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The final paragraph in the print edition (this paragraph actually didn't make it into the online edition of the story) quotes one of senator Clinton's Wall Street backers as saying that the "'ultimate peace pact' with Obama could involve some sort of support from him to pay off her debts, which are estimated at $20m or more."
I am not sure how Obama would help Clinton pay off her campaign debts. Would he divert money he's raised from his supporters to Clinton? I don't think Obama supporters would be too happy about that. Or would he start a new round of fund raising with the explicit understanding that the money would go to Clinton? It's no surprise really that someone from Wall Street would be suggesting such a deal. I don't know whether this kind of thing has been done before but my hunch is that it has.
Every time I hear Clinton give a speech about how she's not giving up, I am reminded of a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In this scene, the Black Knight continues to threaten King Arthur despite getting both his arms and one of his legs cut off. In my mind, I imagine that the Black Knight is Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is King Arthur.
IMDB offers this excerpt:
Black Knight [Clinton]: Right, I'll do you for that!
King Arthur [Obama]: You'll what?
Black Knight [Clinton]: Come here!
King Arthur [Obama]: What are you gonna do, bleed on me?
Black Knight [Clinton]: I'm invincible!
King Arthur [Obama]: You're a loony.
In the wake of John Edwards' decision to endorse Obama and his apparently insurmountable delegate lead, it seems incredible to me that Clinton is still in the race. Unfortunately, her sense of entitlement will not permit her to accept reality.
Nevertheless, since Caroline Kennedy compared Obama to the ultimate knight of the round table -- JFK -- it would not surprise me if Obama gallantly offered to help Clinton erase her campaign debts as a way to get this bleeding black knight off the stage.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. Wake up America. Obama is the ultimate Liberal. He will sell this country further down the drain. He will wreck our military. He will tax our economy into a negative spiral. We will become weak like France. If he were white he would have been defeated long ago. But then the have nots will get more benefits. We are in the start of the death of a democracy.
Posted at 3:06PM on May 15th 2008 by William Lundholm
2. "Wake up America. Obama is the ultimate Liberal. He will sell this country further down the drain. He will wreck our military. He will tax our economy into a negative spiral. We will become weak like France. If he were white he would have been defeated long ago. But then the have nots will get more benefits. We are in the start of the death of a democracy."
Wake up? Democracy has been getting it's ass kicked for the last 8 years. Maybe it's time to try something different. You think?
Posted at 3:30PM on May 15th 2008 by Warren
3. were is this muslim fanatic extremist getting his money from ? hamas ?or some other extremist org, ?
Posted at 4:34PM on May 15th 2008 by joey g
4. Peter,
Campaign debt pay-offs have been around for a long time. Nothing really newsworthy about it & the Obama pay-off rumor has been around for awhile.
But this post of yours certainly has brought out the loonies to our normally staid conversations.
Posted at 6:33PM on May 15th 2008 by Dan Barnett
5. Thank goodness most people in this country are open-minded, reasonable people that support Sen. Obama. However, some of these posts show how much farther we have to go in this country. Some of these people need to take Sen Obama's advice- disagree without being disagreeable.
Posted at 4:00AM on May 16th 2008 by carolyn
6. For people like William L and Rudy, I ask:
Where have you been in recent years? Where have you been over the past 8years??
President Bush has single-handedly destroyed this once great nation. This is not only the most corrupt adminstration in our history, but also the most corrupt government in general.
The Amreican people have been sold out to big-business. Being 30, I never really understood what that meant until the second Bush administration.
Congratualtions, America, you're president has sold you out to: the oil companies, IRS, banks, credit card companies and credit bureaus. Anyone of these listed can do whatever they want to you, your "cash flow," bank account and your credit score with or without your knowledge or consent, respectively, and you can't do anything about it.
Why? Because their all getting kickbacks, though the legal term for bribes is funding from "lobbyist."
So, a kid in college can't let someone take him out to dinner or by him some new shoes to play in w/o violating NCAA rules, risking his NBA eligibility, but our Vice President can run a company, while VP of the US, that bills the country he's serving billions of dollars in inflated invoices (Halliburton, KBR) while our president ("W") and his father ("HW") sits on the board of directors and both possess shares (and subsequent dividends from profits dervied from the US taxpayer) of the same company?
Its not just the Republicans. The "Democratic" congress has fallen into line after Bush "showed them the money."
It simply seems that voting Democratic would be the lesser of two evils. Though, neither Dem or Rep will or can undo the damage inflicted on this country.
Do I like it? No. Do I like what this country has become? No! Do I plan to move? Absolutely not! Why should I? They're the ones who should move!!!
Vroom! Vroom!
-Ferarri F50
Posted at 11:36AM on May 17th 2008 by Ferrari F50
7. I think some of you really enjoy being the real ass. but of course you know everthing about America thats why you run"Your mouth" that really solve problems.I vote to keep people like you out of the set!
Posted at 11:37PM on May 19th 2008 by ETHEL
8. Hillary has a backbone much like those who are voting for her. We will not back down. If Hillary is cheated out of the nomination, we will protest it by voting for McCain. Better McCain than Obama anyday. Better a damn rock, than Obama!
Posted at 12:16AM on May 20th 2008 by WAYNE
9. I find it unbelievable that anyone in their right mind could support such a character as Barack Hussein Obama. Is this affirmative action at the peak? This country is doomed if he is elected. I will not, because of my old age suffer much longer, however, I fear for the future of our once great nation. It will self distruct from the inside out when he and other liberals like him take control next year.
Posted at 11:11AM on May 22nd 2008 by Rudy
10. were will america be if obama is president high taxes the people voted for him will only have themselves to blame. you think he going to change every thing you will not like the the changes he make. he must be watched closely everybody makes promises but never come though.
Posted at 8:00AM on Jun 3rd 2008 by DR JIMMY VAUGHAN