The Speech- no. 9


It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.


The children. The elderly. The sick, the needy and the handicapped.

Those were the passions of the individual, Hubert H. Humphrey, who spoke those words. Hillary Clinton is no Hubert Humphrey (thank you, Lloyd Bentsen) but consider that Mrs. Clinton was an intern for the famous childrens' advocate, Marian Wright Edelman, and advised the Childrens Defense Fund. And in her concession speech yesterday, 6/7/08, Mrs. Clinton highlighted the concern for both the elderly and the ill which arguably characterized her pursuit of the presidential nomination. Not a bad epitaph for a speech, and a campaign.

The Speech- no. 7

Two good points in one passage in Hillary Clinton's concession speech today, though perhaps in an unintended sense. Toward the end of her statement, the senator remarked

Because of them and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States. And so … when that day arrives, and a woman takes the oath of office as our president, we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream big and that her dreams can come true in America.

I cannot help but credit Mrs. Clinton with an important thought as she uttered, amidst considerable applause, "when that day arrives." That day, it now appears, will not arrive soon, notwithstanding the faith of those children growing up today that a woman can become president of the United States of America. A belief so taken "for granted" that millions of women, especially young women, came to the conclusion that it was unnecessary to vote this year for this woman- it'll come soon enough, anyway. Only I credit Hillary Clinton for knowing better.

The Speech- no. 6

Not for the first time, Hillary Clinton today equated her struggle with women's suffrage with the civil rights movement, in this case abolitionism. In her concession speech, she argued

Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes.

Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and foot soldiers who marched, protested, and risked their lives to bring about the end of segregation and Jim Crow.

Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote and, because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together.

Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination.

I'm not sure I understand why "the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery" resulted in Hillary Clinton growing "up and taking for granted that women could vote." But the tortured explanation did allow her to suggest that Barack Obama's victory was hers, also, which allowed her simultaneously to save face, imply that she is partly, indirectly responsible for a black person standing on the precipice of election to the highest office of the land, and claim a kind of kinship with Obama supporters. My explanation may be a stretch but Clinton's reasoning otherwise defies logic.

The Speech- no. 4

In her speech of 6/7/08 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., Senator Clinton referred not once, not twice, but three times to health care:

We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand and asked me, “What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?” and began to cry, because even though she works three jobs, she can’t afford insurance.

We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps T-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, “Take care of my buddies over there, and then will you please take care of me?”

We fought for all those who’ve lost jobs and health care....

Then,

We all want a health care system that is universal, high-quality and affordable … so that parents don’t have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead-end jobs simply to keep their insurance.

This isn’t just an issue for me. It is a passion and a cause, and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured, no exceptions and no excuses.

And finally,

And that together we will work — we’ll have to work hard to achieve universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our president.

I like this emphasis personally but on a cautionary note: Clinton likely will be able to use the inadequacy of our health care system in a second run (should she attempt it) for the presidency, because we probably will not have solved this problem in either four, or eight, years- especially, but not only, if John McCain is elected president.

The Speech- no. 3

In her concession speech delivered to supporters today in Washington, D.C., Senator Hillary Clinton gave a (almost unavoidable) nod to young people and veterans, "the childhood friends, the New Yorkers and Arkansans." Then she more than gestured:

And to all of those women in their 80s and their 90s … born before women could vote, who cast their votes for our campaign. I’ve told you before about Florence Stein of South Dakota who was 88 years old and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot.

She passed away soon after and, under state law, her ballot didn’t count, but her daughter later told a reporter, “My dad’s an ornery, old cowboy, and he didn’t like it when he heard mom’s vote wouldn’t be counted. I don’t think he had voted in 20 years, but he voted in place of my mom.”

And isn't that what Mrs. Clinton's campaign became? Starting as an attempt to "make history" for women, it ended as a vehicle for middle-aged and elderly women to realize their dreams of a better America as young women joined young men in flocking to Barack Obama. Although I didn't see that coming, it probably was predictable: young people of both sexes inspired by a "change we've been waiting for" campaign, too young in some instances to appreciate the welcome change that another Clinton, after twelve years of Repub occupation (eight of which Barack Obama celebrated), had brought to the White House.

The Speech- no. 2

Before I parse, in later posts, Hillary Clinton's concession speech of this date, I'll refer to the main theme of her statement, as she proclaimed of Barack Obama:

I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him and throw my full support behind him.
And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.

A refrain always works for me and Mrs. Clinton did not disappoint:

And that together we will work — we’ll have to work hard to achieve universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our president.

We’ll have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our president.

We’ll have to work hard to foster the innovation that will make us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children’s future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we have to help elect Barack Obama our president.

We’ll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq and get them the support they’ve earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America that’s as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our president.

It took Hillary Clinton, the devil-woman of much of the media, the (sarcasm alert) interminable period of four(4) days following the close of the primary election season to endorse the presumptive nominee of the party. Wise or unwise, this was magnanimous- and unusual.

The Speech- no. 1

Senator Clinton's concession speech given today is worthy of analysis for two reasons. First, it can be said to mark the end of the race for the nomination,. There it joins, among other milestones:

a)the declaration of Obama on June 10, 2008 that he will be the Democratic nominee, having amassed the pledges of a majority of delegates;

b)the close of the polls on 6/10/08 in Montana, the last of the states to vote (followed instantly by the projection that Obama had won the state);

c)the rendering of a decision- any decision- by the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee on apportionment of delegates from the Florida and Michigan primaries, which eliminated a potential rallying point for the Clinton forces at the upcoming convention in Denver (and, additionally, deciding Michigan, with the help of Clinton backers, favorably toward Obama)

c)the continued leeching of superdelegates from Clinton following the huge win first in Kentucky (on a night in which she lost in Oregon), then in West Virginia, confirming the insurmountable sentiment to block her nomination;

d)Obama's decisive victory in North Carolina (while he was narrowly losing Indiana), a state in which polls had indicated Clinton was closing and which would have become the first state (which became South Dakota, too late) Clinton would have won in which she was expected to lose.

The other reason the speech was so significant is that it will form the foundation of an effort by Mrs. Clinton, aggressively if Obama wins in 11/08 and passively if he does not, to capture the Democratic presidential nomination in 2012.