Hillary: Go Out Swinging, But Go Out With Grace

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Hillary

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It is mathematically possible for Clinton to win the Democratic nomination.  For that reason, a Tuesday night exit is the best time to respectfully and gracefully pull her hat out of the ring and start helping her party as they march towards November.

Who knows?  It may be the best way for her to secure a Vice-Presidency and give her a chance to run again herself eight years from now.

Considering that she was pretty much written off shortly after Obama won 11 straight primaries through the beginning of March, the fact that she has maintained a glimmer of hope and kept her support strong the last month is a testament to her resilience and perseverance.  Some say she is being stubborn.  She is.  Some say she is in denial.  Publicly, she is, but the campaign has not been blind to the inevitable loss.  Sometimes, you just keep going, hoping for something to break.

It never broke, and now, it's time to make the best of it.  Here are a few reasons why and how Tuesday night is the best time for her to hang it up:

• Since they will probably split the primaries, she can go out as a "winner" of sorts.
• As the media shifts their attention more towards a McCain-Obama contest instead of the Clinton-Obama showdown, she can use a heartfelt and courageous concession speech to springboard herself into the VP chair.
• If she continues, one of two things will happen: either she'll have to attack Obama further and hurt her party's chances of securing the White House, or she won't attack, which the media will perceive as her giving up anyway.
• The sexist commentary has been limited thus far, but at some point soon, someone is going to start saying that "a man would know when he was defeated and would do what was right to help his party."  That would anger many of her supporters even more.
• Almost all of the media has turned against her.  Regardless of what she says, the headlines still take every opportunity to paint her as defiant and in denial.  Stories like this one in the New York Times takes her claim of leading in the popular vote and spins it towards her manipulating the circumstances.

There are plenty of "why's".  There is only one "how" - with a speech that campaigners can point to in the months leading up to November.  Here is how it could go:

• To start, she needs to express her pride.  She should be proud of what she has been able to achieve.  There is nothing wrong with starting it with a little self-proclamation of success.
• After endless nights of consideration, she knows that it is in the best interests of the country to UNITE the Democratic Party (not concede, never concede) under the single goal of putting a Democrat in the White House. "With a heavy heart, I must withdraw from the race for the sake of my supporters, for the sake of my party, and for the sake of our country."
• The campaigning does not stop here.  She will continue on, rallying the people to walk the righteous path.  Together with Obama, they can get the word out that their way is the best way for the country.  A message like that will point even more so at the concept of an Obama-Clinton ticket.
• (Obligatory anti-McCain and anti-Bush sentiment inserted here)
• End it with "the journey doesn't end here.  A new journey, one that will put the best man (and woman) in the White House, starts now.  I support Barack Obama as the next President of the United States."

Victory.  Grace.  Exit.  Perhaps re-enter in a different form later in the week.