Love, Death and Politics

Tuscon, Ariz.: Do you think Barack Obama can actually win a general election? I'm afriad the right-wing machine is going to crush him in the fall... most-liberal senator, crazy pastor, inexperienced, and more
You have a point. Obama's ability to transcend what he calls old politics is under assault now, and he will be further tested in the fall if he wins the nomination. But Hillary has electability problems of her own -- she has high negatives going into the race. Her campaign argues that any Democrat will have high negatives by Election Day, and so what if she starts out where she begins. Still, it's an experiment. Both Democrats have flaws -- but so does McCain. And with all the Dem problems, they've got a better hand than McCain who will be cast as a third term for Bush-Cheney on the war and economic laissez-faire that's gotten us into the meltdown we see today.

Tallahassee, Florida: So if the Democratic primary from my state doesn't count, what does that say about the party's chances in the fall? If we don't get a voice in the nominee selection, we're not going to be so excited about the November election. Isn't anybody going to make sure our votes count? What can we do?
I think at the very least there will be a negotiated settlement between the two campaigns to apportion the delegates in a way that doesn't impact the outcome of the race, but that allows the Florida delegation to be seated. Support for a re-do seems to have waned.

Baltimore, Md.: If the Democrats mess up this election and lose after 8 years of George Bush, then the party needs to kick out all the leadership and start over. What do you think?
If the Democrats don't win a third presidential election they're supposed to win, they'll have a hard time calling themselves a presidential party. I shudder to think of the "I told you so's" emanating from one side of the party or the other if the eventual nominee doesn't pull off a victory.

Harrisburg, Pa.: Dear Mrs. Clift,

My husband died 4 years ago and it's still hard sometimes. Does it ever get any easier? I enjoy reading your columns and watching you on TV. We need more women involved in politics!
It gets easier in the sense that the grief is not so raw, but it sneaks up on you sometimes when you least expect it. I had to pause to regain my composure in the midst of a talk recently, and I heard myself saying -- It's been three years; I can't believe I'm still this emotional. The grief is there, always.

Fairfax, Va.: Couldn't the Dems have come up with better candidates. Hillary and Barack are OK, but as you say, both are not guaranteed to win in the fall. McCain is no clear winner either.
I could also argue that these are three fine individuals, each with an uncommon strength of character, but each also with significant flaws. Each party had an array of candidates to choose from, some might be more electable -- John Edwards as a Southern white man a la Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson comes to mind -- but if he were still in the race, I'm sure we would find weaknesses. This is a race the Dems should win, but given the experimental if historic nature of the two candidacies, it's not hard to envision McCain as the default position for a lot of voters.