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Senator Clinton Representing the Great State of Illinois
I was watching MSNBC this morning and a Democratic Analyst was saying the biggest mistake Hillary Clinton made was moving to NEW YORK to become a Senator instead of returning to her original home state of Illinois. Clinton would have handed Obama his ass in the Primary there and Obama would never have been a Senator.
No Senator Obama, No Democratic Nominee for President Obama, No President Obama in 2008.
I dare say Clinton would have locked this game up MONTHS ago.
But a better option came along for the American People.
Wow isn't it amazing how choices like that come back to bite you in the ass?
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The butterfly effect...
May 15, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why did Hillary choose New York in the first place?
May 15, 2008 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Illinois had no open seat in 2000. In 2002 Dick Durbin was up for re-election, so she could not have won the primary. She would have had to wait until 2004 to run. This would not have fit her timetable. I can think of no reason why Bill would have chosen to move to Illinois and wait four years for Hillary to run.
A more realistic alternative would have been for Hillary to run for president in 2004. She would have faced similar criticisms that Obama faces, but they clearly can be (could have been) overcome.
May 15, 2008 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
But if the match up in IL had been Obama vs. Clinton and she had thrown herself into the local party for the previous 5 years, I guarantee Obama wouldn't be a Senator right now. And your point is moot since Obama did win in '04 and is running right now.
May 15, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's what I said back in '99. When they got that office in Harlem, I saw it as a cynical ploy of We Love Us Some Black Folk and thought it was a boneheaded move. I thought she'd be a powerhouse if she moved to Illinois and became Senator. And in '04 when Obama was running, I thought, "Damn, if Clinton has moved to IL instead, we wouldn't even be seeing this guy right now."
May 15, 2008 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
And if she had, who knows, maybe Edwards would be in Obama's position right now. Many Dems. were hoping for an alternative and Obama was the best non-Clinton choice.
Hillary's unusually high negatives from the start may have doomed her campaign no matter who was Senator from Illinois.
May 15, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Judgment, baby.
May 15, 2008 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary chose New York because it has arguably the biggest media market in the world. When a whole mess of different type of people vote for you, you look representative.
I'm from Evanston, IL, and I'm damn glad Hillary didn't come back home. She hasn't been in IL since pre-college, it's not really her home. Barack actually came to communities in Chicago and worked. I'm going to chalk this one up as "Huge-sigh-of-relief-after-considering-what-could-have-been"
May 15, 2008 4:29 PM | Reply | Permalink