I thought, having presumed that Hillary Clinton would not concede, that nothing in her speech could phase me last night.
Boy, was I wrong. Bile and white hot disgust threatened to bypass my clamped jaws and erupt out the sides of my neck as Clinton trilled me, me, me with nary a word for Obama’s nomination:
Now, the question is: Where do we go from here? And given how far we’ve come and where we need to go as a party, it’s a question I don’t take lightly. This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight.
…So, to the 18 million people who voted for me, and to our many other supporters out there of all ages, I want to hear from you. I hope you’ll go to my Web site at HillaryClinton.com and share your thoughts with me and help in any way that you can.
Help with what, pray tell?
Help with paying off your campaign debt? Or help with taking your campaign all the way to Denver and fucking the country and the party up right, once and for all?
As many of us have suspected all along, this is not about the country or the war, about health care or veterans or even the lowly democratic party. This is about nothing more or less than the power and prestige of Hillary Rodham Clinton, and who she gets to piss on on her way out of the process:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama twice called Hillary Clinton’s mobile phone after the momentous victory speech which yesterday propelled him a step closer to the White House.
And both times, he went through to his defeated rival’s voicemail…
Senator Clinton – who still has not formally conceded defeat in the long, bruising campaign – finally returned the call as his plane was about to fly out of St. Paul to Washington.
Whatever else this first truly competitive female presidential candidate has accomplished, she has proven herself unfit to be the Democratic Party standard-bearer even in the VP slot. By her race-baiting, red-meat tactics and her steadfast refusal to put party and country ahead of personal ambition, Clinton has shown that she cannot be trusted. If Obama proffered her the VP slot, what would stop her at the convention from trying to get the delegates to flip the ticket? At this point, I would not put anything past the Clintons.
But, just from the straightforward standpoint of winning (and losing) by the rules, the Globe and Mail put it best in their article, The Cost of Clinton’s Narcissism:
[Ms. Clinton's] much-vaunted tenacity, a highly valued quality among presidential candidates, is truly remarkable. But she did not properly make the case for herself, because she did not believe that she had to make it until it was too late.
Entitlement is a dangerous and inexcusable characteristic in any candidate. No individual, even one as talented and as well-connected as Ms. Clinton, is entitled to lead his or her country; to do so is an enormous privilege and responsibility that must be earned. In democratic countries, few dynasties will be sustained in the absence of humility.
I’m not sure the Clintons know the meaning of the word.
Bob Harris‘s succinct take:
Malignant narcissism is characterized by an unsubmitted will. All adults who are mentally healthy submit themselves one way or another to something higher than themselves, be it God or truth or love or some other ideal.
While evil may manifest itself obviously, as in the case of Bobby, it rarely does so. More commonly by far its manifestations are seemingly ordinary, superficially normal, and even apparently rational. As I have said, those who are evil are masters of disguise; they are not apt to wittingly disclose their true colors-either to others or to themselves. It is not without reason that the serpent is renowned for his subtlety. It is exceedingly rare, therefore, that we can pass judgment on a person as being evil after observing a single act; instead, our judgment must be made on the basis of a whole pattern of acts as well as their manner and style.
Think of the psychic energy required for the continued maintenance of the pretense so characteristic of the evil! They perhaps direct at least as much energy into their devious rationalizations and destructive compensations as the healthiest do into loving behavior. Why? What possesses them, drives them? Basically it is fear. They are terrified that the pretense will break down and they will be exposed to the world and to themselves. They are continually frightened that they will come face-to-face with their own evil. Of all emotions, fear is the most painful. Regardless of how well they attempt to appear calm and collected in their daily dealings, the evil live their lives in fear. It is a terror-and a suffering-so chronic, so interwoven into the fabric of their being, that they may not even feel it as such. And if they could, their omnipresent narcissism will prohibit them from ever acknowledging it.
I know now that one of the characteristics of evil is its desire to confuse.
It is characteristic of those who are evil to judge others as evil. Unable to acknowledge their own imperfection, they must explain away their flaws by blaming others. And, if necessary, they will even destroy others in the name of righteousness.
Above are all quotes from M Scott Peck’s book, “People of the Lie”
What possesses them, drives them? Basically it is fear.
Well put.
Interestingly, it is generally also fear (of abandonment, of growing old, of loneliness) that drives serial infidelity as well – another pronounced Clinton trait.
Here is an article about the “entitled one” that pretty much expresses how I see the present situation.
For me at least, she is just digging a hole for herself. There was a time when I was somewhat open to her selling herself to me and hopeful that she could become a great President if elected. Now that seems ridiculous.
I watched her last night and had nothing but contempt for her lack of grace.
Cote finally made it official.