Today George Stephanopoulos dished a bit of dirt about an off-the-record conversation between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson. Evidently the conversation occurred before Richardson announced his endorsement of Obama, and Clinton was very upset to hear that he planned to do so.
Sources with direct knowledge of the conversation between Sen. Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., prior to the Governor's endorsement of Obama say she told him flatly, "He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win." http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/04/ca...
Now, first of all, a high number of news outlets are altering the quote above from "cannot" to "can't." That might seem trivial at first glance. However, it does alter the implication of the statement as one of determination to one of arrogant certainty. As Obama most certainly can win, the original quote takes on the tone of being a suggestion that Obama must not win.
This is where the chill goes up my spine. Why? Clinton has been running her campaign against Obama as though she were already running against the Republican candidate. Many pundits have noted that Clinton has greatly damaged her reputation within the Democratic party by showing more concern for her candidacy than for the overall health of the party. Endorsing McCain's national security experience over Obama's was certainly the lowest point.
It's also been apparent that Clinton is quite a bit more friendly with the military/industrial complex than Obama. She's quite cozy with lobbyists, and being strapped for cash, has been getting pretty friendly with all sorts of unsavory characters.
Then there is "The Fellowship":
Clinton's prayer group was part of the Fellowship (or "the Family"), a network of sex-segregated cells of political, business, and military leaders dedicated to "spiritual war" on behalf of Christ, many of them recruited at the Fellowship's only public event, the annual National Prayer Breakfast. (Aside from the breakfast, the group has "made a fetish of being invisible," former Republican Senator William Armstrong has said.) The Fellowship believes that the elite win power by the will of God, who uses them for his purposes. Its mission is to help the powerful understand their role in God's plan. http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hi...
So when Hillary Clinton implies that Obama must not win the election, what is her motivation? One could think me a bit paranoid, ignoring the institutional pressures addressed above, and just assume that she REALLY wants to win this. Possibly. But I think there is a lot of pressure on her to take this election and provide for a great many of her closest supporters and funders a good dose of authority. There are certainly a lot of wealthy and powerful people who would gain a whole lot less from an Obama Presidency.
Perhaps this statement that she did not assume would ever be publicized indicates just how much pressure she is under to win the election from people who may concern themselves very little with democracy or the Democratic party.