“When Bush warned the Iranian government that ‘America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf,’ Obama jumped up to applaud. Clinton leaned across Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), seated to her left, to look in Obama’s direction before slowly standing.” — from an account of last night’s State of the Union speech by The Hill‘s Alexander Bolton.

Hats off, older women and Hispanics, for coalescing solidly behind Hillary Clinton coast to coast, and thereby all but ensuring the death of a beautiful dream and (bonus!) the triumph of a frosty and divisive harridan whose candidacy will unite the right by inflaming it, and whose presidency will bring back a corrosive revival of the Hate Wars of the ’90s. Precisely what this country needs.
A Newsweek report explains that Hispanic voters are guided partly by ignorance (a fall ’07 survey found that a quarter of Hispanics had “never even heard” of Obama) and racial animosities (i.e., longstanding competitive struggles with African- American communities “over resources, representation in politics, education”).
The myopia pervading the ranks of middle-class women has come into clear relief over the last several weeks. Rather than turn the page and usher in the possibility of a new era and a new attitude, they want a woman in the White House…period. The likelihood that Hillary forces will go down to defeat waving the flag of sisterly solidarity or, if she wins, revive the rightist rage of the ’90s matters not to them. The possibility of symbolic gender triumph is all. They will not see.
Santa Barbara social columnist Craig Smith told me last night that every over-40 woman he knows in the area is square behind Hillary — no ifs, ands or buts. Consider, also, the emotionally fevered “with us or against us!” sentiment in this anti-Ted Kennedy statement issued yesterday by NOW (Nat’l Organization of Women).
Politico‘s Jeff Ressner spoke with poet-rocker Patti Smith during Sundance and even she — Patti Smith! — was skeptical about Obama. “I’m still waiting to hear an emotional connection to him,” she told Ressner. “I haven’t felt it, and I don’t know why.” I think I do. Forget it. Game pretty much over.