The General Election Campaign Begins: Barack Obama vs. John McCain

After last night’s devastating loss for Hillary Clinton, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama can now begin the general election campaign against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. I previously noted how the media has begun declaring Obama the winner, beginning with Tim Russert, Chuck Todd, and Matt Drudge. This continued on the morning news shows, increasing the sense that the nomination battle is over. Even George Stephanopoulos managed to break free of Hillary Clinton’s grasp on his balls and say, “More superdelegates will come out today for Barack Obama –they will come three, four, five at a time, and this nomination will be locked up.”

For Hillary Clinton it now comes down to preparing the exit strategy. There are reports (along with denials) that she is canceling public appearances, perhaps to give her more time to come up with reasons to justify remaining in the race. She might want to continue a battle which has now come down to satisfying her ego, but the decision might be made based upon the money. After initial denials, it has become known that Hillary Clinton, the new hero of the common working man, has loaned herself another 6.4 million dollars on top of the earlier five million dollar loan. With contributions drying up, for all practical purposes she must resort to self-financing if she is to continue. At this point she might remain in the race a little longer only to attempt to raise a little money to offset her debts, or perhaps to make a deal with Obama to assume her campaign debts.

Update: The exodus of Clinton supporters has begun. Former Clinton backer George McGovern is calling the Clintons to urge Hillary to drop out of the race and inform them of his decision to now endorse Obama. I expect many more to switch in the next couple of weeks.

The Wicked Old Witch At Last is Dead

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHCL6-GqyRk]

Hillary Clinton was right. Tuesday night was a game changer, but not as she had hoped. Obama is winning in North Carolina by 15% and Indiana remains too close to call (despite Clinton’s earlier victory speech). It is no longer possible for Clinton to win a majority of delegates or win the popular vote. Obama has withstood a couple weeks of primarily bad news and still beat expectations in both states. Clinton threw everything she had at Obama, proving she is willing to do anything to win, without success. Clinton has lost any chance she might have had of convincing the superdelegates that Obama is no longer electable.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lklfIPBK4Zg]

The media might have pretended that this was a real race long after it was mathematically over, but now the news media is getting ready to declare a winner. The New York Times says that Clinton’s options are dwindling. Drudge’s headline declares Obama The Nominee. Tim Russert (video above) and Chuck Todd have come to the same conclusion. Clinton might hold of on conceding a while longer, but for all practical purposes it is over.

It is a new era in politics, and the dirty politics of Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, and Hillary Clinton is no longer the way to win. Two families have shared control of the government for the past twenty years and have become virtually identical. The Clinton/Bush Dynasty is finally coming to an end.