And It's Us Who Have To Pay... At The End Of The Day

I really don't know a Hilary Clinton supporter who's unrealistic about the state of this race.  Almost all of us - to a woman, or a man - know that this is a very close race, it will probably be very close, stay very close, and go, all the way.  We realize, all of us (at least the vast majority of us who follow this thing closely), that the possibility that Barack Obama will be the nominee is a distinct reality.  You can't ignore all that's happened, all the energy on both sides.

Being a Clinton supporter means putting up with a lot; it means putting up with the casual sexism that no one ever notices, until it's pointed out.  It means putting up with the baggage of the nineties - and all of that - which has so polarized some people into being all but completely unable to see an actual person when they so much as look at Mrs. Clinton. 

But mostly, it's meant putting up with a constant, ceaseless, often very silly drumbeat of writers - usually white men, of the pundit class, who've been around since the nineties - who "analyze" the race and determine, each and every time, that the primary race is over, and Hillary Clinton should just get out now.

One more thing: there are a lot of political news sources out there, and I have to admit, I had high hopes for The Politico when it launched; the idea of a news-based hybrid of web based journalism featuring some very well known, experienced names from key reporting organizations.  Yet, I find that I rarely go to it anymore; even the highly worthy Jeanne Cummings, whose work I deeply admired at The Wall Street Journal has rarely turned in stories as interesting or compelling since moving over to The Politico. I'm not even speaking of the patently identifiable biases of its reporters - you can probably guess where I'm going - I'm talking about the fact that virtually none of the key stories fom this election season have come from The Politico; even for the "insider" view they're supposed to have, little seems to have come from their vast connections, except mostly tired, familiar gossip.

So, despite the crowing of Kossites, Josh Marshall, Ezra Klein (and lord knows who else - probably any other white, liberal male who's been an Obama convert for some time), there's really nothing Jim Vandehei or Mike Allen have in their "it's over, so she should get out now... and she would, if we reported the story that way" take on the campaign that hasn't been said already.  Its tired, hardly fresh reporting, free of almost any new insight, and in several places, really factually incorrect.  I think (highly partisan) Sam Boyd does have a point, the problem is the "seriousness" accorded Vandehei and Allen as seasoned insiders (see above); the perception that they've somehow reinvigorated this familiar, tired narrative with some newfound depth could be deeply damaging.

But even that, honestly, is part if the same old song that's been sung over and over.  At the end of the day, at the end of my day, it's just tiring to look at this crap yet again.  I can't waste my time taking it apart (though, if I did, I'd point out how interesting it is that these stories surface as Obama's poll number sit at their lowest, where nearly every upcoming primary looks like a serious losing proposition for him, and the Wright story continues, unabated).  Over to you, Riverdaughter.

Comments

[LH]

Good post. Thank you.

[Marirebel]

I agree! Thanks for taking on the oh so tiring task of talking to the boyz.

[jinbaltimore]

great post, and comments at Ezra's too