Clinton Rationale for Electibility Doesn't Hold Water - yet another hole in the Clinton rhetoric

[AZBlue]

Clinton Rationale for Electibility Doesn't Hold Water: History Proves the Ability to Win a State Primary is Unrelatd to General Election Success
by Robert Creamer

The Clinton campaign's only remaining argument for her superior "electability" rests on the contention that her ability to win primaries in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania makes her more "electable" in the general election.

There are many reasons why this argument is fallacious, including the fact that, in the general election, Obama would place many marginal states into play that Hillary would have no chance to win.

But the argument is erroneous, chiefly because a candidate's ability to win a state primary has virtually nothing to do with his or her ability to win the state in a general election contest.

Just look at some examples from history. In 1988 Dukakis came in third in the Iowa caucuses. Yet Iowa was one of only nine states that he ultimately won in the general election. That year Dukakis won the Democratic primaries in Florida and Texas where no one could imagine he would have been the stronger general election candidate in the Democratic field. He soundly lost them both in November.

In 2004, John Kerry clinched the nomination with big wins over John Edwards in Tennessee and Virginia. He won Tennessee by 15 points, and beat Edwards in Virginia 51% to 25%. Does anyone really believe that Kerry was a stronger candidate than Edwards -- a southerner -- against George Bush in Virginia or Tennessee? Kerry lost Virginia 54% to 45% in the general. He was trounced in Tennessee, 57% to 43%.

Examples abound where the winner of a primary is not the stronger candidate to win a general election. Why? Because the voters who affect the outcomes of general elections are largely different people from those who affect the outcomes of primaries.

Hillary Clinton's ability to win primaries in "Big States" really has no bearing on her ability to win a general election. The current general election polls show both Clinton and Obama running even with or slightly behind McCain. But campaigns are like reality TV sagas: the plot develops over time. When the primaries are over and a new story line develops, Obama's ability to inspire will make him a much more formidable protagonist in epic battle with McCain than his Democratic rival.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-creamer/clinton-rationale-for-ele_b_94470.html


The Clinton campaign has quickly run out of excuses.

[BuyingThyme]

1. I've never understood why they keep going there.

I guess everybody has to have something.

[AZBlue]

2. What else have they got?

[BuyingThyme]

3. Bowling.

[AZBlue]

4. Thank you!

I needed a good laugh this afternoon - that made me literally Laugh Out Loud! :D