Hillary Clinton: Missteps doomed chances

June 6, 2008 — by Brian Kim

Six months ago, the name “Hillary Clinton” spurred cheers and tears of joy among crowds of hopeful Americans, as many citizens rooted for the first female president of the United States, and her nomination seemed inevitable. Fast-forward to May and the tide has turned; hope for the candidate has died to a couple of crossed fingers.

Rival democratic candidate Barack Obama is destined to become the nominee to face Republican candidate John McCain in November, bringing up the question whether Clinton played her cards right during this election.

Six months ago, the name “Hillary Clinton” spurred cheers and tears of joy among crowds of hopeful Americans, as many citizens rooted for the first female president of the United States, and her nomination seemed inevitable. Fast-forward to May and the tide has turned; hope for the candidate has died to a couple of crossed fingers.

Rival democratic candidate Barack Obama is destined to become the nominee to face Republican candidate John McCain in November, bringing up the question whether Clinton played her cards right during this election.

Despite Clinton’s seemingly inevitable loss, should she continue to campaign?

Like former Democratic candidate John Edwards, Clinton should quit wasting funds toward her own loss and encourage voters to finalize their decision between Obama and McCain.

If Clinton remains in the race, it may become too late for her voters to make a firm decision between the more realistic future nominees. Clinton’s chances are slim to none in becoming presidential nominee at this point in the race.

Although she’s made quite a comeback early on in the election, the possibility of her making another is almost impossible.

Clinton is not in the race for the right reasons. Although she feels that she can still win and shock all of America, she may be deteriorating Obama’s chance at the big win, and her selfish nature is poison for the election. Obama’s policies are relatively similar to hers, and if McCain takes office instead, the country would have to wait four more years to elect a democrat.

From the beginning the Obama campaign ultimately held strong to the one thing people wanted most: change. The first mistake Clinton made was that she believed the American people desired experience, when, in fact, most believe that America is going in the wrong direction. Her miscalculation led to a fall Clinton was not able to pick herself up from.

Recently, Clinton openly stated that one of the main reasons for the continuation of her campaign is the potential assassination of Obama, comparing him to the 1968 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who was gunned down after his win in the June California Primaries. Although she later apologized, Clinton’s out-of-line statement is not, in any way, appropriate in this election, nor is it a positive outlook for voters.

Significantly, Obama has become a more personable candidate than Clinton. Sure, Clinton’s tears caught on and an emotional movement swept audiences off their feet, but that’s as close as Clinton gets to her voters. Pointblank, Obama knows how to show his fun side, which appeals to America. His knowledge of what the people want is one of the reasons why voters can hope that popular interest will trump the government.

Clinton’s hands are full and she should drop everything before her reputation dies completely. Every day counts for Clinton. As long as the candidate plans on returning to the Senate, she should quit and exit gracefully rather than destroy her and her husband’s legacy. Any more stalling will only result in regrettable shame for the Clinton family.

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