Whatever happens in the Pennsylvania primary tomorrow night, rest assured that Hillary Clinton’s spinmeisters will have it covered. Here’s a rhetorical tip sheet.
Scenario: Clinton wins in a landslide, by 10 percentage points or greater, trimming her national popular vote deficit to about 500,000, and cutting slightly into Obama’s national pledged delegate lead.
Spin: "It was 3 a.m. for America, and the common-sense voters of Pennsylvania answered the call. The bowlers and hunters of this great state stood up to the barrage of Obama TV ads, the flood of Obama money, and the hype about hope, and they simply said enough! The bowlers and hunters and worshippers and whiskey drinker all believe – as we do – that Senator Obama is an honorable man and a patriotic American, and tonight we are confident that they will join us in urging that Senator Obama immediately end his candidacy in the interests of party unity.
"He had a great run, while it lasted. We salute him for his contributions to this marathon race that we, of course, had anticipated all along. We always knew, even in our earliest planning stages, that April in Pennsylvania would prove to be the crucial time and place, the pivotal turning point, and we’d like to assure Senator Obama that his inclusion on Senator Clinton’s list of prospective running mates is virtually guaranteed. Unless, of course, she decides that Senator Obama would be more useful working for the next eight years as an assistant to the roving ambassador-in-chief."
Scenario: Clinton wins by modest single digits, a far cry from her original 20-point lead in the Pennsylvania polls, and she gains virtually no ground in the national pledged delegate count.
Spin: "A win is a win is a win. We always knew that this would be a close primary, and we always knew that many voters would inevitably be influenced by the barrage of Obama TV ads, the flood of Obama money, and the hype about hope. We always anticipated, even in our earliest planning stages, that Pennsylvania would be merely one marker in a long and arduous campaign, and now we will press ahead, firm in our belief that only a divided and fractious Democratic party can beat John McCain in November.
"As Senator Clinton has always stated, she is honored to share this race with Senator Obama - just as she is honored to question both his fitness for office, and his troublesome associations with people who might not love this country the way he undoubtedly does. We know that some want Senator Clinton to quit this race, just because she trails nationally in popular votes, pledged delegates, polls, states won, and campaign contributions. But real fighters don’t quit just because they don't always win. In fact, we sought all along to ensure that Senator Clinton would be the heavy underdog well into the spring season, in order to better demonstrate her fighting capabilities. That's why we changed campaign managers, fired our chief strategist, and allowed Senator Obama to win all the caucus states. All told, we’re very pleased with where we are."
Scenario: Clinton loses Pennsylvania.
Spin: "We're very pleased with where we are. We always knew that Pennsylvania would be a very tough environment for us. However, we strongly believe – as we have always believed – that the primary results in any state with 12 letters in its name, conducted at a point in the calendar when many potential voters are likely to be distracted by baseball games and spring cleaning, should be deemed an inaccurate representation of the electorate’s mood, and therefore illegitimate.
"Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are crucial to this party’s prospects in November, and therefore we urge Senate Obama to join us in calling for re-votes in all three states. We think this would be an excellent way for Senator Obama to demonstrate his love of America, which of course is unimpeachable, as far as we know. We are confident that Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Wright, and William Ayers will not influence his decision to support a Pennsylvania re-vote.
"But even if Senator Obama retains his negligible national lead after all the re-votes, and after the remaining nine primaries are conducted, we nevertheless believe there should be no rush to judgment, and that the people should be heard. We’d like to see the democratic process play out. Accordingly, Senator Clinton, in the interests of fairness, fully intends to reset the primary calendar and start over. Come June, we’ll see you all in Iowa. Iowa, the great state of corn. When Senator Clinton was a child, traveling through Iowa on car trips, she often ate corn..."
Sorry, Dick. I'm no friend of the Clinton spin machine, but there is a line between satirical and snarky, and this crossed it. It comes across as rather juvenile. You usually do much better. what is truth?
Dick look at Sen. Obama's town hall meeting in Reading yesterday. Besides the endorsement he gave Sen. John McCain telling all that he (McCain) would make a good President. I guess he's not the same as Bush after all. He has also told us all that socialism is good if it is voted in like it is in Brazil. I find it even more puzzling that he would tell everyone how important universal health care is for Americans since he does not support it with his plan but Sen. Clinton does. I found out some other information this weekend by watching Meet The Press. The guest panel included Mr. Axlerod a former lobbyist. When asked he had to admit that yes Sen. Obama has employed many active lobbyists as state chairs for his campaigns. That His Co-Chair is an active and vocal supporter of the Colombian free trade deal. His name Mr. Dashel(my spelling might be of on his name), he has been with Sen. Obama all along. At least when Penn went against Clinton's views he was fired. Add this his words his people and who they support and tell me he is change, understands us and will fight for us. Wake up and smell whats coming. A candidate who will not fight for you. A canidate who has lost swing votes in Nov. A canidate who claims to be all about change and ells you that Clinton will say anything to get elected but he will tell you the truth, & where he stands however has lied and lied. freethinker
Personally, I think the second scenario will occur --- despite the tendencies of the Undecideds to swing towards Hillary. I just don't see some of her supporters being as solid as she needs them to be. The polls show the national support to be close to even, but that support isn't getting backed up with cash. He's cleaning her clock in grass roots fundraising, which is the ultimate sign of support. People just don't give their money to someone who they don't believe is going to win... yobill626
Doesn't blame-the-media come in here somewhere? PW
No offense, but do you ever get tired of Hillary bashing? If the national media had done its job in the first place instead of giving Obama a free pass, we would be in a completely different position than we are now. This is not to say that she has run a perfect campaign, but it doesn't seem to matter what she says or does, the MSM interprets it negatively. The double-standard is sickening. Based upon your take, no matter what the outcome, it's "spin." If the press had been as hard on Obama all these many months, he would not be in the position that he is now...all set to lose against McCain in the fall. airgeorge
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PHILLY YOU NEED TO SEE THIS CLIP!!!! DON'T VOTE UNTIL YOU DO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXum_-8I1TA shelwoot1737
I have to get a new identity? JimR
Airgeorge --- --- As far as the Hillary bashing goes, she's brought that on herself. She's last September's Mets. As she has said herself, she's been handling "the right wing conspiracy" (quite adeptly, I think) for many years. You are saying that NOW the hits are sinking her? Frequent misrepresentations, arrogance, poorly thought out campaign strategy & weak organizational building is what has sunk her. yobill626
Yobill626--As is typical, you missed my point. My point was that no matter what SHE does, she's arrogant, a liar, a bi*ch...no matter what HE does, anyone who says anything about it or asks GENUINE questions, THEY are racist, unable to move on, are a liar. Obama's people don't want to debate the issues, they want to resort to name calling. It's a sad state on what this nation has become. Obama opens his mouth and says NOTHING...'we are the change we are waiting for' puuleease! His policies are almost exactly the same as hers, except that he is in bed with the extreme left of the democratic party. If Obama becomes President, you will get exactly what you deserve (another Carter Presidency--and don't get me wrong, I love what Carter has done since he's left the Oval, but he was a horrible president), and the REST of us will have to suffer as a result. airgeorge
Airgeorge --- Carter wasn't a lousy President because he was a Liberal, he was a lousy President because he was a micro-manager. I too agree that there is an oversensitivity to this year's primaries. Obama's abilities & campaign strikes me more like Reagan's in 1980 more than anyone/thing else. "Its morning in America" --- what the heck did that mean? yobill626
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