Couldn't agree more.

Posted at June 10, 2008 2:13 PM in response to Hillary Privately Urging Her Pledged Delegates To Vote For Obama At Convention

Greg,

Here are things I never expected Hillary Clinton to do during the Democratic Primary:

1. Question whether Obama could be Commander-In-Chief.

She did.

2. Compare the Democratic primary contast to the election of 2000 being stolen.

She did.

3. Leave any doubt in voters' minds about whether Obama was a muslim ("as far as I know").

She did.

4. Say we must obey rules until the results are in. And then try to change those said rules.

She did.

5. Tell others that he "CAN'T" win the general election.

She did.

So, for these writers to have to address what you call "cartoonish expectations they set" would be completely ignoring what came before. It's not as though they pulled their predictions out of thin air, her previous actions and statements would leave quite a few people to believe she would take this all the way (and work to undermine Obama at the same time). The only thing that stopped her was her supporters who basically said either you get out or we stop supporting you publicly. That's what it took. Otherwise, if they had stayed with her, I sincerely believe these "cartoonish expectations" could have EASILY been carried out by Hillary Clinton.

She did a great thing on Saturday, but part of the reason she did that was because people told her: no more. Not because she necessarily wanted to quit.

Posted at June 10, 2008 2:09 PM in response to Hillary Privately Urging Her Pledged Delegates To Vote For Obama At Convention

From Ben Smith at Politico:

A Ferraro flashback

"If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race," she said.

Really. The cite is an April 15, 1988 Washington Post story (byline: Howard Kurtz), available only on Nexis.

Here's the full context:

Placid of demeanor but pointed in his rhetoric, Jackson struck out repeatedly today against those who suggest his race has been an asset in the campaign. President Reagan suggested Tuesday that people don't ask Jackson tough questions because of his race. And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

Asked about this at a campaign stop in Buffalo, Jackson at first seemed ready to pounce fiercely on his critics. But then he stopped, took a breath, and said quietly, "Millions of Americans have a point of view different from" Ferraro's.

Discussing the same point in Washington, Jackson said, "We campaigned across the South . . . without a single catcall or boo. It was not until we got North to New York that we began to hear this from Koch, President Reagan and then Mrs. Ferraro . . . . Some people are making hysteria while I'm making history."

Posted at March 11, 2008 9:23 PM in response to Wolfson On Ferraro's Latest: "We Have Made Clear That We Reject Her Remarks"