DON'T GIVE UP, DON'T EVER GIVE UP

Lets look at where we are with this mess of a political party:

According to CNN and the Associated Press, there are 300 Superdelegates uncommitted to either Democratic candidate. Obama leads the overall delegate count by about 140. He also has about 500,000 more popular votes. He also has a commanding lead in polling in North Carolina for the May 6 primary. He has decided not to debate Clinton there, which is probably a good move after their latest debate in Pennsylvania in which Obama (as usual) clearly did a poor job in.

Indiana looks to be a dead heat right now for the vote also on May 6. Since North Carolina is not a concern to Obama he’ll probably spend a nice amount of his extensive cash to woo voters in Indiana. If he can pull out big wins in both states, that should pretty much be it. Hillary opened up her speech last night asking for cash right out of the box, Obama doesn’t have that problem, he has plenty of money flowing in and huge support from the younger generation and has used the networking sites and online features and text messages to get his word out and fire up his fan base. Good for him, well done, he’s changed the way the word will get out and how political races are going to be run in the future and I strongly support that, however, when it comes down to who I want making decisions with my money, right there at the bottom of my list, just above the religious fanaticals, are the 21 year old liberal kids who have no idea what it is to actually work for and earn your money, but sure love to text and IM. But that’s a blog for another day. If Obama can win those two primaries, Clinton will see the money stop, and her chances of going on will, in all probability, be done.

Now being I have no desire to ever see either of these candidates ever in the white house, my take may be a bit slanted, but the bottom line is, no one likes a close game. Granted they are interesting for the “fans” but watching the Mets win a game 10-2 is always more desirable then sitting though a 16 inning nail biter. So, obviously Obama supporters want this over today. They want their man, who HAS NOT WON ENOUGH DELEGATES, so simply be handed the nomination. They want Clinton to simply say, “Ok, we have a system in place where you need 2105 delegates to win our parties nomination, you have about 1700, so rather than have the other remaining states have their say, I’ll step aside since you almost won for the good of the party.”

Now anyone who believes any of these people are doing anything for the good of the party, the good of the people, or the good of the country, are the ones that are the most delusional (see my previous group of 21 year olds). Read this very carefully and pay close attention to the next statement, because this is what most educated, level headed, experienced people learn at some point or another in their life. NO ONE DOES ANYTHING THAT DOES NOT HAVE THEIR OWN BEST INTERESTS IN MIND. Read it again and think about it. I know, you are going to say I’m wrong, or I’m jaded, that’s fine, I accept all of that, I’m not going to argue it with you, because one day it will you that I’m right and when it happens you’ll say “Son of a…that guy was right.” One day those rose colored glasses will come off, and you’ll realize that most people, who I truely believe are inherently good, still do what is best for them, and some people (Hillary Clinton) will do what is best for them at any cost.

It’s wonderful to think and to dream that Obama will become president, and everything will be fine, all his revolutionary ideas will fall right into place, and he’ll do what he thinks is best for the country, but that is not reality. If you believe that Obama is the best man for the job because you like what his plan is, then that’s fine, I support your right to support him. If you think Ralph Nader has the best ideas (in 1992 I was a supporter and campaigner for Jerry Brown until finally voting for Ross Perot) then by all means support him. But just be realistic, and know that Hillary isn’t just going to go away because you or I want her to. There is no person more powerful, nothing more worth winning, than the Presidency of the United Stated. Hillary Clinton has dreamed about this for longer than any of us can ever know, to think she will simply quit is ludicrous.

These are the Clinton’s we are dealing with, who knows what may come out about Obama, or what rumor may be next about him. True or untrue, Hillary knows, you can’t win if you quit. May, June, July there are still a lot of banana peals out there for Obama to step on, and the wrong one could be all the Clintons are looking for.

Now for the good news, by continuing on until the convention, she is doing the Republicans' work for them, effectively running their campaign while allowing McCain to remain above the fray and avoid anytype of fight or mud slinging.

Nearly one fifth of Clinton and Obama supporters now say they would not vote for the other candidate in the general election, a statistic that is at least partially a result of Clinton's protracted negative campaigning.

Clinton's only real chance at securing the nomination is by continuing on until the convention and having the party's super delegates overturn Obama's likely lead in both pledged delegates and popular vote. If that were to happen, it would irreparably damage the Democratic Party's unity and would doubtlessly leave the party with a jaded, divided base going into the general election.

So with that I say good luck Obama, good luck Clinton, and remember, I teach my kids to never give up, don’t give up on your dreams, fight for what you want, because in this life no one is just going to hand you anything. She’s a fine, fine role model, keep up the fight, and as the great Jimmy Valvano once said so eloquently, “"Don't give up, don't ever give up."”