Does the Clinton Campaign Think Idealism is for Suckers?

Does the Clinton Campaign Think Idealism is for Suckers?


by RJ Eskow | Dec 10 2007


It all happened in the course of about 48 hours. First, I heard Sen. Clinton speak at an environmental forum and repeat this now-familiar phrase: "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." These words, first spoken publicly by former President Clinton, were part of an answer she gave regarding what some in the audience considered the risk of excessive compromise on an upcoming bill.

Then Sidney Blumenthal announced in Salon that he was joining the Senator's campaign. As he did, he took swipes at Democrats who engage in a "self-righteous ideal of purity," a belief that they can "transcend ... political conflict on angels' wings." He said these Dems suffer from "an assumption of moral superiority and hubris" whose consequences are - at least to Blumenthal - "self-evident."

Strong stuff. Idealistic Democrats are self-righteous, hubristic, and hopelessly naive. Here's the problem: If there's one thing worse than a self-righteous idealist, it's a self-righteous cynic.

Next came Sean Wilentz, a Princeton professor who is also advising the Clinton campaign. Interviewed at TIME.Com, Professor Wilentz said that Clinton's opponents represented a Democratic tradition of "beautiful loserdom," a belief that politics itself is tawdy and beneath them. He compared Obama to Adlai Stevenson.

Then I began to wonder: In a campaign as well-known for message discipline as this one, could this represent a deliberate theme? Could the Clinton team be telling primary voters that idealism itself is a weakness, a threat to the party that must be rooted out and eliminated?

We all understand real life, negotiation, and the many compromises that make up daily existence. Many of us face the same issues in our own lives, whether it's by working with large corporations and government entities, or by living the daily exigencies of politics. (Although most of us don't run companies that do work for tarnished groups like Blackwater - groups that feed at the public trough - while guiding a presidential campaign at the same time. Or is respect for the principle of conflict-of-interest for "losers"?)

Every presidential candidate in the last 100 years has treated the idealism of the voters as a resource to be cherished, not a character defect to be mocked or derided. Does this tendency in the Clinton campaign represent a deliberate strategy? Or does it reflect a mixture of contempt, hostility, and frustration, as the campaign sees other candidates attack theirs on the grounds of excessive compromise with a broken system?

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http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/11498

And the country is crying out for real, radical change, a return to a Constitutional, Democratically elected Republic.

If she came out for Impeachment....but she hasn't even done that!

the nation is crying for change and she offers--"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good". no hillary, we must fight with every ounce of our soul for perfection for the sake of the good. we must never think any other way in our personal life and the life of our nation.

they are so wrong, so terribly wrong

idealism? I think that characteristic makes people stand out, in a good way. It also gives people hope.

:sarcasm:

when I realized that nothing can change this system. Once you have seen the system work from the inside you really, really long for the days when you were stupid. You could at least be naively idealistic.

The very best that can be hoped for is to try to guide this system as it lumbers along. I've heard it referred to as "the beast". The beast gets what it wants and does what it wants. All good analogies. But the only thing that will change this system is the complete elimination of some pretty basic human faults and instincts such as greed, lust for power, sex, money and more money. Even if the worst catastrophe possible completely destroyed our system, it would probably be much worse as it would become the survival of the fittest and greediest.

Idealism is real nice. So are fairy tales. I liked it better when I was stupid and didn't see, hear and know all the things I do now.

... I have to agree with her here. There is nothing wrong with idealism per se, but when it becomes a guiding force you are doomed to fail.

The problem I have is when compromises are made when they don't need to be, such as HRC's vote on Kyl-Lieberman, her refusal to own up to the disaster that is the Iraq war, and her continual over-triangulation.

Compromises DO have to be made, but we don't have to meet the right half way, they can get used to a quarter.

around to suit your inability to reason. I am truly disgusted that so many supposed democrats are trashing Hillary. You even make stuff up out of whole cloth. I read things and wonder what the hell your talking about most of the time. I have never seen so much hatred for a person like you all have for Hillary since John Kerry ran in 2004. Your the same group that trashed him and then blamed him for losing. Be careful or you will have another george bush in there for president. Really look at obama, edwards, richardson, biden and make sure that they are perfect. Please don't bring up Kuchinic he will never make it and as a democrat I hope he doesn't,