at this through the sports analogy

Seems to me that your argument is saying that the game oughta be called in the 8th inning.

All I'm saying is that I think it needs to go to the end. To the final seconds in regulation on the one-yard line. To the last out in the ninth inning. Whatever.

If I was the person down 100 delegates after weeks and weeks of that punishing schedule, I don't know that I could walk away either. Clinton's facing long odds, but she's got the right to play it out if she wants to. It's unusual to have two candidates as close as they are at this point. It's awkward if she stays in. It's awkward if she bows out.

[mntleo2]

24. Both Run And PLEASE Hammer McSame Not Each Other

...two against one is good ...

Cat In Seattle