Barack Obama,  Hillary Clinton,  President 2008

Hillary Clinton Watch: What Does Hillary Want?

Hillary Clinton at AIPAC

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.., gestures while addressing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference 2008, Wednesday, June 4, 2008, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington.

After the last Democrat primary results were counted and Barack Obama seemingly won the majority of delegates to win the Democrat Party nomination for President, Hillary Clinton did not concede the race.

With Senator Barack Obama crossing the threshold of delegates he needed to claim the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday evening, party leaders began to move on Wednesday to bring their lengthy primary battle to a close and unite the party, even as questions swirled about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s next move.

Mrs. Clinton’s speech to supporters in New York City that was more defiant than conciliatory. She paid tribute to Mr. Obama, but she did not leave the race. She again presented her case that she was the stronger candidate and argued that she had garnered the most votes, a debatable contention that is disputed by the Obama campaign.

“I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected,” Mrs. Clinton told supporters. But she paid homage to Mr. Obama’s accomplishments, saying, “It has been an honor to contest the primaries with him, just as it is an honor to call him my friend.”

So, what does Hillary want?

Before answering the question let’s look first at former Senator and Presidential candidate Gary Hart’s advice to Hillary.

In fact, Mr. Hart believes that Mrs. Clinton could, if she wanted to, bring her candidacy to the August convention in Denver without threatening party unity.

“If [she and Obama] have a discussion—or even if their top people have a discussion—and her attitude is ‘I am not going to pursue more delegates but I intend to let my supporters put my name in nomination at the convention and I simply want you to know that,’ and then she suspends both in-front-of-the-scenes and behind-the-scenes campaigning, that’s not a real threat to him.”

This advice will be UNACCEPTABLE to Democrat Party officials and elected Pols.

Why?

They don’t trust Hillary to NOT pursue additional Superdelegates and to attempt to “steal” the nomination from Obama. Hillary at the very least will quietly attempt to undermine Obama as she did yesterday with her “open to the Vice President” comment.

So, what does Hillary want?

Flap maintains it is all about money. If Obama and his donors refund the tens of $millions she and Bill personally loaned her campaign then there is a start to her withdrawal from the race. No money, then she goes to Denver like Gary Hart has suggested.

Others on the right say either Vice President or a Supreme Court seat. Flap disagrees. Hillary wants to be President in 2012 and will work to further this goal. Money comes first and then the disruption of the Obama campaign.

Today it is a 50-50 proposition that Hillary withdraws anytime soon. Gary Hart’s advice may ring true.


2 Comments

  • David

    Looks like all that money paid off, she got her new cushy position square in the public eye and she is right there to run again when the opportunity presents itself. What I dont understand is how a political favor in exchange for paying debt is not illegal but I guess when it comes to “campaign contributions” it’s a new set of laws or something.

  • Jamie Guadaldo

    It’s a legalized loophole that politicians use all the time. They cannot directly take campaign money and spend it on personal stuff like say paying off debts, dental bills, or buying a new sofa. What they do is the money goes to a political organization, usually the Democratic National Committee (DNC) or Republican National Committee (RNC).

    Aside from its well known functions of representing their respective parties during elections and supporting fellow partymates, they are actually a holding company of sorts that takes in campaign money (legal). Then what the committee does is buy “the new sofa” or “pay dental bills” on behalf of certain people, in this case say Mrs. Clinton here. So the new stuff belongs to the DNC or RNC, but it’s gifted or loaned or given to fellow party mates. When you hear media say so and so has raised x amount of dollars and received y gifts, this is what they are referring to.

    It’s all a game to them, and we’re out here forking over our hard earned dollars to pay for it. And yes, Hillary is secretary of state now so I doubt this is the last we’ll hear of Mrs. Clinton or the Clintons.