Why Clinton Lost

Yesterday was a really great day.

Obama won by a bigger margin than expected, and Clinton simply was unable to stop him. What ended up in Indiana, being a contest for second place, was fought out between people in the democratic party who , for lack of a better term I will refer to as the "religious wright" - supported Hillary Clinton for her pander-bear gas tax holiday. But Clinton miscalculated the breadth of that support. Clinton was favored to win that state by 12 percent and Obama bit into her , making it almost a draw.

The Clintons actually campaigned heavily in Republican districts. Bill was out there lobbying in his old nemesis' stomping grounds, talking to republicans. The idea was that Clinton could propose a gas tax holiday that will save you 30.00 en toto , over the summer- and that would shore up her credentials as a conservative.

And most of the religious wright bought into it. They leapt 29 percentage points over to her camp. However, the base of the democratic party, and independents - didn't buy into it. So Clinton's chances are zeroed out. She had to win big in Indiana, and then almost tie North Carolina, in order to have a path to the nomination.

In every race there comes a time when I break out the stops and just work like hell for my chosen candidate. Yesterday was that day. And I was happy to have been asked by the campaign to make calls for them , into Indiana. I rolled up my sleeves and spent a quiet afternoon doing GOTV (get out the vote).

People were interested in Obama. They were intrigued by the fact that he's getting into power essentially free of lobbyist ties. Electing the chairman of the ethics reform committee is a pretty good first step to draining the Bush administration swamp. There was a part of Indiana that was saturated by coverage of Rev. Wright, as if America is electing a pastor.. it didn't seem to sway the voter. I found , as I was calling yesterday - that people were using the net to become better informed about their man.

Folks are just not inspired by Hillary. But that said, she goes over well in some rural areas. She does not seem to be able to carry high population areas, - especially those in the large states. Obama is turning out more new voters. He's got the whole black thang going but thats just because black folk know they can do a damn good job and having a black president, to them, is a big nail in the coffin of racism. But its not about being black. After all, the KKK started trying to blame everything on the mexicans two years ago (they're coming to getttt youuu!! immigration is the isssuuueeee!! ) . Most people really don't care anymore if you're black, or white, or chinese, or german, or indian. Still for people who lived through the Civil Rights era, this must be something cool. Big base of support there for Obama. And yes, women didn't really get out to vote for Clinton any more than anyone else - in that demographic.

And so , in Indiana, the base of the party ejected Clinton from a strong win (she won by 2 percent, and received very few delegates as a result) , and the southern state of North Carolina rocketed Barack Obama to a 14% victory. The largest electoral prize in yesterday's contest, there is now a clear path to the nomination, with Obama gaining almost a third of those votes needed in a single day.

Hillary was a strong candidate. Her ideas about healthcare are dead-on; Americas system is seriously broken. Free markets work, when people in those markets are not being controlled by price fixing oligopolies. Take a look at your natural gas bill if you don't think they've been rigging the system against you - the American healthcare system is a tangled web of billing procedures and practices that enrich few, empoverish many - and leave the most advanced country in the world unable to provide coverage for almost half its citizens. The creation of a universal healthcare plan, particularly that which was championed by the Clintons, would create an 800 pound gorilla that would stomp the price fixing game into submission.

Clinton will be unable to maintain momentum. She will make plaintive attempts to raise money but her debts are already to great to justify a long campaign. She's already begun cancelling her appointments.

Clinton has not lost, technically. She will stay in the race all the way to convention. And she will continue to snipe at Obama but watch how her rhetoric tones down. Their camp knows that the game is lost at this point.

In the end, Clinton did not inspire. Hillary was a qualified candidate that ended up an also-ran. She will make a fine Vice President.