We might have heard the preamble to the most important endorsement of the Democratic Primary last night when Senator Hillary Clinton promised to back the Democratic nominee, "no matter what." It's now time for Hillary Clinton to think through what that will entail. After having spent months and millions trying to convince voters that Barack Obama is not really qualified to be president, Clinton must now do a 180, and make the case that Obama, and not John McCain, is the one and only candidate suited for the presidency. Perversely, Hillary Clinton's political future now depends on the vigor with which she supports the Obama campaign.
Clinton has a vital decision to make about how she will change course. Many rightly worry that if she makes the wrong choice, she will hurt the chances of the Democratic Party in November. A tepid endorsement of "the Democratic candidate" might well serve as a signal to her base that she prefers they withhold support for Obama in the general election as a show of loyalty for her. This could mean that the Democratic Party would hobble forward toward November with bleeding wounds. Fortunately for the Party and the country, it's in Hillary Clinton's best interests to come out swinging for Obama, and Hillary Clinton can always be counted on to look out for Hillary Clinton. Of course, there is a risk that, because of the emotional nature of the loss, and the bitterness in the Clinton camp over defections from friends and former staff, Clinton won't change course in time. Her friends in the Democratic Party need to urge her to do so, and those in the Obama camp need to make room for her support in the tent of the 2008 presidential campaign.
Clinton has spent months hammering away at Obama and employing questionable tactics to alienate white blue collar workers from him. Poll numbers back up her claim that she has more sway among these voters than Obama. But the wedge she has helped drive between them and Obama should not be impossible to remove. He espouses almost the same political ideology as Clinton, represents their interests, and offers relief from the Bush policies that would certainly continue under a McCain presidency. Hillary Clinton now needs to remind that white blue collar demographic she has touted as her base of the similarities between herself and Obama. "Yes he can" must be her new mantra if she is going to keep that demographic loyal to the Party and deliver their votes in November.
If she can prove that she keep prevent those voters from staging a political temper tantrum on her behalf, hers will prove to be the most important endorsement of the campaign. She will prove herself capable of uniting the as well as dividing the Democratic Party, and of forging a coalition of her supporters and those who have been inspired by Obama to create a broad base to defeat McCain. But, if she can't undo some of the damage she has done, the Democrats will suffer. So will she. The party elders and respectful onlookers who have not endorsed her rival and have defended her right to continue her campaign have had an implicit expectation that Hillary will ultimately put the interests of the Party ahead of her own political ambitions. If she is perceived to be anything less than a tireless champion for Obama in the upcoming election, those same party elders will cringe every time McCain uses a clip of her touting McCain's experience in one of the primary debates and shun her as the spoiler of the fortunes of the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton's bank account of political favors is as empty as her campaign coffers and if she is astute, her main concern now should be to restore her political capital within the Party by proving that she still has something to offer. Anyone who dreads a President McCain should hope that she swallows her pride, thinks strategically, and employs the same spirit in endorsing Obama she has demonstrated in fighting him.