Game Over For Hillary Clinton

It may not be sexy, but John Edward’s endorsement of Barack Obama is a killing blow if I’ve ever seen one.

After the handful of new delegates supporting Obama’s campaign and with the John Edwards endorsement, Barack Obama is sitting pretty at the top of the Democratic mountain.  Newsweek declaration of an Obama victory aside, Hillary Clinton needs to face reality and make a move.

John Edwards Endorsed Barack Obama At The Worst Possible Time For Hillary Clinton

That’s right, John Edwards finally picked a horse in the Democratic primary, so what does this mean for Democrats?

Everything.  

For starters, the media is all over this endorsement as is to be expected.  Except for a few Fox News “experts” that suggest John Edwards is irrelevant and a “nobody,” the mainstream media noise is deafening.    John Edwards was the best “pure” Democrat seeking the presidential nomination.  And but for his minority status — the rich White guy — in this unique election cycle, he would have won the hearts of the Democrats en route to a Presidential victory.

Here’s a bit of what John Edwards had to say about his reason for endorsing Barack Obama:

“There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the change, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground up,” Edwards said. “There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two … and that man is Barack Obama.”

If any question remained, John Edward’s endorsement of Barack Obama will serve to put the nail in the coffin of a Clinton that seems invulnerable to the electoral process.  For everyone but the most ardent (and delusional) Clinton supporters, there is now a sense of finality in the Democratic primary process.

Why Does The Edwards Endorsement Matter?The short of it is, Obama needed to throw White people a bone.

Given the circumstances, media narrative and turbulent Democratic primary, the John Edwards endorsement came at the perfect time.

If you’re scratching your head and wondering why Edwards is relevant, consider his role in ending negative questions about Obama’s electability.  Remaining un-pledged delegates were asked to seriously consider Obama’s electability by the Clinton campaign.  Many of the questions have been repeated on the stump and are very sobering facts about race and age discrimination inherent in American voters that could swing the election towards McCain.

Below are a few questions aimed at convincing Super-Delegates to shift votes and make Hillary Clinton the nominee:

1. Barack Obama has lost the support of the poor white and working middle class.
2. Barack Obama is too much of an intellectual, he’s an erudite out of touch with the common man.
3. Barack Obama (a black man in case you forgot) can’t win against John McCain, (a white man) living in a white world.
4. Barack Obama can’t win because his past Reverend Wright association have turned off the independent voters he needs to win.
5. Barack Obama can’t win the support of elder voters in the Democratic party who may feel a closer association to John McCain.

To a certain extent, some of those questions and assertions are true, while others are coated in a few political waxes and intended to manipulate voters and the media.  However, with John Edwards - a white rich guy who dedicated his life to helping the poor and middle class - Barack Obama suddenly appears invincible again. In case the subtleties escaped anyone, his campaign made sure to reinforce this fact by sending out a mass e-mail welcoming John Edward’s endorsement.

Here is a clip that supports my thoughts on why John Edwards is such a big deal and how he serves to undercut Clinton’s arguments to super-delegates.

“I’m deeply honored by John’s support. He is a true leader who dedicated his career to improving the lives of ordinary Americans.

John ran a strong, principled campaign for president, focusing on a number of important issues where we share common ground — universal health care, bringing our troops home from Iraq, and eliminating poverty in America.  The way he ran his campaign was also important. He ran in a way that reflected our shared conviction that we need to fundamentally change politics.

Like our campaign, John’s campaign never accepted donations from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.”

Inevitability part Deux?
Remember how “inevitability” helped to both propel Hillary Clinton into the spotlight only to destroy her campaign in a matter of months?

If anything were truly inevitable at this point in the process, it is Hillary Clinton’s impending concession speech.  A Democrat will win the White House in 2008, there is no way around it.  All of the rhetoric, terrorist threats, charges of un-Americanism in the world will not derail the Democrats in 2008.   Ironically, for all of the vitriol that the Clintons receive these days, what will likely determine the future prospects of the Democratic party is how well Hillary Clinton handles defeat in this year’s primary.

The question now becomes “Will Hillary Clinton bow out gracefully or go down swinging and sabotage Democrats versus McCain?” You’ll  hear of motives as sinister as “Hillary Clinton will sabotage Obama in 2008 so that she can defeat McCain in 2012.”  The reality is that Hillary Clinton must now work to remove the stigma and negative associations attached with her campaign.  Her supporters will help keep her in the game, but she needs to do more if she wants to remain a relevant force in the Democratic party and American politics.

Is Obama’s democratic nomination and general election victory inevitable?  Absolutely. 

Edwards endorsement completely changed the landscape of the Democratic primary.  The narrative in the media speculating about division among Democrats and between blacks and whites can easily be countered by even the most amateur of political strategists.  As for John McCain being the primary beneficiary of Democratic squabbling,.. that fantasy is too good to be true for an underserving Republican party.  In the end, the GOP will pay the ultimate price for latching on to President Bush for seven long years and subjecting the rest of us to the brutality.

Congratulations Barack Obama, the “game over” sign is flashing for Hillary Clinton and all of the coins in the world won’t restart this machine.

Fred Soto is an Attorney and Entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley.
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