Can Mrs. Clinton Lose?

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By PEGGY NOONAN

February 8, 2008

If Hillary Clinton loses, does she know how to lose? What will that be, if she loses? Will she just say, "I concede" and go on vacation at a friend's house on an island, and then go back to the Senate and wait?

Is it possible she could be so normal? Politicians lose battles, it's part of what they do, win and lose. But she does not know how to lose. Can she lose with grace? But she does grace the way George W. Bush does nuance.

She often talks about how tough she is. She has fought "the Republican attack machine" that has tried to "stop" her, "end" her, and she knows "how to fight them." She is preoccupied to an unusual degree with toughness. A man so preoccupied would seem weak. But a woman obsessed with how tough she is just may be lethal.

Does her sense of toughness mean that every battle in which she engages must be fought tooth and claw, door to door? Can she recognize the line between burly combat and destructive, never-say-die warfare? I wonder if she is thinking:

"What will it mean if I win ugly? What if I lose ugly? What will be the implications for my future, the party's future? What will black America, having seen what we did in South Carolina, think forever of me and the party if I do low things to stop this guy on the way to victory? Can I stop, see the lay of the land, imitate grace, withdraw, wait, come back with a roar down the road? Life is long. I am not old."

Or is that a reverie she could never have? What does it mean if she could never have it?

We know she is smart. Is she wise? If it comes to it, down the road, can she give a nice speech, thank her supporters, wish Barack Obama well, and vow to campaign for him?

It either gets very ugly now, or we will see unanticipated--and I suspect professionally saving--grace.

I ruminate in this way because something is happening. Mrs. Clinton is losing this thing. It's not one big primary, it's a rolling loss, a daily one, an inch-by-inch deflation. The trends and indices are not in her favor. She is having trouble raising big money, she's funding her campaign with her own wealth, her moral standing within her own party and among her own followers has been dragged down, and the legacy of Clintonism tarnished by what Bill Clinton did in South Carolina. Unfavorable primaries lie ahead. She doesn't have the excitement, the great whoosh of feeling that accompanies a winning campaign. The guy from Chicago who was unknown a year ago continues to gain purchase, to move forward. For a soft little innocent, he's played a tough and knowing inside/outside game.

The day she admitted she'd written herself a check for $5 million, Obama's people crowed they'd just raised $3 million. But then his staff is happy. They're all getting paid.

Political professionals are leery of saying, publicly, that she is losing, because they said it before New Hampshire and turned out to be wrong. Some of them signaled their personal weariness with Clintonism at that time, and fear now, as they report, to look as if they are carrying an agenda. One part of the Clinton mystique maintains: Deep down journalists think she's a political Rasputin who will not be dispatched. Prince Yusupov served him cupcakes laced with cyanide, emptied a revolver, clubbed him, tied him up and threw him in a frozen river. When he floated to the surface they found he'd tried to claw his way from under the ice. That is how reporters see Hillary.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1202419159...in_commentaries

[PlatyPius 5]

Hillary has no tact, no humility, no class. If she loses, she will lose badly.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Hillary has no tact, no humility, no class. If she loses, she will lose badly.

I think the author is on to something with the Rasputin analogy, though. She will win this thing, the question is how.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument

I don't think she is losing either. But she was significantly ahead weeks before Super Tuesday and she ended up drawing BO. She got about 0.4% more in terms of total number of votes and they're about even-steven in delegates. She should have won big, but she didn't.

So, no - I don't think she's losing but she's not winning it either. Barack lost Cali as expected and still managed to bring it all to a draw. That's impressive.

[no name 1]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

True but what would 'they' b*tch about if there's wasn't a woman running for Prez?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Barack Obama has momentum and appeal - that is undeniable - but I have heard MANY Democrats (from people as diverse as my socially conservative Reagan Democrat parents to my young black coworkers to my gay neighbour) say they like the guy but are concerned about his lack of experience.

[GaryC 7]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

True but what would 'they' b*tch about if there's wasn't a woman running for Prez?

Yeah right, everyone that hates Hillary does so because she is a woman. Pretty narrow view you got there. No other reason is even possible right?

[Dan J 277]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

On Super Tuesday she didn't really gain anything over Obama. Which considering how much her campaign has pumped her up, is kind of a setback in itself.

While she may have have won the big states, Obama won more states. They are equal on pledged delegates, and superdelegates could change their mind by the convention.

[PlatyPius 5]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

True but what would 'they' b*tch about if there's wasn't a woman running for Prez?

For the last f%^*ing time, no one cares that she's a woman, they care that she's an idiot. I don't think there's anyone here who wouldn't vote for a woman if they represented their views and seemed capable of the job. Being a drama queen and whining that it's only because she's a woman is why people don't take you seriously and post things that "cause" you to report every single anti-Hillary thread on the board.

Even the Feminists have more sense than that, since they endorsed Obama - and I don't hear them whining about people not voting for Hillary because she's a woman...

Edited February 8, 2008 by Rocinante

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

For the last f%^*ing time...

No it's not

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

True but what would 'they' b*tch about if there's wasn't a woman running for Prez?

For the last f%^*ing time, no one cares that she's a woman, they care that she's an idiot. I don't think there's anyone here who wouldn't vote for a woman if they represented their views and seemed capable of the job. Being a drama queen and whining that it's only because she's a woman is why people don't take you seriously and post things that "cause" you to report every single anti-Hillary thread on the board.

Even the Feminists have more sense than that, since they endorsed Obama - and I don't hear them whining about people not voting for Hillary because she's a woman...

This post is also one of a drama queen

[DeadPoolX 9]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

True but what would 'they' b*tch about if there's wasn't a woman running for Prez?

Yeah right, everyone that hates Hillary does so because she is a woman. Pretty narrow view you got there. No other reason is even possible right?

I have absolutely no problem voting for a woman. I just dislike Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, it actually seems that she's the most "conservative" out of the Democratic candidates, which is a pretty scary thought.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Heck, Rush thinks she is more "conservative" than McCain!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I'm not sure I buy this "she is losing" argument - she won several big states on Super Tuesday. Obama's failure to capture California is a huge setback. She won big in other key states.

The "everyone hates Clinton" thing is totally overblown - in many states more votes were cast for her than the Republican frontrunner, including states she lost.

True but what would 'they' b*tch about if there's wasn't a woman running for Prez?

Yeah right, everyone that hates Hillary does so because she is a woman. Pretty narrow view you got there. No other reason is even possible right?

I have absolutely no problem voting for a woman. I just dislike Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, it actually seems that she's the most "conservative" out of the Democratic candidates, which is a pretty scary thought.

Yet she is basically in agreement with John McCain on many issues