Yes, but forgive me for privately grousing that it feels wrong to be held hostage to resentful Clinton voters. Their main complaint is they lost, somehow. I find it more appealing to simply not discuss Clinton at all.

I got an email from MoveOn this morning asking for my opinions on where they should put their efforts until the general election, and I told them something along these lines, MsJoanne.

But I took a slightly different approach. It's important to point out the negatives that McCain brings with him, but I think it's also important to put this upcoming presidency in terms of a Democratic presidency rather than an Obama presidency. I suggested staying away from "Obama branding."

That said, the biggest thing that has to happen is that Clinton herself must, must, must give Obama unequivocal support. And she'd better get out there and campaign as hard for him as she did for herself.

She's got a lot of damage to undo, and I'm not sure she's going to want to do that. For the same reasons that I think it would be a disaster to have her as a vice president—not for purposes of the campaign, but for the time in office—I think she's going to have to be pushed by her colleagues to set her own ambitions aside. She's not cut out for a subordinate role, I believe, and I think that there'd be a constant power struggle if she were vice president.

But if she truly believes the things she has been saying all these months about what this country needs, she'd better do her damndest to make sure that the Democratic nominee makes it into the White House.

But if she's not sincere, no amount of placating, coddling, or threats about a world with McCain as president will get some of her more zealous supporters to vote for Obama.

Elections in the past have been far far rougher than this and the general will be much rougher as well. It's time Obama's supporters grew up and acted like they and he are adults.

Oregon Activist, did you ever consider that maybe it is the Clinton supporters who should grow up? It is my view that they are the ones who acted like a bunch of adolescent bullies.

The message from America this year is that Americans, both Republican and Democrat, want change. Every poll gives the same message. Both parties rejected their so called politically destined candidates. The Republicans scrapped Giuliani and now the Democrats have passed on Clinton. The same old attack and smear just isn't cutting the mustard this year. (Too many years of being Bushed.) Geraldine Ferraro's actions alone were enough to sour millions of Americans* on Hillary.

Are you ready to send Gerry a Thank You card?

pv2k

* I was one of those millions.

I believe we all need to contact Speaker Pelosi and others about the following (I already have). HRC MUST get in front of this:

Clyburn: Clinton Supporters Flood Office With Hate Calls
by FOXNews.com
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

An angry and upset Rep. James Clyburn said Wednesday that his office has been deluged with nasty phone calls with racial overtones since his endorsement of Barack Obama a day earlier.

Clyburn told FOX News Radio’s “Brian and the Judge” that the callers identified themselves as Hillary Clinton supporters. Clyburn, an African-American and the third ranking House Democrat, said a white intern in his office was so upset by the calls that she had to be consoled by other workers and left the office early.

“We got more vitriolic, nasty phone calls, really racially tinged phone calls in my congressional office, so much so, until one of the interns, a young lady who is not a stranger to politics … and she is not a black person, she left the office, had to be consoled because of the kinds of phone calls from people who identified themselves as Hillary Clinton supporters,” he said.

Clyburn said some of the callers used “names that I would not repeat on this show today.”

“I was absolutely shocked, could not believe that this happened. I could understand people saying, ‘Why are you doing this or why would you not support Hillary Clinton?’ but to call me the kinds of names I have not heard since the ’40s and ’50s,” he said.

Clyburn said some of the callers threatened to “sabotage this election.” He added that he does not think Clinton understands her role in unifying the party.

“I’ve got a call in to Bob Johnson, a good buddy of mine, he’s a big supporter of Hillary Clinton, he’s now pushing for her to be on the ticket as VP. And I’m gonna tell him today they’d better really raise their voices because this kind of stuff is lethal,” Clyburn said.

The House majority whip later told FOX News that the nomination of a black man as a major party presidential candidate demonstrates the distance the United States has come in a short term.

“I think historically it means in the 60th year since Strom Thurmond walked out of the party on the issue of race, our party has decided that it’s time to turn the page on that issue in society,” he said referring to the late Dixiecrat turned Republican senator who was later discovered to have fathered a child with a black woman who worked as the family maid.

But Clyburn tempered his enthusiasm for Obama’s nomination, saying that there “are always pockets in this country of people who cannot find it in themselves to grow up. And to the extent which people fail to mature, we’ll still have some work to do.”