Hillary Wants Obama to Bail Her Out

Let's see if I get this straight: Hillary knew many weeks ago that she would be unable to secure the Democratic nomination, yet she persisted. She continued to solicit donations from Democratic supporters that could've gone into Obama's coffers to help pay for the general election. And, instead of being able to save money for the general election, Obama's campaign had to spend their funds to battle the negative-tinged campaigning (such as the now famous "3 a.m. ad") waged by Clinton's team.

You might think she'd done enough damage, but apparently not. She is now looking to broker a deal with Obama to have him pay her campaign debts. That's right--she wants him to pay for her bad decisions! And in doing so, his campaign will have to tap even more of his funds that should be used campaigning against McCain in fall.

I don't know who annoys me more: Hillary, for acting in a way that damages her party's chances to win in November? Bill, for some of the embarrassing and paranoid things he's been saying as his wife's chances dwindled? (Funny how when the Clintons were stacking the deck to aid Hillary's campaign it was fine and dandy, but once the party leadership demonstrated they could think on their own, Bill cries foul.) People like Bill Maher who acted like there was nothing wrong with Hillary continuing to run long past her ability to win, despite the financial and other adverse consequences to the party? Or maybe it's the voters who claim to care about the war in Iraq, the environment, education, civil rights, and other core issues who decided to continue to fund Hillary's damaging campaign rather than to rally around the future party nominee.

Oh heck, maybe I'll just be annoyed at all of them. But my annoyance will turn to anger if Hillary drains Obama's campaign funds to cover the debts she incurred waging a campaign that should've ceased tens of millions of dollars ago. Rumors are that Clinton's campaign is as much as $40 million in the red. CNN reports Obama's campaign has just over $50 million cash on hand. If the Obama campaign permits Hillary to further damage the Democrat's chances of beating the GOP this fall, I'll be angry at just about all of them--Hillary, Bill, Dean, Obama, all of them.

Here's what I'd suggest: Bill and Hillary can lick their wounds and spend the rest of their lives living with the ramifications of their poor decision to continue and to loan money to a doomed campaign. Considering the kind of money Bill pulls down for speaking engagements, he should be able to pay off Hillary's campaign debt in about eight years.

I understand this opinion is being colored by frustration, but I think Obama should let Hillary find her own way out of her mess. He's going to sew up the nomination soon with or without Clinton's withdrawal, and it's time he starts concentrating on what he needs to do to lead the Democratic Party to victory in November. Paying for Hillary's lack of judgment isn't going to help the Democratic party or his campaign.