What in the World is He Thinking?

Can someone please explain to me what in the world Ron Christie of The Hill is thinking?

After strutting around the country as the inevitable nominee who had to deal with the nettlesome opponents who were merely prolonging the inevitable, Sen. Clinton (N.Y.) has begun to realize, perhaps too late, that citizens of Iowa and New Hampshire take their role as casting the first ballots in the race for president of the United States very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they have started to punish the “inevitable” front-runner who was awaiting coronation by rewarding former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) and current Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) with strong surges in the polls.

And now Sen. Clinton has decided to dig a bigger hole for herself by attacking the integrity and candor of Iowa caucus front-runner Obama. And Clinton is attacking a political candidate for his integrity and candor? As “Dandy” Don Meredith used to sing on “Monday Night Football” decades ago late in the fourth quarter: “Turn out the lights, the party’s over. All good things must come to an end.” Attacking Sen. Obama, a fresh face and generally positive campaigner, with the Clinton War Machine will remind voters once again why they have tired of Clintons posturing and preening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Turn out the lights: After losing Iowa and New Hampshire, the Clinton party will be over for 2008.

What is there in Sen. Clinton’s past that leads Mr. Christie to believe that she’ll stop contesting the nomination until every last delegate vote is accounted for? She has the organization and the money to keep going after New Hampshire, after Iowa, and after February 5 if need be. Is it possible to contest a party nomination in court? I think she’ll fight to the bitter end. Beyond, maybe.

Even if he’s right it’ll be a long, long primary season.

1 comment… add one
  • You just put your finger on one of my biggest fears: that the Clintons will, if they come up short in the delegate count, go to court to get their way. It’s bad enough that Gore took us through the courts in 2000 — and shame on the Florida Supreme Court for not simply telling Gore to pound sand, as the law stipulated — but to bring the party primaries into the courts would be a further dagger into the heart of our Republic, or what is left of it. Why? Because we would then be saying, to a degree even more advanced than “campaign finance reform” has managed, that the government gets to decide who gets to run for and be in the government. That would be tragic, indeed, for all of us who treasure whatever dregs of freedom we’ve managed to retain from our forefathers’ sacrifices.

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