Obama’s meetings with Hillary Clinton and John McCain about playing important roles in his presidency indicated his imagination and his shrewdness, although sources close to Obama say he did not offer her the job of secretary of state when they met. He had said during the campaign that he wanted various views in his government, and in turning to his own former competitors, Obama was at the same time magnanimous and seeking to keep them close. Both were in a position to cause him difficulty in the Senate–Clinton, in particular, had kept her constituency intact (through HillPAC) and was planning her own Senate agenda, including her own health care program, no matter what Obama proposed. But Clinton lacks the seniority, and therefore a committee position from which to get her proposals taken up by the Senate. (She tried to get a special subcommittee appointed, but Edward M. Kennedy, who has his own health care plan and is chairman of the committee with jurisdiction over the issue, blocked her, offering her later a role concerning health insurance.) McCain had indicated that he wanted to help Obama in the Senate, and by taking him up on it, Obama has both flattered and coopted him.
Mrs. Clinton’s and her closest advisers’ turning a suggestion by the President-elect that she might, among other things, head the State Department into an “offer” and reports that she was agonizing over whether to accept it, did not please officials in Chicago, some of whom hoped that issues over disclosure of Bill Clinton’s post-presidential record might block the appointment. But the former president’s camp blocked that by promising to cooperate with requests for information and to accept limits on his activities, including clearance of speaking engagements abroad. Statements by the Hilary camp on November 21 saying that “she’s ready” for the position but then backtracking, saying that some matters were “under discussion,” typified the whole mess, the only snag thus far in an otherwise unusually smooth transition involving impressive choices–an object lesson to Obama (which he had reason to know already) that getting involved with the Clintons is rarely uncomplicated.

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama is on track to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, an aide to his transition said Thursday.
One week after the former primary rivals met secretly to discuss the idea of Clinton becoming the nation’s top diplomat, the two sides were moving quickly toward making it a reality, barring any unforeseen problems.

The transition aide told The Associated Press that the two camps have worked out financial disclosure issues involving Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the complicated international funding of his foundation that operates in 27 countries. The aide said Obama and Hillary Clinton have had substantive conversations about the secretary of state job.

Clinton has been mulling the post for several days, but the transition aide’s comments suggested that Obama’s team does not feel she is inclined to turn it down.

There were a few celebrities in attendance including Richard Dreyfuss and Jane Seymour.

From:

Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 1:19 PM
To:
Subject: Hillary in Nomination

August 11, 2008

Puma PAC

Reply TO:XXXX@pumapac.org

Dear Super Delegate,

I am a Democratic voter and member of Puma PAC, People United Means Action  We represent the more than 18 million American voters who supported Senator Clinton and who reject the selection of Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee.

Barack Obama is simply the weaker of the two final candidates for nomination. He is losing ground to Senator McCain every day.  Millions of Democrats vow not to vote for him in November because of his inexperience and unreadiness to lead.

Only Senator Clinton can win back the White House for our Party in November.

PLEASE do your job and support Senator Clinton for nomination in Denver.

The Democratic VOTERS want you to support a real winner and leader. The American PEOPLE want you to. Common Sense wants you to. A commitment to DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES wants you to.

PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING. AMERICAN DEMOCRATS AND VOTERS WILL SUPPORT YOU FOR YOUR COURAGE AND WILLINGNESS TO STAND UP TO PARTY INSIDERS BY REPRESENTING THE VOICE OF THE VOTERS.

Sincerely,

W. Kronert, San Diego, Ca.

Puma PAC democrat

Your candidate lost…..GET OVER IT!

See Clinton’s full quote below.

“Because I know from just what I’m hearing, that there’s incredible pent-up desire. And I think that people want to feel like, ‘OK, it’s a catharsis, we’re here, we did it, and then everybody get behind Sen. Obama.’ That is what most people believe is the best way to go,” she said.

“No decisions have been made. And so we are trying to work all this through with the DNC and with the Obama campaign.”

It’s OOOOOOOOVVVVVEEERRR.  Please let it go! 

When you combine McCain’s individual war chest with his party’s bankroll, it turns out the Republican nominee has about $90 million currently burning a hole in his pocket, while Obama and the DNC weigh in at a relatively paltry $47 million, or half as much.

Meanwhile, the RNC and other right wing operatives of the McCain campaign are saturating the airwaves with attack ads against the presumptive democratic nominee and it is improbable that the Senator from Illinois has the money to respond.  My advice to the Obama campaign is to concentrate on McCain and get back to Hillary after November 4th.  If the situation were reversed and Obama had lost and accumulated such debt, it is highly doubtful that Clinton would respond in turn.  This is a hard enough race as it is without continually having to deal with issues connected with the defunct Clinton campaign.  Let it go for now. 

As for those of you who have not donated at all or within the last month….the Obama campaign needs you!  In order to respond effectively to the latest bombardment of republican attacks, Obama needs funds.  To put your minds at rest, none of the donations that you make to the Obama campaign will go to pay off Hillary’s debt…it’s against the law for that to happen.  So feel free to donate generously.

Republican 527’s not subject to campaign finance rules will also be doing their part on behalf of McCain.

The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year’s presidential campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Obama as a threat to voters’ Second Amendment rights. And just this morning the Christian Defense Coalition launched a new campaign called “Barack Obama: The Abortion President” designed to blunt Obama’s attempts to make inroads with evangelicals. All of which boost McCain–without depleting his war chest.

We can help simply by making a donation of whatever we can afford.  If we want change in Washington we need to speak loudly with our pocketbooks and wallets. Obama is already at a disadvantage because of the long primary.  Having a funding disadvantage is just NOT an option if we want success in November.  We the voters need to step up.  If we want Sen. Barack Obama in the White House in 2008, we need to pony up.  Do your part to get rid of the same old politics in Washington and vote for effective change.  Please pass on this message to your friends and family…lets not let our candidate down.  DONATE

President Clinton continues to be impressed by Senator Obama and the campaign he has run, and looks forward to campaigning for and with him in the months to come,” McKenna said.

So Bill is looking forward to campaigning for Obama.  Hmmmm. One word to the Obama campaign, beware of a very bruised ego.  My question: what will Bill Clinton’s response be the first time he is confronted with a criticism leveled against his administration by the Obama campaign during the primary process?  Lets see, will he be more concerned with electing the democratic nominee to the White House?  OR, will he be more concerned with redeeming his legacy and respond in a way that benefits him and perhaps his wife in 2012?  My advice to the Obama campaign, keep Bill Clinton on a very short leash.  It is evident that an intense rivalry exists between the two alpha males and Clinton’s motives may not always be pure. This is not meant to be offensive to the Clintons because they are brilliant politicians and would be assets to any campaign under the right circumstances.  Bill and Hill’s significant contributions to this country cannot be denied.  However, the democratic primary was a bitterly fought battle between two formidable candidates with hurt feelings all around, not to mention unbridled ambition.  The Obama campaign should not expect a Huckabee like ally in the Clintons, even less so because she will not be Obama’s veep pick.  The Clintons and Obama can help each other as long as everyone is clear on the target end.  Obama can help Bill Clinton rehabilitate himself within the African-American community and the national stage; Bill Clinton can help Obama in states that Hillary did well in like Pennsylvania, West Virginia, etc.   This can work as long as everyone knows who the candidate is and both are clear on the end goal.  Somehow I don’t think that Obama will have any problem making clear who the candidate is, consensus with respect to the end goal may be a bit more challenging. Ding, ding, ding……let the battle of the alpha males begin.

For proof, look no further than Doug Band, chief gatekeeper to former President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Band keeps close track of the past allies and beneficiaries of the Clintons who supported Mr. Obama’s campaign, three Clinton associates and campaign officials said. Indeed, he is widely known as a member of the Clinton inner circle whose memory is particularly acute on the matter of who has been there for the couple — and who has not.

“The Clintons get hundreds of requests for favors every week,” said Terry McAuliffe, the chairman of Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign. “Clearly, the people you’re going to do stuff for in the future are the people who have been there for you.”

Mr. McAuliffe, who knows of Mr. Band’s diligent scorekeeping, emphasized that “revenge is not what the Clintons are about.” The accounting is more about being practical, he said, adding, “You have to keep track of this.”  Read article for those at the top of list.

Conservative columnist George Will speaks the Truth to John McCain and Clinton female Supporters who threaten to vote For McCain:  [McCain] said, “The American people didn’t get to know me yesterday, as they are just getting to know Senator Obama.” McCain, who has been running for president for 10 years, has never entertained the thought that the country might sometimes have a surfeit of him. Does some statute require that [McCain] appear on at least one of the five Sunday morning talk shows every week (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox News)? [McCain] has appeared on them 67 times since 2004. [McCain] has been such a ubiquitous figure, it will be difficult for him to seize the attention of a public that thinks it knows everything about him.  But it does not.  Because of his cultivated persona as a “maverick” Republican, many—perhaps most—voters do not know he is pro-life. When the fact that he is becomes well publicized, and Democrats will make sure it is, Clinton’s female supporters will stop sulking in their tents and will rally round Obama.  Read Newsweek article

Report: Edwards rules out VP slot  MADRID, Spain (AP) — John Edwards has ruled out being Barack Obama’s running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, according to interviews carried by two leading Spanish newspapers on Friday.  “I already had the privilege of running for vice president in 2004, and I won’t do it again,” Edwards was quoted by El Mundo as saying. El Pais, the country’s other leading daily, carried similar comments. Read USA Today article

Campaign May Leave Blot on Clinton Legacy  WASHINGTON — Bill and Hillary Clinton have stirred virulent passions in their nearly two decades in the national spotlight. They have been known as many things, good and bad — brilliant policy analysts, manipulators of facts and friends, tireless campaigners, skillful political tacticians, monumentally self-absorbed baby boomers. But most of all they were known as winners. Until now. Read New York Times article 

Gas Hits $4 a Gallon TCHULA, Miss. — Gasoline prices reached a national average of $4 a gallon for the first time over the weekend, adding more strain to motorists across the country. Read New York Times article

Hillary Solidly Backs Obama  WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday what Barack Obama’s backers have wanted to hear for weeks: she endorses his campaign and will do everything she can to get him elected president.  It remains to be seen how the two Democratic powerhouses will meld their machines — or how long it will take for the political healing to take place — but Obama supporters said they were encouraged by how unequivocal her endorsement was.  Read LA Times article

Evangelicals wary of McCain  Lori Viars, an evangelical activist in Warren County, Ohio, essentially put her life on hold in the fall of 2004 to run a phone bank for President Bush. Her efforts helped the president’s ambitious push to turn out evangelicals and win that critical swing state in a close election. But Ms. Viars, who is among a cluster of socially conservative activists in Ohio being courted by Senator John McCain’s campaign through regular e-mail messages, is taking a wait-and-see attitude for now toward Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.  Read New York Times article

George Bush believes that History will vindicate him  As the door begins to close on his tenure, Bush is increasingly drawing on selected events of the past to argue that history will vindicate him on Iraq, terrorism, trade and other controversial issues.  Historical analogies have become a staple of Bush speeches and interviews this year, whether he is addressing regional leaders in Egypt or talking to workers at an office park in suburban St. Louis. Bush will continue this historical focus in a visit to Europe this week, where he will commemorate the Berlin Airlift in Germany and deliver a speech in Paris marking the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan.  White House aides say Bush, who majored in history at Yale, likes to emphasize historical comparisons because they are easy for the public to understand and illustrate in dramatic fashion how differently future generations may come to view him.  Read Washington Post article

Huckabee heimlich Saves fellow Politician’s life   GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee did more than just give a speech at the North Carolina Republican Party convention. He also may have saved a life.  State GOP spokesman Brent Woodcox says the former Arkansas governor did the Heimlich maneuver on Robert Pittenger, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, at a lunch before Huckabee gave his speech Saturday.  Read CNN article

Barack Obama Response

At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office.  I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better.  They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come.

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else.  Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she’s a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she’s a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

We’ve certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months.  But as someone who’s shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning – even in the face of tough odds – is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children’s Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency – an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be.  And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory.  When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen.  Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Sen. Hillary Clinton Concession Speech (transcript)

Thank you so much. Thank you all.

Well, this isn’t exactly the party I’d planned, but I sure like the company.

I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you – to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked and sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors, who emailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, “See, you can be anything you want to be.”

To the young people like 13 year-old Ann Riddle from Mayfield, Ohio who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World, and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her Mom and volunteer there as well. To the veterans and the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans who traveled across the country and telling anyone who would listen why you supported me.

To all those women in their 80s and their 90s born before women could vote who cast their votes for our campaign. I’ve told you before about Florence Steen of South Dakota, who was 88 years old, and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot. She passed away soon after, and under state law, her ballot didn’t count. But her daughter later told a reporter, “My dad’s an ornery old cowboy, and he didn’t like it when he heard mom’s vote wouldn’t be counted. I don’t think he had voted in 20 years. But he voted in place of my mom.”

To all those who voted for me, and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding. You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country.

18 million of you from all walks of life – women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African-American and Caucasian, rich, poor and middle class, gay and straight – you have stood strong with me. And I will continue to stand strong with you, every time, every place, and every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth fighting for.

Remember - we fought for the single mom with a young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, “I’m doing it all to better myself for her.” We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand, and asked me, “What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?” and began to cry because even though she works three jobs, she can’t afford insurance. We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, “Take care of my buddies over there and then, will you please help take care of me?” We fought for all those who’ve lost jobs and health care, who can’t afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president these last seven years.

I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned conviction: that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. I’ve had every opportunity and blessing in my own life – and I want the same for all Americans. Until that day comes, you will always find me on the front lines of democracy – fighting for the future.

The way to continue our fight now – to accomplish the goals for which we stand – is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him, and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.

I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in this campaign with him for 16 months. I have stood on the stage and gone toe-to-toe with him in 22 debates. I have had a front row seat to his candidacy, and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit.

In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. As a community organizer, in the state senate, as a United States Senator - he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in our common future.

Now when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House, and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity, and progress. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.

I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. The Democratic Party is a family, and it’s now time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love.

We may have started on separate journeys – but today, our paths have merged. And we are all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around because so much is at stake.

We all want an economy that sustains the American Dream, the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford that gas and those groceries and still have a little left over at the end of the month. An economy that lifts all of our people and ensures that our prosperity is broadly distributed and shared.

We all want a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance. This isn’t just an issue for me – it is a passion and a cause – and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured – no exceptions, no excuses.

We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality – from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families.

We all want to restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq and once again lead by the power of our values, and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

You know, I’ve been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. During those forty years, our country has voted ten times for President. Democrats won only three of those times. And the man who won two of those elections is with us today.

We made tremendous progress during the 90s under a Democratic President, with a flourishing economy, and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world. Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years – on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court. Imagine how far we could’ve come, how much we could’ve achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House.

We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much.

Now the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can’t do it. That it’s too hard. That we’re just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject “can’t do” claims, and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination, and a pioneering spirit.

It is this belief, this optimism, that Senator Obama and I share, and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard.

So today, I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can. (more…)

Joint Statement from Obama and Clinton Campaign

Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November.”

Grace is Not however,

…..forcing 23 members of Congress and 8 Senators to give you an ultimatum to drop out of this race by Friday or else. 

Grace is not…….with full knowlege of your opponent clinching the nomination, and after you have clearly lost the race, at your last speech of the primary being introduced as the next President of the United States. 

Grace is not…….in your final speech, when all of America is watching, attempting to deligitamize your opponents victory and the process because you came in second. 

Grace is not……allowing four days to pass before giving a formal concession thereby taking away from this historic moment. 

Grace is not…….refusing to acknowlege that your opponent has won the race. 

Grace is not……allowing the opposing party’s candidate to acknowlege that your opponent has won and you do not. 

Grace is not……..only agreeing to concede after your supporters start flipping to your opponent in droves. 

Grace is not……..taking a dig at your opponent in what should have been your concession speech.

Grace is not…..trying to strong arm your way on to your opponents ticket as VP by leveraging your concession. 

Grace is not…….attempting to hold your supporters hostage until you indulge your own selfish motives and attempting to use such supporters as a bargaining chip in the process. 

Grace is not…….stealing his moment by attempting to elbow your way into the narrative like a childish bully. 

Grace is not……..sending out an email one hour after your speech asking your supporters for their thoughts and rigging the feedback prompt so that your supporters can only respond one way and that is to check a box saying “yes I support you, keep fighting Hillary.” 

Grace is not……trying to accumulate enough of such emails so as to use them as leverage to either force your opponent to help you pay back your campaign debt, secure a spot at the Democratic convention, or get the VP nod. 

Grace is not….claiming 18 million voters as “your voters” as if they are brainwashed puppies who will follow and do whatever you command.  

Yes Sen. Clinton, how you handled your last days of this historic primary was much less than graceful.  The fact that this nation has come so far as to elect an African-American as leader of a major party is an achievement of monumental proportions.  Not to mention the testament to how far we have come as a country.  The fact that you took away from that moment with your selfish and childish antics is very difficult to wrap this writer’s head around.  Even your most ardent supporters, Ed Rendell and Charlie Rangel, spoke out against your actions.  Whomever is advising you, Mark Penn, you should fire immediately. Because your loss has been a foregone conclusion for at least a month, you have had plenty of time to wrap your head around it.  Your tone and words the night of the last two primaries left many people, including your supporters, speechless.  So this weak excuse being pushed by your surrogates that you needed time to bring your supporters along?….uhhh….they were expecting your concession Tuesday night.  People were ready to begin the process of unifying the party.  Obviously you had a different agenda…spite perhaps.  It was reported that you were asking undeclared superdelegates to wait until the day after June 3rd to give their endorsement to Obama.  Why?  Was it your intent to embarrass the Illinois senator on what should have been his night?  Then, when the superdelegates refuse to indulge your narcissistic plot you decided to sabotage the night yourself.  Well I guess the public outcry over your speech was an unexpected glitch in your plan.  Honestly, I do not think that you could have choreographed a worst exit.  Good job.

Many questions will be answered tonight   There is mounting evidence that Sen. Hillary Clinton will end her campaign tonight.  Exhibits A-H.  a) Bill Clinton said yesterday, “this may be the last day I am ever involved in a campaign like this. ”   b) Sen. Clinton summoned all of her top supporters and donors to New York for her Tuesday night speech.  c) Clinton campaign spokesperson said “it started in New York and it will end in New York.”  d) Clinton instructed staff members to turn in all of their outstanding expense reports.  e) being reported that Clinton has begun post-campaign bargaining with Obama.  g) Blank schedule after Tuesday.  h) Clinton gave her advance staff  two options for tonight, they can either told use their ticket to fly to New York for her speech and party afterwards or they can fly home and await further instructions.  If members of the advance staff choose to fly to New York they will be financially responsible for their own flight home.   There are 34 House members prepared to endorse Barack Obama.  Obama is expected to claim victory of the primary process tonight in his speech in St. Paul Minnesota.  It has been an excruciatingly long and hard fought race for the candidates and for the American people and now both candidates are about to cross the finish line.  Every voter will have had their opportunity to vote and we, hopefully, will have our presumptive democratic nominee.  Obama is favored to win both South Dakota and Montana.  Obama is now 37 delegates away from claiming the nomination.  Clinton needs 198 delegates to claim victory.   The Obama campaign hopes to roll out superdelegates in groups today so that he has enough to claim victory tonight.  It is being reported that the Clinton campaign is asking superdelegates not to do it tonight but tomorrow instead.  That would not be a good idea in this writers opinion considering that the Obama campaign is holding its last rally in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota , the site of the Republican national convention and were John McCain will accept the Republican nomination.  If the superdelegates do not come out for Obama today it could end up being a potential embarassment for the presumptive democratic nominee.  This is not about the Clintons or the Obamas at this point.   This is about starting the general election off on the right foot.  Superdelegates must make their decision known today so as not to give the impression that the Clintons are still running the show or worst yet giving the appearance that they are not quite ready to rally behind Obama.  The primary process is over, its time to take a stand.  If the plan is to win in November, the Democratic Party cannot afford any missteps.