Hillary: "I Intend To Deliver" On Vow To Strongly Support Obama
At around 1:30 A.M. today Hillary sent out an email to her supporters offering her first public comments on her decision to drop out and vowing that she intends "to deliver" on her promise to strongly support Obama's candidacy...
Dear XXXX:I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.
On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.
I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.
When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.
I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.
I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.
I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.
In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.
I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.
Sincerely,
Hillary
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Let the healing begin!
On to the white house!
Keith
June 5, 2008 7:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hurray! Finally it's over and we can all come together and take on Green Jello McCain! This is going to be AWESOME!
June 5, 2008 7:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
think about it: a political world without Clinton drama (there's always drama with the Clintons) ... omg!!!!
June 5, 2008 7:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Classy letter.
June 5, 2008 7:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
but won't endorse and won't release her delegates ... i assume that will happen eventually ...
June 5, 2008 8:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
She said she would extend her support for his candidancy, I think that's basically an endorsement and good enough for me. She probably will release her SDs to do as they wish, but the pledged delegates...I'm not sure how that's handled.
June 5, 2008 8:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Itt will, but not until the convention. She needs to only suspend her campaign because that is the only way she can raise money to retire her massive campaign debt.
It IS a gracious letter, and I am glad to see that from her/her camp. This is the party unity stuff that we as a party have desperately been needing from her. She is a formidible politician, and her efforts will go a long way toward getting the party back to the White House.
June 5, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think I can say this without any irony whatsoever:
This is excellent news for Hillary.
(!!!)
June 5, 2008 8:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
This IS excellent news. For the Democratic Party and Democrats everywhere. DEM-MENTUM!
*Btw, idiotic, I have never addressed you but have long loved reading you in these spaces. Thanks for the Hillmentum stuff back in the day. It always drew a smile...
June 5, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Clintons and the Bushes are getting smaller in my rearview mirror. Buh bye! Enjoy a very long vacation, please.
June 5, 2008 8:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Goof for her. And after the election I hope she will dedicate herself to becoming a great Senator, just as Ted Kennedy did after his own presidential dreams were dashed. There's no question that she has the ability to do it.
June 5, 2008 8:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, GOOD for her. Having preview would be nice, hint hint.
June 5, 2008 8:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is a very good e-mail, and I believe she'll rally around Obama and help bring along her supporters (at least most of them - some the comments at HillaryClinton.com are a little disheartening to say the least). It is both of their responsibilities to reach out to her supporters and make them feel OK about backing him now, but it is first and foremost her responsibility to lead them in that direction. I sincerely hope that she can.
June 5, 2008 8:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bravo. More to be done, of course, but this is a solid start.
June 5, 2008 8:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
As a side note: isn't it about time to remove the intrade prediction market charts for the Dem and Rep nominations from TPM's sidebar? Obama and McCain are pegged at 95%, and have little chance of going anywhere. Howzabout the McCain v. Obama numbers now that we've hit the General Election season (finally!)?
June 5, 2008 8:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
As I always say, you can lead a gift horse to water, but you can't look in his mouth.
While this email sounds encouraging, I'm taking a wait-and-see approach. Will she do this in a half-assed manner, or will she do it with sincerity and conviction? I think we have reason to be leery.
June 5, 2008 8:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
nice. though it would have been better delivered tuesday, this is a good start.
June 5, 2008 8:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
The deadenders have retreated to new echo chambers:
http://camille424.wordpress.com/
http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/
June 5, 2008 8:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would hope that Sen. Clinton mentions something about how Obama won the nomination fair and square--reinforce the legitimacy of the process, something she's led her supporters to believe was unfair to her--as if Obama gamed the system.
This is important because Hillary created this "he stole the election from me, the party stole delegates and votes from me" perception and it greatly intensified the bitterness many of her core supporters now have.
June 5, 2008 8:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wholeheartedly agree with you tpmgary.
These are very much statements and perceptions that she needs to clear up, denounce and reject. Hillary poisoned the well and she needs to clean it up.
I get so frustrated with pundits claiming thise was not an ugly primary 'as primaries go' when the reality is that Hillary has left the perception that Obama's nomination was won via a fraudulent process.
She left a taint on the entire nominating process and she needs to correct that forcefully and repeatedly.
June 5, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here's what I want to say to the remaining Hillary supporters:
Look, if you want to stay on the outside of one of the most exciting election seasons ever for the Democrats, go ahead. Personally, I'd rather have you here with us since we all got here together.
Let's kick some fascist' ass together. Or you can whine and wander around outside this awesome election and complain and miss it.
I wouldn't want to miss this one.
June 5, 2008 8:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here's what I want to say to Clinton supporters. We would have loved to have her on the ticket but WJC will not agree to being vetted. He wants to keep it secret who his donors are. Which simply makes us believe that we have averted a future scandal.
Afterall, we know now that he not only needs to be vetted but that his spouse would not have vetted him so therefore we would have had more financial scandals down the roll in her administration.
We are lucky Jim Johnson is on the vetting VEEP team for Obama. He was the one who told Mondale that Ferraro's hubby was a problem and could not pass the vetting standards. That killed the ticket...the problem was it happened months after they were nominated. Democrats lost.
We do not need WJC doing the same thing to the Democratic parties chance to the WH in 08.
So, to all those Clinton supporters who wanted the Dream ticket...know this...Bill was not vettable so she cannot be on the ticket.
Hillary's ambitions have always rose and fell with the behavior and success of her spouse and this is just one more instance of that. Only this time 'the comeback kid' is the comeback boomerang that knocked her off the ticket.
June 5, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, I hope her speech on Saturday clears up any abiguities about her treatment and that obama won fair and square and that she back tracks on and corrects all the statements that have stirred her supporters into a frenzy.
Nonetheless, throughout this campaign there was one stark difference between the campaigns that struck me from the beginning. The difference in tone. When you listen to an obama speech or get one of his e-mails, its always we can do this or we can do that together, we, we, we. You listen to a clinton speech or get a clinton e-mail, it's always I, I, I, I, I. Look at the first word in almost each paragraph in this e-mail, it's I. Seems kind of silly and actually looks silly. The only way anything gets done in this country is if we the people work to get it done. One person, even the president, can't do squat.
Anyway its over. Hope the clintons have some awesome vacation plans until november, after the speech correcting all the distortions and outrageous statements that they have made over the last 5 months. By the way, mr. bill better be making a concession speech as well on Saturday.
June 5, 2008 8:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
A very smart marketing man once told me that if you're writing (or speaking) to persuade or convince, you should never make yourself the subject: you need to make the audience's interest the subject.
June 5, 2008 9:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, I write a ton, eventhough you wouldn't think it from my nonsense on this site. I never use the word "I" in anything that I write professionally. You are exactly correct, it's unpersuasive and too in your face. Her campaign was tone deaf from the beginning. Her advisors were really awful.
June 5, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, she does have an "I" problem; after a cameo at the convention they need exist the political stage. Tuesday night will never be explained away.
June 5, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
She will "extend my congratutlation and my support for his candidacy". Five days after the fact.
NO endorsement, no delagates.
Over and over again Clinton takes the low road.
I am flabbegasted over her behavior (which probably says more about me than her - you'd think I'd learn huh?). Make her a lifetime judge on Am Idol. She would fit right in.
This is an incredible historic time. Obama becoming the candidate for the democratic party is MINDBLOWINGLY Fantastic and a wonderful opprotunity for this country. In politics where paybacks are expected both good and bad Senator Clinton will pay for her poor loser speech on Tuesday. For a long time.
June 5, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Time to let bygones be bygones. I'm going to let go of the primary and extend my hand to her supporters. No more talk of what happened, or who did or said what, or who's supporters were the nastiest, etc. It's about McCain now.
June 5, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed, but she still has to do the speech. This is probably one of the most important speeches that she will give. She needs to clear up the nonsense that she has said to enflame her supporters. She has to state unequivically that obama won fair and square, among other things.
This speech will be important for her future. She has pissed off alot of people in congress and the dem party. She can fix the problem with a good supporting speech. If she doesn't, she will seriously jeopardize her future in politics.
June 5, 2008 9:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think that's a fair point. I'm not holding out hope that she's going to be as gracious as Obama has been to her, but in some ways I understand that. I think if you step back and look at this, Clinton really hasn't come to grips with what happened. She lost. She had every advantage a candidate could possibly have and she lost. Frankly, I'd be surprised if she didn't have a cathartic moment between now and Saturday (or even Saturday).
It's not just for her to make reconciliation possible. It's going to take us being good winners and not sticking it to the Clinton supporters (trolls are excluded). It's the only way forward and it will expedite the healing process. They will be critical to our victory in the fall.
Just my 2 cents worth.
June 5, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree wit Publicola, time to let bygones be bygones. I have been as annoyed as anyone with her classlessness on Tuesday night, but, frankly, that behavior really came back to bite her on the ass. To get called down by her most loyal supporters in the House and Senate as swiftly and clearly as happened yesterday helps to address my annoyence at her performance. Ironically, what she did Tuesday night actually probably helped ease the process of moving some of her most fervant supporters away from her. The way she conducted herself was eye-opening.
That said, it is repairable, and easily so. Graciousness is never a bad thing, and even late, it will be appreciated. Again, she is a formidible politician, and if she is ready to throw her talents behind the nominee, all the better for the party.
I welcome this. Late, but still, most welcome.
June 5, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
When cannot let bygones be bygones until she is gone. Anyone who thinks she is, is mistaken. She has already put out the word that she reserves the right to have her name nominated from the convention floor, okaaaay?
Not only does this letter have a lot of I's it also speaks more about how she will fight on for what she beleives than it does on how much and why she will fight for Obama and to get him elected.
More importantly she says she INTENDS to campaign not that she WILL. As a person with a track record of saying one thing and doing another this is a bad sign.
How can we forget that she used verbage just like this when she declined to take her name off the MI ballot...saying 'the MI primary would not count' ...and then she not only kept her name on the ballot but she took that issue to the RBC and Harold Ickes stated that day that she reserves the right to appeal the RBC decision.
No one has heard her say that she will not appeal it..and knowing that she can be nominated from the floor you can bet her supporters plan to do so, just as Lanny is distributing that petition for her to be VEEP.
If Hillary were serious about supporting Obama, she would not NEED until Saturday. What she has done is continue to be the news story for an entire WEEK when the media should be focused on the historic significance of Obama as the nominee.
She is STILL raining on his parade, the stories this week are all about HER and HER supporters and how SHE lost. Instead of on Obama and how HE beat one of the most powerful political machines and how HIS team beat her from coast to coast and how HE had eleven consecutive wins that were her death knell to the nomination and how HE is the one who from JUMP was never behind in pledged delegates which is the only thing the nomination process is about.
Instead we have thread after thread about Hillary on this site and news story after news story about Hillary on cable and the networks.
She should never be forgiven for this crass and rude behavior. Every kid learns to shake hands with the winning team IMMEDIATELY after the game is over...not two days or a week later.
She is a spoilsport and a sore loser...there is simply no other way to describe this mean petty act on her party to deny Obama the praise and congratulation he has earned.
Her and Bill are horrible people. There should not be any room for them in the Obama administration unless it is a dirty unrewarding task that no one else will take.
Good riddance to the Clintons.
June 5, 2008 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's not fair. Obama supporters get to cry tears of joy...
I'm proud to have stood as a supporter over all these months. I may not be her traditional demographic (a twenty-something male), but I was a fierce supporter of Hillary. I'll never regret the time and money I spent on something I believed in so whole-heartedly.
I'm also proud that the Democratic Party has nominated Obama. What a year for us!
Now, it's time to beat McCain.
June 5, 2008 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's all about McCain and the Republicans. We need to elect as many Democrats to the Congress as possible as well. It's time to get to work folks.
Welcome aboard!
June 5, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Glad to have you aboard, another_reader. God knows I know what it feels like to suffer and lose with a good candidate, and have sympathy for how hard this is for you. Thanks in advance for the willingness to move your support to Obama, and I honor the time, effort and passion you poured into helping try to get HRC elected.
June 5, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
You should be proud. It was an extraordinary primary.
June 5, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Welcome aboard. I know it's sad now, but this fall, election night will be far more satisfying! Obama is going to be at the head of a resounding Democratic victory!
June 5, 2008 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
...... sad cynical question: By doing this on a Saturday is it good because she extends the news cycle (it will be a pretty major event) or bad because she is doing on a day where people really wouldn't be paying as much attention. I muss concede last night that when I got the email (went to hillaryclinton.com to tell her to dropout) I was happy for reading its contents.
June 5, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
My guess is (1) RFK shot today 40 years ago, (2) this going to be a seminal moment in Clinton's legacy and (3) she wants to allow for as many of her supporters to get there.
June 5, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I meant Friday (not today).
June 5, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'll be holding my breath to see if she does the right thing on Saturday or if she continues to spread the harmful meme that she somehow won the popular vote--the implication being that she is being cheated out of the nomination. After her behavior in the last few months of the campaign, I no longer trust her to behave decently.
June 5, 2008 9:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, Hillary will have to demonstrate to me that she's no longer thinking only about herself - just as she convinced me this year that she's not the person I'd always supported. Talk is cheap (as she reminded us many times). Is she still maneuvering for her own personal advantage (the VP slot or, more likely, an Obama loss which will let her try again in four years)? Or will she REALLY work for the Democratic Party and our country? Can a leopard change her spots?
So let's see it. I'd be very, very glad if this isn't just more self-promoting misdirection. But I'm going to take some convincing. And meanwhile, maybe keeping Geraldine Ferraro and Bill Clinton muzzled would be a nice start!
June 5, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Finally!
A post from someone who GETS it!!
This woman is NOT going to go quietly, graciously or even quickly she is going to continue to stir up shyt everywhere she can about her "17M supporters" ...
give. me. a. break
as another asshole said:
'this whole thing is a fairy tale'!!!
June 5, 2008 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
It took a while, but at least she's now doing the right thing. Good for her.
The good news in all this is that, as E.J. Dionne wrote, today, "she talked her way off the ticket" on Tuesday night. I think -- or at least I hope -- that the bizarre notion that she is suited to be his running mate dies a quick death.
June 5, 2008 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
It will, I am sure.
The focus is about to shift 100% to Obama. And what he wants for his ticket, and that particular narrative will die (Lanny Davis' hallucinations notwithstanding).
I am really curious what HRC decideds to do for the next stage of her career. I really hope she considers taking on a position in Obama's cabinet and resuming her fight on health care. That would really be a nice way for her to leave a lasting legacy.
June 5, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's been a tough, closely fought nomination battle, and it clearly was hard for Hillary to finally face the music and recognize this wasn't her time. This letter shows that she's done what she had to do to come to terms with the loss, and I believe and expect her to work hard to put Barack Obama into the WH in Jan.
Let's face it. We'll all have to work hard to bring the party together and continue to reach out to independents. But in the end, will the son of a Kenyan and a Kansan beat the Green Jello Man? Yes, he can!
June 5, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Carville was on CNN this morning and still trashing Obama.
Andrea Mitchell told Dan Abrams last night that Hillary is not releasing her delegates because she wants their votes at the convention to acknowledge her accomplishments.
Sorry, but I don't trust her and think there's some mischief going on as we all let our guard down and praise her.
Meanwhile, they've managed to obscure Obama's headline victory by making Hillary the lead story......again.
They have the media where they want them.
June 5, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, is that really a bad thing?
I mean, Obama is basically getting a week-long lovefest from the media, as everyone talks about who he'll pick for VP, what a historic time it is, etc.
Hillary just eclipsed McCain for a week. Which helps Obama, not hurts him.
(although I did see Carville this morning, and he sounded less unifying than Hillary's letter. He has a wicked wit, though, which he'll unleash upon McCain, don't worry!)
June 5, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hope you're right about Carville but after hearing him in action ("Judas" et al), I have lost much respect and trust. His loyalties seem to be more to the Clintons than to Party or country.
Time will tell, but I'm with Rachel Maddow on this.
I'm not convinced and won't be until/unless Hillary releases her delegates.
There's some irony there in that she and her surrogates have been saying that ALL the delegates, pledged, "automatic' and supers are free to choose and free to change their votes.
It would be poetic if they did exercise these rights at the convention and indeed did change their votes from Clinton to Obama.
June 5, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another voice of reason and sanity on this thread where folks are once again caught up in the Clinton doublespeak!
Unbeliiievable...Hillary has folks in a trance again.
Hillary is not going anywhere, she is sucking the oxygen out of his victory!! The only thing the news is talking about is HER...she is a horrid individual and she is true to the core in terms of how she is described ..a polarizing termagant.
Nothing has changed. She has no ethical standards. This week is all about her manuerving to keep herself in the media and to not recognizing Obama. That is all this is about.
Dan Abrams had the audacity to ask 'what's wrong with her not congratulation and conceding to Obama on Tues night when he clinched the nomination'
What's wrong? This is how much he has to twist and turn the story on it's head to make HER the news.
Why wasn't he asking...how bad must it be for Obama to have to graciously carry and recognize her.
None of the media stories are from the Obama viewpoint they are all about her..how SHE lost not how HE won.
June 5, 2008 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Very well said - completely agree.
I WANT to give her the benefit of the doubt, but with the way she has run makes it impossible.
And yes, Dan Abrams was and HAS been all along a total Hillary shill. He barely let Roy Sekoff (the only voice of reason and reality on the show) get a word in edgewise last night.
And as for CNN, well, they're the Clinton Noise Network and Reuters has called them out:
http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/06/04/whats-the-story-clinton-obama/
June 5, 2008 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is a very gracious letter, and I applaud her for it. I sincerely hope she follows it up with an equally gracious speech that will allow us to put us all this drama behind us.
I'm not going to rest easy until I actually see it, though. I've been fooled by her too many times before. But I really do hope the drama ends.
June 5, 2008 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
There is nothing gracious about this letter it is more doublespeak, backbiting and a completely lack of recognition of his victory while maintaining the illusion that she has something to continue fighting for when it actuality what she is continuing to fight is his being the nominee.
Nothing gracious about a letter filled with what she is going to do and how she is going to fight on when it should be telling her supporters to line up and fight and support Obama and not her.
Hillary has EARNED our disgust.
June 5, 2008 11:34 AM | Reply | Permalink