The Hillary Holdback

Just as Bill Clinton can't seem to stop praising John McCain and start stumping for Barack Obama with only a month left in the campaign, Hillary's heavy-hitting fundraisers are holding back, too.

Of the 300 “Hillraisers,” those who bundled together $100,000 or more in campaign contributions for her, fewer than a third have given to Obama, according to the most recent campaign finance filings.

Who are these people and what can they be thinking?

With the economy collapsing around them, are they so invulnerably rich that they can risk four more years of Bush domestic policies under McCain?

Are they so ideologically impoverished that ending the war in Iraq and turning our attention to combating terrorism doesn't matter as much as their spiteful disappointment at not having backed a winner?

Underneath all their talk about belief in the Democratic Party and what it stands for, is there anything but vanity? When, if not now, are they going to put their money where their mouths are?

What Comes Down to the Clintons

The words will be there when they address the convention, but will the music?

Can the former President overcome his case of the sulks to put political ideals and party above pettiness and make a powerful case for taking back the country? Will he whole-heartedly embrace Barack Obama and Joe Biden as the means of doing it? Since Bill Clinton has never been very good at hiding his emotions, it will be a profound test of character to rise above himself at this crucial moment. His place in history may depend on it.

In rare moments in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton broke through a sense of coldness and calculation surrounding her and touched voters by showing her feelings. If she can summon up that side of herself tomorrow night and persuade supporters that she has gone beyond her disappointment and rally them to follow, it will be a breakthrough moment for the former First Lady, regardless of where her political career takes her in the future.

This week is about more than winning or losing an election, and the Clintons are in a position to profoundly affect the outcome. Never has losing gracefully, even gloriously been as crucial an issue.

The Clintons Go All Out for Obama

To the untrained eye, they seem to be overspreading the Democratic Convention like those kudzu vines that grow a foot every day to eventually blot out everything in sight, but the Clintons insist they are doing it all for Barack Obama.

Hillary will speak one night and Bill will hold forth the next after, if all goes according to their plan, Clinton supporters get "catharsis" by nominating her and, in her words, "yell and scream and have their opportunity."

In the Denver streets outside, a grassroots group will be marching and holding a festival "to celebrate Clinton's achievement and advocate for women's rights."

All this, according to Hillary, is for the benefit of Obama: “We do not want any Democrat in the hall or in the stadium or at home walking away saying, ‘I’m just not satisfied, I’m not happy.’ That’s what I’m trying to avoid.”

The two former rivals for the nomination issued a joint statement yesterday: "At the Democratic convention, we will ensure that the voices of everyone who participated in this historic process are respected and our party will be fully unified heading into the November election."

Meanwhile, the former President extolled Obama this week with a ringing statement, "I think he should win, and I think he will win." With oratory like that, Bill Clinton is likely to stampede the convention to fever pitch.

Can Hillary Be a Healer?

As they hold their private summit in Washington tonight, the question that hangs in the air, whether she is on Obama's ticket or not, is: Can Hillary Clinton rise above a lifetime of experience to help heal the Democratic Party?

As someone who has had to fight all her public life, from the 1992 health care fiasco through her husband's impeachment and a year and a half of brass-knuckles campaigning, who has had to show voters she is tough enough to be Commander-in-Chief, who has had to carry the accumulated anger and resentments of her gender, and now their bitter disappointment, is it humanly possible for one woman, however resilient, to turn away from all that and use her strength to bring peace to a fractured party?

This moment is as much a test for Hillary Clinton as her 2002 vote for the resolution authorizing Bush to invade Iraq. Back then, none of the potential Democratic candidates could summon the courage to oppose it for fear of appearing weak. They all failed, but how much more pressure did she feel then as a woman in that position and five years later not to admit it was mistake?

As it turned out, the need to appear tough hurt her candidacy, and in the past few weeks, her posture as "a fighter" in the face of impending defeat and in the past few days her refusal to acknowledge the reality of it have damaged her even further.

But now, in these next days, Hillary Clinton has a chance to turn away from all that. As her backers try to blackmail Obama into putting her on the ticket, her statement today that the choice is his alone is a good start.

It would be heartening to see her rise above the politicking of this moment and show the wisdom and leadership her party needs to start repairing the damage that eight years of nasty Bush-Rove politics has done to the country.