I don't think she ever made the sale that she can deliver solutions.

I didn't hear her refer to Wisconsin at all, let alone concede that she lost it.

I didn't hear the whole speech, and maybe I missed something. But did she actually acknowledge reality this time, as opposed to her post-Potomac speech?

I finally figured out why Hillary did better in the Primary States than the Caucus States. It is the not having seen her factor. The more people get to know her the less they like her. That is why the caucus states turned against her, and of course the big Super Tuesday Primary states actually only saw her on commercials, but not much in person.

Take a look at what has happened in Texas and Ohio. She was way ahead in the polls until she spent a good amount of time in both places, and her polls started to collapse. I tell you folks, she is both the Hillary and the anti Hillary all by herself. The more people see and hear from her the worse she does.

Even in Wisconsin, she actually was doing better in the polls while she was staying away than after she she finally showed up in the State.

People just do not warm to her, and there is no slogans, tactics, or smearing of her opponent that will make some one vote for a person that they have a visceral dislike of.

She is toast.

Just classless. How many times in a row now has she not congratulated Barack on his victory?

I am watching BO speech...NO, i am watching history!!!

It's not just "hard work," it's about setting the direction of the nation, inspiring the citizenry, challenging the legislators, presenting America to the world, and Clinton is making it sound like she doesn't care about any of that.

Worse: she's making it sound like she's actively against all of that. This really has to be the first political campaign since hominids started congregating in villages in which someone tries to claim that words don't matter in politics.

She's a better candidate and person that this. She would be a better president than the one she is running as, but the presumptuousness of Obama in challenging her (and in people for voting for him) seems to have thrown her off.

I have to respectfully disagree. The campaign can be viewed as a high pressure cooker -- and how you respond *is* an indication of many things.

What if Congress is stubborn? What then?

As the master said: the wise general wins the war by avoiding the battle.

I truly believe the Clinton camp believes that bare knuckle punching is the solution to everything.

Look at Obama: he has yet to really focus a campaign strategy on attacking her without provocation -- tempting as it must be.

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. She either doesn't know this or hires people that doesn't know it. But it really doesn't matter... the campaign is hers. And the buck stops there.

furion3 writes

You know, all she has to do to pick voters back up is show a little class and authenticity. She seems to take it personally that she's not the de-facto winner. Everytime she opens up and is honest and authentic, she does well. But she can't do that. She has to act like states she loses don't matter, don't exist, and she's learning the very hard lesson that compared to a very, very positive candidate, that sort of negative approach to campaigning gets her nowhere.

Well put. It's like she has 3 modes - attack, policy, and honest. Honest works the best, attack the worst. But we so seldom see her in honest mode. I don't mean that she's lying all that time. It's just that she's constantly spinning and presenting the face that she thinks is most advantageous. I honestly don't know why she thinks that she's a better candidate than Obama because I can't tell the difference between what she really believes and what she's just saying because her advisers tell her that people will fall for it.

Hillary is done barring a major league scandal.

I expect air time to be given to the Larry Sinclair nutjob now.

Hillary; Try and grasp this: It is not about working hard, it is about working smart. If we were electing a hard worker, then we would vote for a mule.

The "just" words stuff is fairly galling when she contrasts it with her "work." I didn't think that Bill's fairytale comment was racist (but I'm white), but this is Hillary close to saying that her male African-American opponent is a shiftless speaker of loads of crap.

Singfam,

Where is all that venom coming from?

It seems that your insults are what's empty: Empty name calling.

Why does it hurt you so that (the majority of) the people are ready for a new vision?

You are free to agree or not with that vision. That doesn't change the fact that when Clinton says: "I have solutions" she is just saying words.

And it looks like most people aren’t believing her words.

Hillary asked for money in her speech and talked aboout her loan...UH=OH...I guess those donations weren't for the primary but for the general...

It's over. Hillary will continue, but she'll only damage her reputation.

When will media folks, (including here at TPM) began acknowledging, as only a few have heretofore done, that Clinton's "only words" meme is exactly the line used by Gov. Deval Patrick's republican opponent to which Patrick responded with the words he shared with Obama, and for which Clinton (oh, I mean the media) is now criticizing Obama.

Am I correct in thinking that it hasn't been merely nine straight wins - it's been nine straight double digit wins?

Assuming the double digit lead holds up in Wisconsin, I mean.

Oh, Slouch, you crazy cultist you!

There is a big difference in being strong and being mean. It is a sign of strength to be gracious in defeat.

In many ways, every day, Hillary displays her lack of character and lack of good judgment. Today she did it by lying about her campaigns role in the over-the-top plagairism charges they hyped against Obama.

She also displayed it by not acknowledging her opponents win and congratulating him. This is not the behavior of a leader.

I was going to say something very similar but I suppose I will have to settle for a me too.

All in all, this line of attack(?) is self-defeating both for Clinton and for progressive causes as a whole. What possible proposed improvement to any situation we face can not be shot down with the idea that "words don't matter"? It is deeply cynical and she should be better than that. The fact that she isn't in this campaign should really lead us to question why she would be much better in the general.

The Republican hate machine will make Wolfson and Penn look like choirboys by comparison, but still they will fail, offering only an old man promising more slaughter financed by deficits. Liberate Iraq
oil and turn the rest of the country into craters with 500 lb bombs.

First, in response to Hillary's newest campaign slogan, which is apparently "I'll work for you...only I work, words don't....I know how to work late at night..."

I just have this to say: It's not working.

Second, right after I finish posting this comment I am going to recommend Slouch's first blog post.

Third, and last: I think America has learned its lesson. And the lesson is this: Karl Rove politics didn't work. Mark Penn politics won't either.

Congratulations, Senator Obama, on another great and well-deserved win.

Bill Clinton for Change:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbHiw2jlwa4

I generally dislike Chris Matthews pretty strongly, but he just nailed an short and descriptive phrase regarding Clinton's pattern of ignoring her losses during her post-loss speeches:

"Courtesy deficiency".

TKO in the 9th round.

Congratulations Senator Obama!

You want specifics from the Obama campaign? My man just said THE MAGIC WORDS: "Restore Habeas Corpus."

Words, just words.

I watched Hillary's speech tonight and heard her say something like "I stood up to China on women's rights."

Stood up to China?! Oh my god, was that her in Tiananmen Square standing in front of the tanks?!!

No, she gave a speech in Beijing in 1995. A speech. As in "words". As in "just words".

Speaking of words where have I heard words like this before: "It is about picking a president who relies not just on words but on work, on hard work..."

Oh yeah, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ38wu5Fp6w
- Show quoted text -

Touché!

Hey Slouch ... if Obama decides to use your
posting in his speech or in a future debate,
how would he give credit to you?
I mean, a proper name would sound better
than "Slouch", don't you think?

~ Jess

i just mentioned that on another post...That Rep from Texas did a bum job...MAtthews just chewed him up...I was so embarrassed for him...i dont think we will see him again as an BO surrogate on tv...
is it me or does Norah O'donnell of MSNBC have a hard on for Obama. she is just beaming tonight about him...

Wow, in Clinton’s concession speech (that she never gave) she said that words don’t matter (except she never said it). The propaganda machine is running so hot that Clinton is mowed down for things that haven’t even happened. This has become the typical MO here.

Oh, I agree with you, entirely. I think Hillary's strengths are in the ring, and I'd like to see her as majority leader. This whole idea of portraying the presidency as all about policy and having nothing to do with the ability to lead and inspire is nothing but idiotic. I thought Hillary would be a better campaigner than this, is all, and I'm just guessing she was utterly unprepared to fight a primary battle, and especially one on these grounds. She's a street fighter, but that looks pretty bad when you are thus in the position of being anti-hope, and arguing that it's "work not words."

If she does somehow survive into the general, I really do hope she fires this bunch of morons and lunatics.

I would love to see a president who really can inspire, who really can negotiate, who really does bring together a coalition to make this country bette--in other words, as you say, a leader.

Each time Obama spoke the word "Houston" I was reminded of the apollo dialouge. I'm wondering how many people tuned in? And I wonder at a subconscious level what impact that had, referring to the:

John Swigert, Jr. and James Lovell who, with Fred Haise Jr., made up the crew of the US's Apollo 13 moon flight used (almost) this phrase to report a major technical problem back to their Houston base.

Swigert: 'Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here.'
Duke: 'This is Houston. Say again please.'
Lovell: 'Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a main B bus undervolt.'

The phrase was later used as the tagline for the 1995 film - Apollo 13.

Re-watch the speech and then do some meme research on the impact of non-TX listeners.

It was a devastating night to Hillary made all the more so by that speech.

I'll watch again and look at the changes from Richmond and College park from the stump speech there, but the meme of "Houston" dealt an additional impact that would be interesting to attempt to quantify.

I really do study this stuff...

fascinating moment in history, words do indeed matter.

true. I think she's making a losing argument here--

by most standards, such as how many of their sponsored bills have passed Cpongress and how relevant they actually are (aren't just ceremonial recognitions) he's been a much more effective legislator than she has, and in a shorter period of time.

not to mention that her initial attempts at healthcare were so divisive they made the topic practically off-limits for 16 years. I don't particularly want those kinds of solutions again.

Could someone please point to a concrete accomplishment Hillary has to brag about? Her attempt at universal healthcare in the 90s was an utter fiasco. She voted for the war. One thing she brings up is how she "stood up" to China for womens' and girls' rights by giving - dare I say it - a speech. Her record as a senator is pretty darn thin. I can't think of any legislation she's authored or gotten passed. She did propose a law to make flag burning illegal, but that's not exactly something I'd brag about.
So please, someone point me to Hillary's much vaunted record of "doing."