Hillary: Did She Or Didn't She?

Posted by Brian Fairbanks

 

It seemed obvious to us that Hillary Clinton's endorsement of Barack Obama on Saturday was fairly solid and from the heart. Others are not at all convinced and smell trouble ahead...

Commenters on Digg and other blogs do not trust Hillary Clinton and so can never take her word at face value. Just because she dropped out, they say, doesn't mean she's given up. She suspended but did not terminate her campaign, which means she keeps her pledged delegates and takes them to the convention-- and she can still accept donations. Rumors are flying that Hillary (or even McCain) may have dirt on Obama and may bring it out just before the Denver coronation, hoping to derail Obama's nomination or at least throw the convention into chaos. McCain's motivation there would be obvious (he'd have a better chance of winning if the Democrats are in disarray), while Clinton's less so: could she use her supporters to make him look weak and thus throw the nomination her way or will she merely bargain with them for the VP shot?

We'll be mulling this question between now and then... because there probably won't be anything interesting until the August showdown...


Comments

biff said:

She may be planning something, but let's not overlook the obvious answer, either: She didn't terminate her campaign so that she could continue to raise money to pay off her campaign debt. She's about $20 million in the red, $11 million of it her own cash. With a suspended campaign, she can continue to raise money and apply it to what is owed. Terminating her campaign prevents her for accepting further donations. That's not to say she's not planning a last minute sneak attack. It's  just to point out that there's another reason for not ending her campaign outright.

June 9, 2008 9:29 PM

About Brian Fairbanks

Brian Fairbanks, the Senior National Political Correspondent for Nerve, is a filmmaker living in Brooklyn or New Orleans, depending on the season. He is a heavily-armed advocate of gun control.

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