It’s Over Now
Back in college, I was a big fan of a band called “Cause and Effect.” They were reminiscent of Depeche Mode, but had a slightly different sound which mutated after one of their two members died of an asthma attack. When they regrouped as a trio and released a second album, the first single was a track called “It’s Over Now”.
“I guess it’s over now
I think we’ve reached the end”
That song came to mind after yesterday’s Democratic primary results emerged. I expected (and predicted) that Clinton would win Indiana while Obama would triumph in North Carolina, but this so called “split decision” was nothing of the sort. It was an Obama victory, pure and simple. After trimming Clinton’s margin to 2 percentage points in Indiana while hoisting the trophy of a 14-point North Carolina victory, Obama’s speech felt like a victory speech. Even after a few minutes, one fact became evident.
Obama’s back.
This was not the tip-toeing, cautious, defensive Obama of the past several weeks when he was dogged by Reverend Wright’s damaging speeches. This was the confident, assertive Obama of “Houston, I think we’ve achieved liftoff” of the post-Wisconson era.
What happened? Clinton NEEDED a decisive victory last night to stay competitive by any stretch of the imagination (in reality. let’s face it, it’s been a long shot for some time now). She needed to chip away at Obama’s lead. It didn’t happen. Will she bow out? Probably not. Why should she? Even if there’s the slimmest of chances that some disaster could befall Obama, why drop out? Look, even Ron Paul is still in the race.
Staying in keeps Clinton in the national spotlight, even if it’s at the edge of the spotlight. The spotlight is where you have to be to succeed in politics, and Clinton has still got plenty of time to build her career in the Senate (and even to plan a future White House run). She can keep pressure on her to drop out to a minimum by cutting down the anti-Obama rhetoric. There’s less pressure now that the hope of victory appears to have slipped completely out of reach.
It’s over now. And it’s all right with me.