“Words, words, words.” When asked, this is what Hamlet says he is reading as he walks onstage in Act II of William Shakespeare’s classic revenge tragedy.The Hillary Clinton campaign could have been plagiarizing Shakespeare in the days leading up to the Feb. 19 primary in Wisconsin and caucus in Hawaii – both of which she lost, decisively, to Barack Obama.
“With dominant victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii, Barack Obama has now won an astounding 10 states in a row,” U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay told the American yesterday.
This week Clinton was speaking about words, words, words, while Obama was garnering votes, votes, votes.
In a scramble for traction against the runaway Obama campaign, Clinton seized on a verbal motif in an Obama speech. Obama’s speech quoted famous inspiring lines – great words – from past orators, and then mocked any insinuation that they are “just words.”
His speech was intended to deflect the charge that the Obama campaign offers false hope through dazzling but useless flights of rhetoric.
The Clinton campaign, however, seized upon the fact that this speech directly echoed a former campaign speech given by Deval Patrick, the young black Massachusetts governor.
“Words, words, words,” the Clinton campaign accused Obama – and stolen words, at that. Democratic voters in Wisconsin and Hawaii were not impressed with this tactic.
In Wisconsin, Obama won 58 percent of the vote (645,990 votes) to Clinton’s 41 percent (452,774 votes), giving him 38 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 27.
In Hawaii, Obama won 76 percent of the vote (28,347 votes) to Clinton’s 24 percent (8,835 votes), giving him 14 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 6.
In her attack on Obama for recycling the “just words” riff, Clinton went on to claim that both Patrick and Obama were mouthing lines crafted by a campaign consultant they share, David Axelrod. Axelrod emphatically denied that he wrote this riff.
In fact, in an April 16, 2007 Boston Globe report, Scott Helman pointed out that Obama had once shared a campaign stage with Patrick when Patrick used the “just words” motif – and that Obama adopted this motif into his own speeches soon thereafter.
Obama, Patrick and Axelrod all attributed the borrowing (which, all agreed, goes both ways) to a rapport between Obama and Patrick based upon similar contexts and attributes. Both are young black candidates appealing to an electorate that is mostly white with a message of hope and change.
Clinton, however, claimed that Axelrod is “putting words in both of their mouths.”
One might say that is what all campaign advisors do for candidates. That is what, for example, Howard Wolfson (and Bill Clinton) must at times do for Hillary Clinton.
One might also say that, in crediting the established eloquence of two black men (Obama and Patrick) to one white man (Axelrod), Clinton’s accusation has a tinge of racism, as if neither black man has the rhetorical skill to write his own stuff.
In fact, Obama is the author of two books, a former editor of the Harvard Law Review and his own principal speechwriter.
For the record, the powerful words quoted by Patrick and then Obama as being more than “just words” were previously said by Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a mixture of white and black Americans.
Back to Hamlet. When pushed further to reveal what he is reading – when “words word words” will not suffice for an answer – Hamlet replies, “Slanders.”
Super-delegate situation
Though precise tallies vary, CNN has Obama now leading Clinton in delegates, 1,315 to 1,245.
Obama has earned 1,154 pledged delegates by winning state primaries and caucuses. He has an estimated 161 super-delegates.
Obama has won 25 of the 37 statewide elections thus far.
Clinton has earned 1,011 pledged delegates by winning state primaries and caucuses. She has an estimated 234 super-delegates.
Other super-delegates have not announced their vote.
According to the Democratic National Committee, super-delegates (who are elected officials) may support any candidate they choose, regardless of how their constituents vote.
The Missouri Democratic Party said in a release that Missouri super-delegates may cast their vote regardless of the outcome of the Missouri Primary, which Obama won – by wide margins in St. Louis and St. Louis County.
U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, who will cast his super-delegate vote for Obama, said other Missouri super-delegates should feel bound to do the same.
Clay told the American, “I would hope my colleagues follow the wishes of the voters in this state who voted in favor of change and voted in favor of Obama.”
The Obama campaign has started a website where it will collect arguments from voters to provide to super-delegates at the convention in August, when a Democratic nominee will be determined. Tell your story at: http://my.barackobama.com/superdelegates.
The Missouri Democratic Party may be reached at www.missouridems.org or (573) 636-5241.
