Thoughts on the Two Unities

I live on the other side of the planet, so my thoughts are coming a little later than everyone else’s. I watched the Youtube clip of the Clinton-Obama unity rally. Well, let me correct that. I watched the first 19 minutes.

My first thought was that they were both good actors or that the affection they shared was genuine. It was great seeing Hillary on stage and I loved it when she admonished the crowd for passing on the opportunity compliment her youth. I also enjoyed listening to her bash John McCain.

Some things I didn’t like included the crowd scream “Obama” during her speech and hearing her repeat Obama’s campaign slogans—“yes we can” and “change you can believe in.”

I liked that Senator Obama began by thanking Senator Clinton, but that was as much as I listened to. I haven’t been able to watch him give any kind of speech since his race speech in March. After he began speaking, I closed the tab and moved on to something else.

This event could not have been easy for Senator Clinton. As a Clintonista who remains loyal to Hillary, watching her give this speech was difficult. I know that rallying around the nominee is the right thing to do. I know it. It’s not easy, but it is the right decision. That’s what I keep telling myself. My head and the woman I admire so much are telling me to support the nominee and that's what I'm doing.

However, as "cute" as this event was, I didn’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling at the end (of course, I didn’t watch Obama’s speech, but that probably would have made me feel worse). For me, the event was a step backwards. The sight of Hillary on that stage saying “change we can believe in” made me sick. If she is going to go around the country campaigning for him, if she is going to send emails to her supporters asking us to support him, if she is going to ask her donors to donate to his campaign, if she is going to reach out and work for him, there needs to be reciprocation.

Barack Obama is the nominee. Under the rules of our party, he won fair and square and I accept his nomination as legitimate. However, it bears noting that he barely won. 49% of the Democratic primary voters voted against him. The day after the infamous Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) meeting, Hillary won Puerto Rico. The day he clinched the nomination, she won South Dakota. She is not an also-ran like Chris Dodd, who didn’t make it out of Iowa, or Bill Richardson, who dropped out after New Hampshire.

Unity is not going to be the Clintonistas burning their Hillary signs and opening up their wallets for Senator Obama. If Senator Obama wants to unite this party for the fall election and for governing the country as president, he needs to acknowledge that Hillary is a force in the party. He needs to include her and her supporters rather than demand submission. That means hiring her staff. That means asking his donors—all of his donors—to give money to her campaign. (Why should we open his wallet for him if his people won’t do it for her? Being the nominee is enough to get my vote, but not my money.) That means giving her a prominent role at the convention. That means no more bullshit reminders that she's not in charge (ie: the RBC meeting where he stole four of her Michigan delegates). Only if such concrete steps are taken will many of us feel invested in the nominee of the party.

There are some who think it’s not that important. Some people think that enough of us will "get over it" and vote for Obama that it isn't necessary to reach out to the Clintonistas. Some think we need to just shut up and go away. They love to quote polling data and projections from Electoral-vote.com.

But I would remind everyone that Bush had low approval ratings four years ago at this time. He was presiding over an unpopular war and he was on the verge of becoming the first president since Herbert Hoover to shed jobs on his watch. In 2004, even after the lessons of 2000, "anybody but Bush" was not enough to put Kerry over the top.

In 2008, we have an infinitely more talented nominee (no offense to Sen. Kerry), but we also face a GOP nominee who is more respected that George Bush. We have a huge financial advantage, but we face opponents that have tricks up their sleeves and decades of experience smearing Democrats.

I am very confident that Senator Obama is going to mop the floor with McCain this fall, but a united Democratic Party makes that task much easier. We don't need to have our butts kissed and nobody is expecting apologies for the rough campaign. What many of us expect is that we will be included rather than coerced.