The buzz today concerns Hillary’s viability in New Hampshire and beyond.
Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a sudden collapse in national polls and an expected fund-raising drought, Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?!
“She can’t take multiple double-digit losses in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada,” laments one top campaign insider to the DRUDGE REPORT. “If she gets too badly embarrassed, it will really harm her. She doesn’t want the Clinton brand to be damaged with back-to-back-to-back defeats.”
In an interview on NPR this morning, Hillary used the phrase, “I’ve always intended to run a national campaign”. That word, “intended” is her escape. She can intend to do a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean she’ll actually do any of them. She can intend to run all the way through to the Democratic convention. She can intend to be the first woman president. She can intend to be the first woman to set foot on the moon. It doesn’t mean a thing. If we know anything about Hillary by now, it’s that her words (and those of her husband) are chosen very carefully. If she loses big in New Hampshire tomorrow night, I think she’ll still be in the race, but her vocabulary will change, and the word “intend” will be used more often.
Contrary to Drudge’s news shaping, I think Hillary will continue to do what she’s doing through the early contests. If she shows poorly on February 5th, she’ll quit. Then, we can all speculate on when Obama will ask her to be his VP.
Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Campaign, Hillary Clinton, New Hampshire, Politics