Rumble in the Blogosphere

By Sarah Scully
The hostility between (and within) the campaigns is spilling over into the media and the world beyond. We usually look to Sunday morning pundits to satiate our bloodlust but it seems everyone has daggers out. From brothers to bloggers, people are dispensing critical beat downs on the state of the Democratic nomination. The major point of contagious contention this week is whether or not Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race. The Politico's Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen threw the first punch with a brass knuckle declaration that Clinton "has virtually no chance of winning" the nomination. Marc Ambinder shot back in The Atlantic, citing an unfair media bias for Obama with a point-by-point critique of the Politico piece. The fight has continued in the comments sections of both pieces with ferocious back-and-forths from readers. The good news is that citizens are more engaged in the political process than ever before. Democrats, in particular are breaking with passionate intensity for either Obama or Clinton. In fact, the latest polls show such animosity between the two camps that significant numbers in each are claiming they will vote for McCain if their candidate does not win the nomination. Yesterday, we spoke with Mark Halperin, who put it in perspective, making the good point that Democrats would likely unite behind a nominee once the loser endorsed and encouraged supporters to do the same. For now, Clinton isn't budging. The question of dropping out (or "suspending" her candidacy) will undoubtedly be revisited if she loses badly in North Carolina but she could still make an argument to stay in through the summer. Neither candidate will have enough delegates to win outright and a large number of superdelegates are apprehensive about pledging. The 08 convention could be up there with 68 and 80 for high drama.
In the meantime, while the Democrats are busy slicing each other up, John McCain is using the time to try out different general election messages.

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Tags: 68, 80, bloodlust, Clinton, convention, daggers, drama, dropping out, hostility, McCain, nomination, Politico, pundits, The Atlantic