Clinton's red-phone resurgence
IN THE run-up to the March 4 primaries, a majority of voters said they wanted to see the Democratic presidential contest continue. On Tuesday night they got their wish. Hillary Clinton scored impressive wins in Ohio, Rhode Island, and even Texas, where many expected Barack Obama would be strong. She has earned the right to fight another day.
To be sure, the delegate math is largely unchanged by Tuesday's results. The Associated Press estimated yesterday that Clinton won a net gain of just 12 delegates, with a few yet to be distributed. Even optimistic scenarios for Clinton still have Obama winning the most pledged delegates and the most states by the time the last vote is cast in Puerto Rico on June 7.
Party insiders known as superdelegates are important as unifiers for the Democrats, the "adults" at the squabbling family table. But they must not overturn the will of voters who trudged to caucuses and primaries across the land. Democrats need to rally around the candidate with the lead in pledged delegates, even if the contest goes on through June. That candidate will likely be Obama.
Democrats may be gnashing their teeth that no nominee has yet emerged, and fear that a prolonged battle can only hurt the party's chances in November. That need not be the case, but much will depend on the performance of the candidates. A good fair fight will test and steel both Clinton and Obama, making either one a stronger candidate. An ugly barrage of attacks will sully both.
That doesn't mean that Obama, whom this page has endorsed, can't draw strong distinctions with Clinton. Both on the Iraq war and, increasingly, in hearing the economic concerns of anxious voters, he has a compelling case. He might start by asking Clinton why she voted for a punitive 2001 bankruptcy "reform" bill, another vote she now says she regrets. (Clinton: I voted for it, but "I was happy that it never became law.") A nearly identical bill that she voted against in 2005 did become law, and is today almost surely making life harder for honest Americans - in Pennsylvania, for example - who have been caught in the subprime mortgage trap.
But Obama also needs to be more specific in explaining how he would help Americans worried about their mortgages, college loans, credit card debts, and jobs.
Clinton won the votes Tuesday of those who made up their minds in the last three days - after she broadcast an ad that ominously suggested Obama lacks the experience to answer the red phone in a national emergency. After his losses Tuesday, Obama looked rattled. Clinton's campaign may now be reinforced in its belief that going negative is the only way to catch him. Should such attacks come, Obama's responses - measured and strong, or angry and defensive - will say much about his ability to overcome a crisis. 