Matt Drudge is reporting that the Clintons are hitting the Sunday morning political talk shows tomorrow – the ones the democrats consider to be “mainstream media.” This could be the beginning of the “Dump Kerry, Draft Hillary” Movement.
The Clintons still control the democratic party, and they have two choices. They can sit back and watch as more John Kerry lies are revealed and he takes the party down to a landslide defeat. Not only will the democrats fritter away a chance to re-take the White House, but the republicans will also strengthen their majorities in the Senate and the House.
On the other hand, Bill and Hillary can persuade Kerry to withdraw his name from the ballot. How can they accomplish such a thing? First, remember, these are the Clintons we’re talking about. Second, if there is anything we have learned about John Kerry in the last 3 months, it’s that he values nothing more than his own reputation, which, as we have also learned, has for 30 years been built upon a plinth of sand. He might see withdrawing from the ticket as the only way to stop the bleeding and to hold on to any hope to stay in the senate for another couple of terms.
([Delivered in the pompous, condescending Kerry tone] “I did not know that my candidacy would be used by some to re-open the wounds of the Vietnam war, wounds which so many of my generation have dedicated so many years of service to trying to heal. It was my dream to unite the country, but I fear that my continued candidacy will only serve to divide it. I still hold to the ideals which I took with me as a soldier to Vietnam. I will take no action and I will embark on no course which I believe is not in the best interests of the United States of America.” -- John F. Kerry, speech withdrawing from the democratic ticket, September, 2004.)
If Kerry withdraws, that does not mean that John Edwards automatically becomes the presidential nominee. I suspect a new convention will have to be held, but nothing like the made for TV sideshows we are accustomed to. It will be a “smoke filled room” affair. (The last time anything like this happened was in 1972 when Tom Eagleton, the Missouri senator George McGovern chose to run with him, removed himself from the ticket when it was revealed that he had undergone hospitalization and shock treatments for an emotional condition during the 1960s. McGovern then chose Sergeant Shriver to join him on the ticket).
The democratic delegates, or more likely, the state party chairmen/chairwomen will assemble. They will be told that the party needs a nominee with national name recognition, since it is too late to “introduce” a new face to the country. They will be told that the candidate must be someone who can continue to raise money, which cannot be done unless the candidate is perceived as electable. They will be told that they need a candidate who can “unite all the traditional constituencies of the democratic party” – code language for “we need someone who can energize the black vote.” As written here in an earlier post, John Kerry does not connect with the black voter. In his Massachusetts senate races, he was never dependent on the black vote. It is foreign to him, and he does not appear comfortable in trying to seek it. The democrats are sunk nationally, and in many state-wide races, if they do not have a strong black turnout, and if they do not receive at least 90% of that vote.
Lastly, the democrats will be told there is only one person who fits the bill.
In truth, the Clintons’ decision will be based primarily on whether they believe ANY democrat can win in November. If they think the answer is “no” then they will let John Kerry take the party down, all the better for Hillary to assume the role as a quasi Evita/Joan of Ark who will rescue and resurrect the democratic party in 2006 and in 2008.