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Obama Sews Clinton’s Golden Parachute
It’s one thing to damn with faint praise. It’s another to
kill with enthusiastc praise. And that seemed to be Barack Obama’s partial goal
in his speech in Des Moines
tonight.
At times, Obama sounded like a Clinton surrogate. He called her “one of the
most formidable candidates to ever run for this office.” He complimented “her
courage, her commitment and her perseverance.” He even borrowed a line straight
out of Clinton’s
talking points: “In her thirty-five
years of public service, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has never given up
on her fight for the American people,” he said. [E.A.] I half expected him to say Clinton is "ready to lead on Day One."
It’s no surprise that Obama has softened on Clinton. The reverse is true, too. Clinton
insisted tonight that Democrats will unite behind the nominee—she practically
ordered them to, which may be necessary given that nearly half of Kentucy Dems
said they would not support Obama in a general election against John McCain.
But as Obama complements her, he’s paving the way for her
exit. It’s like the euphoria they say comes over you just before death. “No
matter how this primary ends,” Obama said, “Senator Clinton has shattered myths
and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and
yours will come of age.”
This will no doubt get the “dream ticket” fans clucking
again. Look, they’re healing! But
really, it shows just how easy it is to be generous when you’ve won.
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