Clinton Gives Excuses to Explain Failures

Hillary Clinton may be running out on the votes, but she still has a ready stock of excuses to explain everything. With quite a few losses and failures, Clinton has taken to blaming her losses on, of all the things, on the month being February.

Clinton has to be lauded on her ingenuity when it comes to explaining her poor performance in the caucuses and primaries against Barack Obama. For instance, that the caucus states, are essentially undemocratic and pander only to party activists. Another one: According to the former first lady, Southern states, such as Louisiana, have a strong and proud African-American electorate. Obama's victory was due to the state's inherent bias for a colored candidate. One more: "Red" states such as North Dakota, Idaho, and Kansas are not likely to vote for a Democratic candidate in the general election, so Obama's victory in the states, on Super Tuesday, is not of much consequence.



If one accepts the soundness of her logic, it is easy to see why the results from these states are not an adequate reflection of Clinton's popularity. So, which states does that leave one with? New Hampshire and New Jersey, the states already won by Clinton. Then there are Texas and Ohio—she would have to win these to remain in the race.

However, Clinton's excuses notwithstanding, Obama's victories in the primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia tell another story. As Democratic strategist Jenny Backus explains, "Every day the numbers show the true state of the race." She says, "Obama is moving and gathering a bigger coalition, and Hillary's coalition is diminishing". Desperate to explain her plummeting poll rankings, Clinton's campaign has announced that February is not likely to be a good month for her!

Meanwhile, Obama's campaigns have netted more than $1 million per day, which have helped him improve his campaign, through television ads and other means. His immensely popular rallies offer contrast to the much smaller crowds that Clinton attracts when she speaks.

Clinton's only hope now rests on her winning the Texas and Ohio primaries. While the largely white middle-class voter profile in these delegate-rich states may be favorable to her, she is nevertheless taking a big risk.

No doubt, Clinton does enjoy loyal support from a wide section of the Democratic electorate. It is also true that only a candidate with a secure backing from his party can, in the long run, hope to succeed in the general elections.

Obama's popularity extends to more than the black populations in certain states. His recent victory from white dominated Maine is a sign of this. If he now succeeds in wooing the middle class women that constitute the major bulk of Clinton's supporters, she may really be in trouble.